School Suspends Students Who Bullied Suicide Victim Jamie Rodemeyer

The Buffalo News reports that the students who literally bullied Jamie Rodemeyer to death are getting off light.

"[The police] shared some information with us, and we followed up," Superintendent Scott Martzloff said. "We made the determination to take disciplinary action." He declined to say how many students were suspended. Though based on Amherst police findings, it's likely that several of Jamey's classmates were sanctioned. Regarding the severity of punishments these students received, Martzloff said only that the students face "a minimum of suspensions." That implies at least short-term suspensions of up to five days, with the possibility of long-term suspensions subject to a hearing. Expulsion is not an option for students of this age.

Buffalo police announced in October that there would be no criminal charges against the students

Case Closed: Jamey Rodemeyer's Bullies Not Charged

Police closed the Jamey Rodemeyer case today without prosecuting any of his bullies, saying they lacked proof he'd been harassed.  My thougths here are that This is very disturbing, very sad, and very sickening as well as very shameful.  Why do these bullies keep getting off and waht can we do to change that kind of atmosphere?!

Rodemeyer killed himself in September after facing bullying that he "could never escape,” he said in posts on the Internet. But Amherst, N.Y.,  police chief John Askey said that despite the 14-year-old's complaints online about bullying, there wasn't enough evidence of what happened, and the bullying couldn't be pinned to any single student.

For example, police toldTheBuffalo News that they had investigated five incidents at North High School and found none had been reported to authorities, leaving investigators to rely on secondhand information.

"In most cases, you need a victim and a complaint," Askey told the News, noting that he isn't satisfied with the outcome.

After their son's death, Rodemeyer's parents shared a story on the Today show of how their daughter had gone to a school dance to take her mind off the death of her brother only to be met with taunts of "better off dead." The superintendent identified the student responsible for the chants and issued a suspension, taking the punishment "to the fullest extent allowed under education law."

That appears to be where the punishment will stop in the Rodemeyer case. The superintendent said he planned more education about the effects of bullying.

The tragedy had become a flash point in the national debate over how to address bullying, with Lady Gaga raising the issue with President Obama shortly afterward and activists calling for increased antibullying protections in schools.

Also in recent months, a videotaped beating of an Ohio student whose mother says he was repeatedly harassed for being gay became a viral sensation on YouTube because of outrage.

All of this has contributed to renewed attention around bullying and how it sometimes ends in death, including a special report from Anderson Cooper on CNN. Experts recommend that any young LGBT person with thoughts of suicide contact the Trevor Project’s hotline (866-4-U-TREVOR).

Three of Jamey Rodemeyer cahrged with hate crime

14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer deserves better.

Just days after word spread that the bullies who had harassed and threatened Jamey Rodemeyer to death chanted “We’re glad you’re dead” during a dedication to him at the Williamsville High School’s homecoming dance, Amherst police have announced that they plan to charge at least three teens with hate crimes.
Thank. God.

Police said Thursday crimes may have been committed against Jamey while he was a student in the Williamsville school district.

 

The Amherst Police Department’s Special Victims Unit said it will determine whether to charge some students with harassment, cyber-harassment or hate crimes, ABC News reported.

District officials said they’re cooperating with the investigation.

Three students in particular appear to have been involved.

Meanwhile, President Obama is rumored to be crafting a Teflon-strength anti-bullying law that will make it absolutely clear that this sort of behavior is not only unacceptable, but illegal. Bullies, online of off, will face criminal charges for their culpability in the anguish and deaths of their victims.

At least four lives will be absolutely destroyed by this ugly incident. Jamey’s tormentors will have plenty of time behind bars to contemplate whether or not bullying their classmate to death, and throwing their own lives away, was worth it.

Jamey Rodemeyer Tormentors Under Criminal Investigation

Police have begun a criminal investigation into the suicide death of Jamey Rodemeyer, the 14-​year old Buffalo-​area teen who was tormented by anti-​gay bullies for years. Local authorities say that while New York does not have anti-​bullying laws, there are other avenues, such as harassment, aggravated harassment, cyber-harassment or hate crimes laws that may apply. Reports state there are several individuals in particular that authorities are investigating.

WATCH: Anderson Cooper: 14-​Year Old Bullied To Death “Even In Sadness, Reaching Out To Help Others”

The Buffalo News today reports, “We’re going to look into whether he was the victim of any crimes leading up to his suicide,” Police Chief John C. Askey said.

“We’re not indicating, not speculating at this point, that that is the cause of his death, … but independently, there may have been crimes that have been committed against him.”
Askey said he spoke Wednesday with Williamsville School Superintendent Scott G. Martzloff, who has pledged the district’s cooperation.
Members of the public, including those from the school community, have reached out to police in recent days with information suggesting that Jamey had been subjected to what would amount to criminal harassment, Askey said.
“We’ve heard that there were some specific students, an identifiable group of students, that had specifically targeted Jamey, or had been picking on him for a period of time,” Askey said.
While investigators are focusing on what may have transpired in the recent past, he said, police are under the impression that one to three students may have been bothering Jamey since he was a student at Heim Middle School.
“We’re looking into it to see if he was the victim of any crimes, and that’s the bottom line,” the chief said. “We’re going to be speaking to school officials and students and anyone with direct information about crimes that may have been committed against this individual.”
Jamey’s mother had previously told The Buffalo News that she believed that a core group of middle school students bullied her son and that the situation worsened for him about a year ago, when many anonymous posts began showing up on Jamey’s Formspring blog stating that he would be better off dead.
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In a short YouTube video Jamey did in May, he expressed regret for creating the Formspring account “because people would just constantly send me hate.”
The anonymous posts included:
* “Kill your self!!!! You have nothing left!”
* “Listen to us, you’re a bad person, you don’t belong here, jump off a bridge or something!”
* “Go kill yourself, you’re worthless, ugly and dont have a point to live.”
* “You werent born this way. You shouldnt have ever been born.”
Seven months ago, in response to the Formspring question: What’s one thing people don’t know about you? Jamey answered, “How much I hate my life. Maybe it’s cause I’m bullied. a lot.”
His parents and friends said that it took a lot of work and encouragement to get Jamey through that dark period. Eventually, toward the end of last school year, Jamey stopped using Formspring altogether.

The Buffalo News also had published these comments from Jamey Rodemeyer’s FormSpring account:

“JAMIE IS STUPID, GAY, FAT ANND UGLY. HE MUST DIE!” read one post.
Another read: “I wouldn’t care if you died. No one would. So just do it  It would make everyone WAY more happier!”

“The Amherst Police Department’s Special Victims Unit has said it will determine whether to charge some students with harassment, cyber-​harassment or hate crimes,” reports ABC News. “Police said three students in particular might have been involved. Jamey was a student at Heim Middle School.”

Jamey had just started his freshman year at Williamsville North High School. (Both Amherst and Williamsville are just outside Buffalo.) But the bullying had begun during middle school, according to his parents. He had told family and friends that he had endured hateful comments in school and online, mostly related to his sexual orientation.
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“Justin was a smiley, happy boy who loved to play his cello,” said his parents. “School systems need to do more to protect LGBT students from bullying, and not turn their back on them because of their sexual orientation.”