16 year old girl arrested, charged with felony for science project

Originally posted by timewarpedbrain7
reply to post by Antonio1

 

a school near were I live had a student walkout because a teacher was wrongly fired. Similar?

See, if more students peacefully protested crap like that, maybe the admin's at schools would come off of this power trip they've been on for the past fourteen or fifteen years. Just to clarify, in my last post I wasn't advocating violence, just saying that it was inevitable with the way many school admin's have been going overboard in the last few years, in case anyone misunderstood me.

Originally posted by Ghost375

Originally posted by Agent008
reply to post by Ghost375

 

So as a kid you never did anything stupid or set something on fire or blow something up or in general be a kid?

I didn't take out chemicals from under the sink and try mixing them together. That's the topic at hand. That is not normal kids being kids behavior. Don't try to change the subject or to turn this into an attack on me because you can't debate my points.

And because YOU didn't do it means that millions of other kids didn't ? I know I did .
Its not something every kid would go and do but every child is not the same .

reply to post by wewillnotcomply666


If you read and comprehended my post, which you obviously aren't capable of, you would have read that I acknowledge that and point out that that is how kids go blind and get seriously injured!!


This is a serious topic, and if people are too ignorant to know anything about it, they need to stfu.

Originally posted by Ghost375
reply to post by wewillnotcomply666

 

If you read and comprehended my post, which you obviously aren't capable of, you would have read that I acknowledge that and point out that that is how kids go blind and get seriously injured!!
sf

This is a serious topic, and if people are too ignorant to know anything about it, they need to stfu.

edit on 1-5-2013 by Ghost375 because: (no reason given)

No, i comprehend your post quite well. You are trying to imply that because you "didnt take chemicals out from under the sink and mix them" that it is not normal child behavior. This is the 21st century and thats pretty damn close to normal behaviour for a child of this time .

Originally posted by trollz

A Florida teen with an exemplary record is facing federal charges

Sieg Heil!

Seig Heil!

Seig Heil!

Did anyone happen to notice the story about the lady who had a face transplant after being attacked with Lye? Does anyone know what the main ingredient in Drano is? If she had injured someone the lawsuit would have been in the millions. There is a time and place for doing something like this and a public school isn't it.

Yes, I did alot of stupid stuff like this when I was younger and had some bigger explosions. I'm lucky though I didn't end up like two people I know, one missing a hand and the other missing 3 fingers.

Of course the whole thing is ridiculous, if her intent was to do a science project, and it's proven, then she hardly gets any sort of conviction or a record. Intent is important in legal matters.

One of the reason people have overreacted the way they did was the ever present danger of litigation. To be quite honest, "experiments" like this one can be quite dangerous, I've seen injuries inflicted in "science projects". So, in our society, a number of people and entities could be sued if anyone was hurt at all. So they protected themselves.

Doing anything like this on public ground in vicinity of a public venue (like school) was really stupid, though.

If it was indeed the vinegar/baking soda reaction she's gonna be just fine:

Any half-decent lawyer can easily argue that baking soda and vinegar, when combined, are clearly NOT an explosive. The reaction produces excess Carbon Dioxide. If the reaction occurs in a plastic bottle, then it is simply a case of the CO2 pressure exceeding the container strength. Essentially, her crimes are equivalent to popping a messy balloon.

More and more I am thinking that when the SHTF it's the US police that'll be enlisted to subdue the herds, not military or UN troops. They are getting so amazingly stupid with each passing day, following orders without using any discretion or common sense (which I am sure they are ordered to do )

Originally posted by buddhasystem
Of course the whole thing is ridiculous, if her intent was to do a science project, and it's proven, then she hardly gets any sort of conviction or a record. Intent is important in legal matter.

One of the reason people have overreacted the way they did was the ever present danger of litigation. To be quite honest, "experiments" like this one can be quite dangerous, I've seen injuries inflicted in "science projects". So, in our society, a number of people and entities could be sued if anyone was hurt at all. So they protected themselves.

It is considered a destructive device(felony). Whether or not it was a science project doesn't matter. She will most likely get a slap on the wrist though.

