Report: Police examine culpability of those who encouraged suicide

Police in Pembroke Pines, Fla., are trying to determine whether those who goaded a Florida 19-year-old to commit suicide bear any responsibility in his death, according to several reports.

"There is an active investigation," Sgt. John Gazzano of the Pembroke Pines Police Department told CNET News. He did not provide any other details.

Last week, the teenager set up a Webcam to broadcast himself taking an overdose of drugs on Web video service Justin.tv. The 12-hour ordeal was watched by hundreds of people, some who encouraged the young man to do away with himself.

"You want to kill yourself?" said one post to a message left by the teenager saying he intended to kill himself. "Do the world a favor and stop wasting our time with your mindless self pity."

Others attempted to contact police and save the young man.

This is believed to be the first suicide broadcast live to the Web from the United States. In Great Britain, a 42-year-old man hanged himself last year.

I think you mean "bear," not "bare."

[meyersm]

Thanks for noting. We've fixed it.

[ducttape36]

stop wasting our time with your mindless self pity? its not like that commenter had to be there. but he just wanted to say something hurtful and encourage someone to kill themselves. thats really really awful...

[Renegade Knight]

Yes it is. Sometimes you have to wonder if people like that aren't on the wrong side of the exchange.

[222ken]

I'd like to see the District Attorney's comments (or Attorney General Bill McCollum comments) about the culpability of the person posting the message listed in the article. Interesting.

[sobishop]

No they are not at fault. That person was old enough to make his own decisions and he made his. No one else "forced" him to do it. That kid was gonna do it no matter what anybody said. His intentions were to get on the internet and end his life so he could be recognized for the first time in his life. You need to point fingers? Point them in the direction of the parents/guardians not fulfilling their responsibility.

[Lerianis]

The problem wasn't with the parents/guardians. The problem is with this truly F***ed up world we are living in right now, thank in no small part to George W. Bush Jr. I state with absolute conviction that if he hadn't have been elected for a second term...... the United States would not be in the ******** it is in right now.

[ferretboy88]

Its all Bush's fault. Whatever. I guess Obama is going to pay your bills and your life will be perfect.

[Renegade Knight]

Blaming parents is easy. Being a parent flawed as we all are isn't. May you be blessed with good kids. You probably couldn't handle the other kind.

[sobishop]

"The other kind" are a product of their environment. Monkey see monkey do. No need to be blessed with good kids, you just need to be responsible for them.

[Renegade Knight]

sobishop

Good parents can have bad kids. Bad parents can have good kids. While parents and environment can skew a personality one direction or another, they can't make it. Kids are hardwired with the basics. It's in the DNA. I used to think otherwise; that babies were personalityless blobs that parents molded into what they bacame. I was wrong.

As for your thoughts on responsiblity. Parents are responsible for raising their kids. Society meanwhile takes away more and more tools while blaming parents more and more for the results. Parental responsiblity has limits. Chiefly parenting is different from the kids own actions and choices. Parents guide, they cajole, they lay down the law. Kids make their own choices in that framework. They are not all the right choices. That's life.

[sobishop]

Let me guess. Video games are the reason kids go on shooting sprees and music makes people worship the devil. Why don't you climb off your high horse and get back down here to reality where the rest of us live. If the parents had been involved with the kids at school shootings then those incidents would have never happened. You can't blame society for its shortcomings. You have to educate your kids to adapt to the way society changes as time goes by.

[Dalkorian]

Sorry folks, but Sobishop is right on the money on this one. Lerianis, I hate fuhrer bushit a hundred times more than you do, yet even I can't find a way to blame him for this one. This was a stain in the human gene pool that did the world a the favor of cleaning itself up so the gene pool wouldn't be further contaminated. There are only three people in the world who are "guilty" in this, the pollution that announced the intent, then committed the act online for an audience and the panty waste mother and father that could raise such a pathetic little self absorbed worthless stain on the fabric of society.

Like I said, the only good that has come of this is the fact that this stain is no longer able to pollute the gene pool.

[egghead1619]

It is truly a sad thing, and I pray for his family. However, I feel that those online who goaded him to end his life should not be held liable for the teen's actions. I highly doubt that if those that commented had known beforehand that the teen would attempt suicide, they would not have made such suggestions. Unfortunately, the anonymity associated with chatting online has in many cases brought out the worst judgment in people. That being said, it was despicable for people to encourage his actions instead of getting him to talk and try to protect him.

