UPDATE, July 2, 2009: Case dismissed against woman in MySpace hoax that led to teen's suicide
A federal judge tentatively decided today to dismiss the case against a Missouri woman who had been convicted of computer fraud stemming from an Internet hoax that prompted a teenage girl to commit suicide.
Lori Drew of Darden Prairie, Mo., was convicted in November of three misdemeanor counts of illegally accessing a protected computer.
The decision by U.S. District Judge George H. Wu will not become final until his written ruling is filed, probably next week. Wu said he was concerned that if Drew was found guilty of violating the terms of service in using MySpace, anyone who violated the terms could be convicted of a crime.
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Yesterday, Lori Drew was supposed to be sentenced for committing three misdemeanor computer crimes.
Judge George H. Wu made a decision.
He decided to wait until July to sentence Drew, possibly deciding to throw out the entire case.
From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
A federal judge in Los Angeles has once again delayed a ruling in the criminal case against Lori Drew in a St. Louis-area cyber-bullying linked to the suicide of teenager Megan Meier.
U.S. District Judge George H. Wu was scheduled to rule Monday afternoon on a pending motion to dismiss Drew's criminal conviction and, if he rejected the motion, to sentence her on three misdemeanor charges of illegally accessing a protected computer.
He did neither.
Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office, said that Megan's parents, Ron and Tina Meier, both testified before Wu said he needed more time. The sentencing was reset for July 2.
Prosecutors and the Meiers want the maximum possible sentence: three years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Drew's lawyer, H. Dean Steward, wants probation and no fine.
...A jury in California found Drew guilty Nov. 26, after a trial in which prosecutors accused her of masterminding the creation of a fake profile of a boy on the social networking website MySpace and using that profile to find out what Megan had been saying about Drew's daughter. The girls were neighbors in Dardenne Prairie.
The online relationship eventually turned into an ugly free-for-all and Megan, 13, hanged herself in her bedroom closet after reportedly receiving a final instant message: "The world would be a better place without you."
...Steward has repeatedly argued that violating a website's terms of service is not a crime. He has also argued that Drew could not be prosecuted because she neither read MySpace's terms of service nor intentionally violated them.
Prosecutors claim she knew she was breaking the rules.
Wu has repeatedly leaned toward ruling in favor of Steward, only to change his mind or postpone a ruling.
More, from the Los Angeles Times:
At Monday's hearing, Wu grilled Assistant U.S. Atty. Mark Krause at length about whether the government had prosecuted Drew under the appropriate laws when they accused her of unauthorized access in violation of MySpace's "terms of service."
"Is a misdemeanor committed by the conduct which is done every single day by millions and millions of people?" Wu asked. "If these people do read [the "terms of service"] and still say they're 40 when they are 45, is that a misdemeanor?"
Krause argued that Drew's acts were criminal because she signed up for the fake account with the intention of harming Megan by humiliating her. Drew knew her acts were illegal and deleted the account shortly after Megan's death to cover up her crime, he contended.
Prosecutors had asked Wu to impose a sentence of three years. Defense attorneys argued for probation and vehemently criticized the prosecution in court filings, calling its argument "utterly absurd." Megan's parents, Ron and Tina Meier, made statements in court Monday describing their daughter as a loving but vulnerable girl who went fishing with her father and cared deeply for her friends. They asked Wu to impose the maximum prison sentence.
"It just sickens me that it was an adult playing with the mind of a 13-year-old child," said Ron Meier.
I think Wu's arguments are troublesome and weird.
People saying online that "they're 40 when they are 45" is not the same as an adult setting up a completely bogus account and creating a fake profile of a nonexistent boy solely to harass and humiliate a child.
Furthermore, since when has ignorance been considered an excuse to break the law?
"Sorry officer, I was doing 90 in a 25 zone because I didn't read the speed limit sign. How can I be expected to follow the law when I didn't read the road's terms of service?"
That would never fly.
Similarly, I don't think Drew's alleged failure to read MySpace's terms of service should let her off the hook.
When you create an account, you agree to terms of service. The onus was on Drew to understand what the terms were and abide by them.
As far as Wu goes, he seems incompetent. A judge should rule, not delay again and again. He is responsible for causing the Meiers more pain.