Originally posted by blamethegreys
If it was indeed the vinegar/baking soda reaction she's gonna be just fine:

Any half-decent lawyer can easily argue that baking soda and vinegar, when combined, are clearly NOT an explosive. The reaction produces excess Carbon Dioxide. If the reaction occurs in a plastic bottle, then it is simply a case of the CO2 pressure exceeding the container strength. Essentially, her crimes are equivalent to popping a messy balloon.

You are wrong.

It's just a kind of explosion anyhow.

reply to post by libertytoall


I'm 44. When I was a kid we used to take apart firecrackers and make bigger homemade firecrackers. Dangerous? Certainly. Stupid? Absolutely.

Do you know what the response was for this type of behavior? A very stern talking to, and lesson learned.

Threatening felony charges and expulsion is a cowardly overreaction.

Originally posted by blamethegreys
If it was indeed the vinegar/baking soda reaction she's gonna be just fine:

Any half-decent lawyer can easily argue that baking soda and vinegar, when combined, are clearly NOT an explosive. The reaction produces excess Carbon Dioxide. If the reaction occurs in a plastic bottle, then it is simply a case of the CO2 pressure exceeding the container strength. Essentially, her crimes are equivalent to popping a messy balloon.

More and more I am thinking that when the SHTF it's the US police that'll be enlisted to subdue the herds, not military or UN troops. They are getting so amazingly stupid with each passing day, following orders without using any discretion or common sense (which I am sure they are ordered to do

)

According to other sources it was Drano and foil. Yes, people have been prosecuted for it.

Originally posted by wewillnotcomply666


No, i comprehend your post quite well. You are trying to imply that because you "didnt take chemicals out from under the sink and mix them" that it is not normal child behavior. This is the 21st century and thats pretty damn close to normal behaviour for a child of this time .

I made no such implication. They were two completely separate points that were not related.
and no, it's not normal behavior.

reply to post by Ghost375


That she should not have done it - possibly you are right.

That many many kids have done it - absolutely!

That this child should go up on felony charges - bloody stupid massive over reaction. A note to the parents would have been the right thing to do!

The point of this thread is not 'was this a smart thing to do' it is 'is it right to level a felony charge' No!

P

Originally posted by LogicGrind

Originally posted by EllaMarina
reply to post by LogicGrind

 

I have to wonder if the school wasn't covering their backsides by claiming they had no knowledge of the incident.

The school has nothing to cover...if it was a science project, no harm no foul.

She did this outside, on school grounds, behind the cafeteria, with no teacher supervision...she screwed up and now she must face the consequences.

Yes, it sucks...kids do dumb things...but there are consequences.

Are you an idiot?
The poor kid is going to be a FELON!
for popping the top off of a plastic water bottle !
The mentality of this crowd is dropping radically!

Originally posted by Ghost375

Originally posted by wewillnotcomply666


No, i comprehend your post quite well. You are trying to imply that because you "didnt take chemicals out from under the sink and mix them" that it is not normal child behavior. This is the 21st century and thats pretty damn close to normal behaviour for a child of this time .

I made no such implication. They were two completely separate points that were not related.
and no, it's not normal behavior.

you are incorrect . It is perfectly normal. Look at a science kit from the 50's-80's.

Im 36 . In my hs chemistry class we dyed everything yellow when the explosive iodine crystals our teacher was showing us to make ( which are HIGHLY volatile) blew up overnight.

its learning. Its curiosity. Its normal for kids . And many adults.

While studying year 12 Physics, my teacher let me off studying the electronics section of the course because my hobby was building electronic devices and the teacher sometimes helped me.

He asked me instead to sit down the back of the class for the two weeks and write up something interesting!

There are two ways to make nuclear material go critical. We learnt how, together with the formulae in said year 12 Physics. The two accepted ways are either implosion or bringing two non critical masses together to form a mass that is critical. My write up was how to do it a third way!

After I handed it in my teacher asked me to see him at the end of the day. He had given me an A, then he tore my report up, put it in a metal dish, squirted in some liquid, put it in the fume cupboard and lit it! He said I should be careful what I write down!

