Cheerleaders in Lakeland Florida
By Stephanie Lynn, age 23, Massachusetts
Six teenage girls from the Lakeland, Florida area have been arrested for luring another girl to one of their homes, and for 30 minutes taking turns beating her up until she was unconscious and severely injured. The apparent reason was retaliation for some trash talk the girl posted on her MySpace page. Reportedly the attack was planned, and five video cameras were used to tape it for the purpose of posting on MySpace and YouTube. Current plans are to try all six girls ages 14 to 17 as adults, along with two boys who acted as lookouts.Official New Stories
CNN: Suspects in Video Beating Could Get Life in PrisonCNN Video: Beating Suspects in Court
* A 16 year old girl from Lakeland wrote to Sweet Designs Magazine. I can't verify what she claims one way or the other, but she told me that only two of the six girls did all the hitting, and that not all six were on the Lakeland cheerleading squad. The writer says she is friends with one of the girls arrested, one who did not hit the victim.
My question is: What kind(s) of punishment do the girls deserve? (You may choose more than one.)
What do you think about this incident? Tell us!
You may use the form below to comment on any aspect of this situation, or respond to any of the following:
Has anything similar happened at your school? If so, what happened? What does this say about teen girl society? About parenting? Should internet sites such as MySpace and YouTube bear any responsibility? Has the desire for recognition for posting something outrageous on such sites gone too far? Should the girls and boys be tried as adults? What is the proper punishment for their actions? What would you say to these girls? To the girl who was attacked? None of the girls involved has returned to school since the March 30th incident. Socially speaking, what do you think their futures look like if and when they are allowed to return? Should they be allowed to return to the same high school at any future point? Have they ruined their lives? Greatly damaged their futures?
Please be sure to provide your first name, age, and state!