All this legal wrangling aside, Drew behaved horribly. She's a terrible mother.
The woman is an absolute disgrace. I can't imagine Drew engaging in this scheme with her daughter, Sarah. It's so twisted.
What kind of lessons has this miserable excuse for a mother taught her own child? It's unconscionable.
Drew can't be held responsible for Megan Meier's suicide. Sadly, Megan made that choice. However, Drew is morally responsible for torturing Megan, a 13-year-old child.
Drew's actions are absolutely reprehensible. The mother of Megan's former friend created this online character, "Josh Evans," with the sole intent of hurting Megan. Drew's cruelty is astounding, and so is this adult's immaturity.
If there's any justice, Drew will be haunted every day for the rest of her miserable life by thoughts of what she did to Megan Meier.
For that to happen, however, Drew would have to have a conscience and some moral grounding. Those are things she doesn't possess.
I know I'm repeating myself, but I can't say it enough. Drew is a disgrace, a disgusting human being.
I'm sickened by that woman and what she did.
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Read more on the background of this cyberbullying case and the suicide of Megan Meier.
10 comments:
The courts, being the liberal mess they are, could go either way. My optimism says she is going to get hers.
Lets consider the "my client is too stupid to know to read something before agreeing" defense. This would render any sort of agreement null and void at whim.
Like what the government just did to contractual law... Uh Oh...
This case should be thrown out. It is very obvious that the public has rejected the terms of service offered by these social web companies.
I support Lori Drew. :)
What do you mean you support Drew?
In what way?
Lori Drew's a horrible person. Honestly, if she had any decency at all the guilt she'd feel for her actions would push HER to suicide. Certainly the world would be much better without her.
The fact that she hasn't suggests she doesn't regret her actions anywhere near the degree she should.
That more than anything tells us that she shouldn't be permitted to raise her own children. How can she possibly teach them to be decent human beings when she doesn't understand the concepts of humanity or decency?
You can't be for real.
Yes, I can be for real.
The loathing I have for anyone who victimizes a child is pretty deep.
Lori Drew is in some ways worse than a pedophile who would have molested Megan. At least that child would still be alive.
Lori Drew is responsible for the death of a child and has shown no real remorse. In what world do we think that she is capable of doing anything but raising her children to be monsters themselves?
I think she deserves to lose her own children - and certainly society could do worse than interfere with future iterations of her thinking.
I think it's great that people have decided not to do business with her. I honestly hope that she never finds gainful employment again.
Lori Drew is without argument reprehensible and disgusting. The photo of Lori and her equally obese daughter say it all -- two lowly individuals with no sense of morals, values, or judgement. Most likely caught up in their own sick worlds of self-loathing they attack a so-called 'friend' in some attempt to hurt emotionally. This case is a sad commentary on the poor state of parenting in this country. Not only does Lori Drew contribute to her daughter's miserable obesity, which will undoubtedly leave her scarred and depressed herself, she conspires to create this false MySpace profile...this was nothing less than a deliberate attempt to hurt a minor child. I guess it wasn't enough she ruined her own daughter's life by allowing her stuff anything and everything down her mouth, but now let's drag Megan into your pathetic sick world...nice...
Anonymous, I think that might be a little bit excessive, no? The assertion that anyone who is fat is necessarily caught up in a world of self loathing, or that their body weight contributed in any way to this heinous crime is unfair - to overweight people everywhere.
Lori drew is a monster - but if she was anorexic no one would suggest that her body image played a role.
Lori Drew just uses the same nasty school-girl tactics that probably worked when she was a kid. Only she brings to them the knowledge and experience of adulthood.
The woman is a disgrace and should have her children taken away - but only to prevent her children from thinking that what she did was a good thing that worked beautifully and with no real consequences for their mother.
I think this woman is a disgusting person in general. No matter what is said or the ruling that has been handed down, this woman obviously had a hand in pushing an already fragile girl over the edge.
She has also helped to create another human being who is following in her footsteps.She should be ashamed of the example she sets and I truly hope that at the end she gets exactly what she deserves..
Can't argue with that.
The woman's a viper. Hopefully, even if the courts can't exact justice for Megan, any community Lori Drew lives in will make sure she pays in a different way.
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