I wonder what would have happened to me in the US today! Even designing a device is a crime!

These schools are crazy, just crazy! I feel sorry for the child. Ok, she should not have done it, but a felony, give me a break.

P

Originally posted by pheonix358
That this child should go up on felony charges - bloody stupid massive over reaction. A note to the parents would have been the right thing to do!

The point of this thread is not 'was this a smart thing to do' it is 'is it right to level a felony charge' No!

But I see a lot of people saying it was fine for her to do the experiment itself, or that it was okay and she was just being a kid. The act itself was extremely dangerous. They are comparing it to things like firecrackers, and chemical experiments are much different.

She put all those kids at risk for blindness. There's a reason chemists always wear protective eyewear. Because when dealing with chemicals, there's always a risk for an explosion, and if you get chemicals in your eye, it's easy to go blind. Mistakes can happen to even the most experienced chemist, let alone a 16 year old.

So I really don't see anything wrong with expelling her. She could've EASILY grabbed the wrong chemical, or added too much, and caused several people to go blind. It was extremely irresponsible of her.

A felony is probably excessive. And I highly doubt she will be convicted. I don't really know the specific chemicals used, but if a felony has been charged, she's most likely dealing with some serious chemicals.
People don't get that what she did was VERY serious, regardless of what chemicals were used.

This was NOT an overreaction. What she did is a very serious matter. You have to exercise extreme caution when dealing with chemicals.
Google chemical burns. Look at the pictures. Chemical burns are worse than fire burns. They are not the same.

Originally posted by trollz
A Florida teen with an exemplary record is facing federal charges after...mixing housing chemicals in a small water bottle...causing the cap to fly off and produce a bit of smoke. The experiment was conducted outdoors, no property was damaged, and no one was injured.

Sounds like your everyday run-of-the-mill science fair to me. A container had too much pressure to contain it so the container ruptured at the weakest point. Nothing new there.

Not long after Wilmot’s experiment, authorities arrested her and charged her with “possession/discharge of a weapon on school property and discharging a destructive device,”

What I want to know is exactly who decided to charge her with these crimes. It had to be someone attending who got all piss scared at her flying bottle cap and thought "Oh no, it was supposed to be a bomb!". What police officer would arrest a student for an unintended result of a science project? None I would hope. For an officer to arrest a Student in this situation, I have to think someone else was involved in this.

The school district proceeded to expel Wilmot for handling the “dangerous weapon,” also known as a water bottle.

Better ban all bottled water from every school now since it can readily be turned into a "dangerous weapon". (Also, we now know what side of the fence whoever wrote the article sits.)

Friends and staffers, including the school principal, came to Wilmot’s defense, telling media that authorities arrested an upstanding student who meant no harm.
"She is a good kid," principal Ron Richard told WTSP-TV. "She has never been in trouble before. Ever."
She will have to complete her high school education through an expulsion program.

What a way to royally screw up a persons life. The Principal of the school is behind you 100%, and that doesn't mean jack s@*t??? Did they even look at the Student records or just over-react over nothing without actually knowing what happened?

Polk County Schools stands by its decision to expel Wilmot, asserting in a statement, “there are consequences to actions,” and calling Wilmot’s experiment a “serious breach of conduct.”

If I lived there, the "Authorities" in Polk County Schools would be looking for a new career pretty soon. Why? Because there are consequences to actions, and their actions were a serious breach of conduct.

Now this girl is probably going to be a felon for life, simply because she made the cap pop off a water bottle.

She was charged, not convicted. Big difference there, however, it does not excuse what happened.

This world is sick.

Some people in this world are sick.

What is she being punished for?

IF somebody got hurt. then there would be consequences. But being punished because someone MIGHT have been hurt?

Can I claim disability pension because I might have got my legs run over by a bus today while crossing the street? Do I pay taxes for income I might have earned but didnt? Do I go to jail because I might have gone into a life of crime if I couldnt afford to otherwise live?

Punishment doesn't achieve anything. If they wanted to create a positive outcome they should have taught her about doing things like this in a controlled environment using proper safety equipment/etc.