kids who are socially awkward are just more susceptible to the effects of bullying. an anti-bullying law was filed yesterday in florida. it s based on what happened to rebecca, correct? well, it is. we actually started that because of rebecca s event. and the senator is working on it as well. the bill that s been pending right now or filed doesn t address parental responsibility. i think it should. one that i drafted did. but at least it s a good start to make what these children are doing to each other. it s no the just guadalupe. being 10 and 12 years old is a horrible time for children to go through. we have to look at it. so because you said you wish it did, do you think parents should be held legally responsible? the bill we drafted said if the prosecutor can show gross negligence by a parent or just complete ignorance of their child s behavior online, then they should be held responsible. i know that s different to do.
and honestly with the pending laws it just didn t fit. we just need new laws to address it. doctor lieberman, you are a forensic psychiatrist. you counciled the roman family. how is kaitlyn dealing how is the family doing? i understand she in an anti-bullying program. well, you know, she s trying to hold up under all of. this but she s a victim as well. you know, her face being plastered all over the world essentially, made to feel guilty for what she did when really she wasn t a part of the bullying. it s very sad. so rebecca s mother wants to blame everyone other than herself. rebecca herself had been in the hospital about a year before, less than a year before, for having tried to cut her wrists. and so they were warned at that time that rebecca needed to be in psychiatrist treatment. and her mother didn t follow-through with that. there were lots of problems that rebecca had, problems with her
journals and the police report. there were signs of family problems, evidence of bullying and a reported breakup with a boy. when an early september she climb the tower she could see from her home and jumped. two arrests we made last night. soon after, the sheriff arrested two of the girls who had apparently been bullying rebecca online. releasing the children s names even though they were minors. and she killed herself but i don t give a they were charged not for rebecca s death but for stalking, charges later dropped in exchange for court ordered counseling. although both girls posted nasty messages on social media sites through their lawyers, they have each denied responsibility for rebecca s death. they didn t get away with it at all had we not arrested them, they never would have been required or volunteered for such counseling. it was wayne-win. the sheriff overreacted by
officials at crystal lake ma middle school changed her classes to fwet her way from the bullies. when that didn t work, her mom pulled her out of sixth grade to home-school her instead. she thought she was safe. but for a text savvy child, shutting out the world is not simple. i sent her my cell phone to con tablgt her friends. rebecca found her way back online to the students allegedly tormenting her. she wanted to see what was gong in her world. and unfortunately in her world there were bully that s were tormenting her literally to her death. it wasn t just facebook and instagram, rebecca also had accounts on ask.fm and kick. it is clear that directions that these bullies were giving was kill yourself. you know, end your life because we hate you so much. it s unclear why rebecca ultimately snapped. cnn reviewed portions of her
extremely gifl to say who is saying what and therefore very difficult to trace. rebecca s mom admits she didn t know the extent of her daughter s life online. and the signs of trouble brewing there. she and her attorney are now trying to get a law passed making parents of bullies libel for their children s behavior. it really starts at home. the children learn everything from their parents. bullying is illegal in florida. rebecca s lawyer wants to attach even stronger penalties including community service and juvenile detention. kids need to know it s actually a crime. while it s a start, none of it will take away the pain rebecca s mother feels every day. how do you deal with the silences that have been left by rebecca? i still talk to her. i sleep with one of her stuffed animals. she knows now what she would have done differently on that terrible day. i would have taken her cell phone in the room with me and when my alarm went off at 6:30, rather than jump in the sh