DA to look into suicide of bullied teen Asher Brown (Gay AND Buddhist)

[WillParkinson]

Source: The Associated Press

DA to look into suicide of bullied teen Asher Brown
By The Associated Press
10.04.2010 2:00pm EDT

(Houston) Prosecutors said Friday they will look into what led to the suicide of a 13-year-old Houston boy whose parents say was relentlessly bullied at his middle school for two years because of his religion and sexual orientation.

Asher Brown’s parents, who claim school officials ignored their pleas for help, said they hope “justice will be served” by the investigation by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

“Once they find out what’s been hidden, we would want the people responsible to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” said Asher’s stepfather, David Truong.

Asher shot himself in the head with his stepfather’s handgun on Sept. 23 at his family’s home.

Read more: http://www.365gay.com/news/da-to-look-into-suicide-of-bullied-teen-asher-brown/

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This poor boy. Small. Buddhist. Thought to be gay. But, hey, it's something all kids go through, right? Right?

[xchrom]

1. Good - there should be prosecutions. Nt

[COLGATE4]

2. Even if there's a prosecution, it'll be decided by a Texas jury.

No great comfort in that thought.

[Zen Democrat]

11. Houston has a lesbian mayor, and a Houston jury could be fair.

Bullies are everywhere, even in liberal cities like Houston. The particular area where this family lives, Cypress, historically has been a conservative stronghold.

[Bigmack]

3. OK... dump on me if you want...

but if he was my kid, I'd have gotten him the hell out of there. Anywhere. The kid's life was so bad that he ended it. Why not take/send him somewhere where he wouldn't be bullied?

Of course the turds who did this are guilty, but if it had gone on for a long time, and seemed un-relievable in his home town....

[xchrom]

5. Why should you have to that?

It's not on the abused to have to move away from the abusers - especially
In a case like this.

[The_Commonist]

7. And then there's reality.

Unfortunately, we don't live on a planet where you just can say "hey you bullies... STOP IT" and the bullying will just end. Especially in places where bullies are encouraged by the law and by the local gods.

Seriously.
Get real.

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

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[Bigmack]

10. As a teacher...

I saw abuse and bullying... was able to stop some, even. The problem is that the parents and schools aren't around all the time, and the abusers/predators have all the time in the world.

I thought several times that the two choices parents of a bullied kid have are: 1) shoot a few of the abusers. or 2) move the kid. That's the choices.

Cops, teachers, administrators, peers, clergy.... nothing seemed to dissuade the real predators. I'd compare the situation to one chicken being pecked by the other chickens. Either move the chicken or let the others kill it.

Not blaming the kid or the parents... just sayin'...

[herbm]

6. I agree with you. The school was not going to change but there had to be a better place for him.

[Smarmie Doofus]

8. They didn't know how bad it was.

>>>>>Truong said while he and Asher’s mother, Amy, suspected their son was gay, the teen didn’t confirm this to him until the day of his suicide.>>>>

It seems logical that if the kid kept a biggie like that from his folks he also minimized the extent of the harassment. ( The parents' would have asked why?... putting him in yet another bind.)

Please. Do not blame the kid or the parents .... even indirectly or even partially... for this murder-by-suicide.

The guilty parties are the kids who tortured him and the school system that allowed and ( in all probability) promoted it.

[The Philosopher]

4. If it's the same kid

His parents were on 360 and they said he came out that morning he killed himself. They were very supportive of his decision, they said, having suspected for quite a while. But even then their support wasn't enough.