Running Head: Juvenile Justice

Juvenile Justice Case Law

Capella University
PSF5372 - History of the Juvenile Justice System
Introduction

Approximately 12, 8-10 year old children commit suicide every year because they are victims of bullying, whereas 1.3 million children a year bully others. Recent incidents of school violence have brought bullying to the nation’s attention in a dramatic way. Research shows that approximately 30% of teens in the United States either bully, are targets of bullying, or both (National Youth, n.d.).

Some bullies attack their targets physically, which can mean anything from shoving or tripping to punching or hitting, or even sexual assault. Others use psychological control or verbal insults to put themselves in charge (Hurst, 2005).

Two of the main reasons people are bullied are because of appearance and social status. Bullies pick on the people they think don't fit in, maybe because of how they look, how they act (for example, kids who are shy and withdrawn), their race or religion, or because the bullies think their target may be gay or lesbian.
One of the cases associated with bullying is that of Megan Taylor Meier (November 6, 1992 – October 17, 2006) an American teenager from Dardenne Prairie, Missouri, who had committed suicide by hanging three weeks before her fourteenth birthday. Meier attended Immaculate Conception Catholic School in Dardenne Prairie, with a uniform and policy against makeup and jewelry that the Meier’s thought would help Megan fit in. At the time of the incident, the Drew and Meier households were neighbors, living four doors apart. The account through which the bullying of Meier took place purportedly belonged to a 16-year-old male named "Josh Evans." However, Lori Drew, the mother of a former friend of Meier, later admitted creating the MySpace account with her daughter and Ashley Grills,