Autistic Boy With Mental Age Of 8 Charged With Terrorism

[1929crash]

Special needs student Shane Finn, 14, who has a mental age of an eight year old, was suspended and charged with the serious criminal offence.

He was hauled out of class under a "zero tolerance" policy at his school in Atlanta,Georgia.

The boy's mother Karen said due to his low IQ he does not understand why he is facing such a serious charge of making a terroristic threat.

"I think that there needs to be some sort of common sense used with these school systems that a 14-year-old autistic boy who does not understand what he's done or what he's drawn, who has an IQ of 75, should not be charged with a felony," said Mrs Finn.

"I find it appalling. It's outrageous."

She said her son drew the picture in his assignment book while in class for special needs students.

The drawing depicts a stick figure, which Shane identified as himself with the word 'me', pointing a gun at another stick figure, identified as a teacher with the name Hartman.

The teenager also added a tombstone to the crayon picture with the letters R.I.P.

Atlanta's Ridgeview Charter School immediately suspended the teenager and said they wanted him charged with a felony offence of making a terroristic threat.

Mrs Finn added:"It really breaks my heart because he's a really nice kid and this is obviously from his disability. He really doesn't have a good way of expressing anger, frustration."

A spokesman for the school refuse to comment about the incident but said they had a zero tolerance policy on violence directed towards teachers.

Apart from the mental capacity issue, it seems that every act of violence is now regarded as terrorist!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/7731513/Autistic-boy-charged-with-terrorist-offence.html

[daniel stallion]

Apart from the mental capacity issue, it seems that every act of violence is now regarded as terrorist!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/7731513/Autistic-boy-charged-with-terrorist-offence.html

What is most frightening, to me, is that this isn't just some Government department with an obvious agenda to use the excuse of terrorism to subjugate the population - this is sponsored (it seems) by 'normal' members of society - teachers for goodness sake.

[1929crash]

What is most frightening, to me, is that this isn't just some Government department with an obvious agenda to use the excuse of terrorism to subjugate the population - this is sponsored (it seems) by 'normal' members of society - teachers for goodness sake.

You're right - it's like political correctness, only worse, much worse.

[indirectapproach]

Frontier justice.

It was only last week that they'd round him up with a posse, chuck a rope across a sturdy branch, give him a fair trial while tying the noose and then lynch him.

That we're still talking about it is evidence of great progress real fast for Atlanta Georgia.

[1929crash]

Frontier justice.

It was only last week that they'd round him up with a posse, chuck a rope across a sturdy branch, give him a fair trial while tying the noose and then lynch him.

That we're still talking about it is evidence of great progress real fast for Atlanta Georgia.

I don't think the boy is black.

[Guest theboltonfury]

Atlanta, Georgia. A state with a proud history of dishing out suitable punishments for suitable crimes. Usually involving tar, burning tyres and feathers.

[Guest DissipatedYouthIsValuable]

Sounds quite retarded, even by American standards.

[1929crash]

Sounds quite retarded, even by American standards.

The boy or the school?

[thod]

The question becomes one of defining the word 'terrorism'. There is not the threat of some kind of mass atrocity intended to change public perception or government policy here. Violence by one individual to another goes by several names, 'common assault' is one. The threat of violence is certainly lesser than the act.

[Goat]

a 14-year-old autistic boy who does not understand what he's done or what he's drawn, who has an IQ of 75, should not be charged with a felony

It seems that the normal procedure in Atlanta at least is to place them in charge of Charter Schools.

[The Masked Tulip]

Meanwhile, people plotting to blow up bombs in the UK are NOT charged with terrorism!

[Guest happy?]

Apart from the mental capacity issue, it seems that every act of violence is now regarded as terrorist!

http://www.telegraph...st-offence.html

Despite the headline claim I can find nothing in the article which states he's been charged with any offence. Can someone tell me what he's been charged with.

[Frank Hovis]

Despite the headline claim I can find nothing in the article which states he's been charged with any offence. Can someone tell me what he's been charged with.

Nothing as far as I can see. This one is more amusing:

Alabama: Secret Service probed teacher geometry lesson

BIRMINGHAM — A Jefferson County geometry teacher was investigated by the Secret Service after he used a hypothetical assassination of President Barack Obama as a way to teach geometric angles.

School officials said the Corner High School teacher apparently was instructing his students about parallel lines and angles and used the example of where to stand and aim to shoot the president.

Authorities were alerted, and Roy Sexton, special agent in charge of Birmingham's Secret Service office, said his agency spoke with the teacher.

"We did not find a credible threat," Sexton said.

He said the investigation was closed. No charges were filed.

Jefferson County school officials said Tuesday that Superintendent Phil Hammonds declined to release the teacher's name. They referred questions to the school system's attorney, Burgin Kent, who did not immediately return a call for comment.

Hammonds said earlier the teacher remains at work and there are no plans to fire him.

"We are going to have a long conversation with him about what's appropriate," Hammonds told The Birmingham News. "It was extremely poor judgment on his part, and a poor choice of words."

Joseph Brown, a senior in the geometry class, told the News that teacher "was talking about angles and said, 'If you're in this building, you would need to take this angle to shoot the president.'"

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/may/18/alabama-secret-service-probed-teacher-geometry-les/?breakingnews

Now how fast would you need to throw a lump of coal at Gordon Brown from a distance of thirty feet to cause him serious injur... hang on, there's somebody at the door.

[Guest AuntJess]

Nothing as far as I can see. This one is more amusing:

http://www.timesfree...s/?breakingnews

Now how fast would you need to throw a lump of coal at Gordon Brown from a distance of thirty feet to cause him serious injur... hang on, there's somebody at the door.

[porca misèria]

If a simple bit of drawing is such a threat, I hate to think what they make of a long book of extreme violence, like the Bible.

Still, a country that puts two ten-year-olds on trial for rape can't really point the finger. The mind boggles at what they're supposed to be physically capable of in that department.

[Tiger Woods?]

Apart from the mental capacity issue, it seems that every act of violence is now regarded as terrorist!

It's not the act of violence that is being criminalised, but rather the idle thought of violence/expression of frustration. The last 10 years has seen a large number of thought crimes put "on the books" in the UK and, it appears, elsewhere.

If children drawing pictures of themselves shooting teachers in their school books is to be criminalised, we might as well lock up 95% of all male school children (and a goodly proprtion of the girls too). Actually, just to be on the safe side, why not take a leaf out of W.C. Field's book and "keep all boys in barrels until the age of 18, whenupon the solemn decision is made whether or not to drive the bung in."