If you really are trying to assign blame for this, then you are taking the wrong path. Suicide is not manslaughter, nor is it homicide. Blame is irrelevant in such a case and should not be focused on. Focus on the time you had with the teen, focus on ways to reach out to those in similar situations, and find ways to comfort them.

According to some reports I have read recently, I cannot remember from where, it was stated that the website refused, or some less harsh term, to track down the teen and contact authorities in a timely manner. If your company is informed of something that could endanger a human life, it is my understanding that it is in your best interest to at the very least contact the proper authorities to pass it off to them.

My heart goes out to his family.

~JB

[ckurowic]

I hear you on most points, there is a lot of fake crap on the Internet, who knew he would really do it?

[222ken]

I wonder when the government will form a special branch of justice enforcement specifically for alleged Internet Crimes/Enforcement. Just as the FBI was formed out of neccessity, maybe it's time for a Federal Bureau of Internet Police or a Central Internet Agency.

If you think about how far the internet has come in the last 10 years it makes you wonder about the next 10... the internet is a wonderful thing but managing it is going to be quite a challenge. It won't be free much longer. In the future, a dollar might be added to your taxes for adding a comment like this or 50 cents for sending an email... enjoy it while it lasts. They're probably working on email stamps right now.

[myles taylor]

I don't think it will ever cost outright. It's just like TV; we pay for it with ads and other things. We'll have to pay for bandwidth perhaps (like minutes on a cell phone), but we don't have to pay per comment or per click. Won't ever happen. It's not the nature of the web and it's not the direction it's evolving in.

[ckurowic]

This is such BS. You can't hold anyone responsible but the lame fool who killed himself! The Internet is all about free speech, so now we're going to try and prosecute those who speak their mind? BULLSH**. The parents are blaming everyone but themselves.

[Renegade Knight]

I doubt the parents would have goaded him. I also doubt you would make a better parent than they. You will have plenty enough of your own flaws. If you are a parent you already know this. If not, you will soon enough.

[sobishop]

Renegade, you don't have to be a perfect parent to be a good parent. You just need to be responsible for their actions.

[Michichael]

Well you might want to note that he had faked a suicide on the same broadcasting site months earlier. I feel no pity whatsoever in this situation - it's the boy that cried wolf. Further, while I'll admit it's disturbing and disgusting that people took pleasure in watching this, there are others that tried to dissuade and help him.

Personally, I write it off as natural selection at work.

[ferretboy88]

I still can't believe a liberal blamed it on Bush.

[myles taylor]

That was kind of funny. Whatever anyone's faults, you can't blame everything on them. It's funny to see people just blame every problem on one person or thing. I guess it makes them feel like life is easier for them.

[Brent212]

It might be easy to blame the parents, but it's even easier to blame the president. Ha ha, hey I have a hair in my coffee... f**king Bush!

[jtklein]

The web has just made it very easy for everyone to get their 15 minutes of fame. However twisted or sad, that`s what he wanted and that`s what he got.
And it`s nobodys "fault"

[tcr071]

There is only one person who is at fault in this. That person is dead. He committed suicide.

[tsinger254]

While the actions of those goading the teenager to "do it" are certainly reprehensible, the real person responsbile for the suicide is the teenager himself. Blaming everyone/everything else is scapegoating.

[gecko21]

I believe that this would fall under nonfeasance: you don't have a duty-at common law-to protect another. Simply stated, he was old enough to take responsibility for his actions, and there is no duty to protect against the danger of another that you have not created. As harsh as this sounds, it is to protect you.

Example: You see someone drowning in a lake. You swim out to save him, but get a cramp and drown yourself. The law doesn't force a duty on you to save a person for that very reason, and I believe it would work in this situation.

The only exception to nonfeasance is if a special relationship was created between the actors. In this case, it would be difficult to argue that as a result of the online comments during his broadcast, a special relationship was created. No one promised to take care of him, nor hinted at any care.

It's really an awful thing that this guy decided to take his own life, and it's sick people goaded him on. But liability has to be cut off somewhere, and someone half a world away provoking him should not, and will not, be held responsible. This isn't a question of fault, it is a question of whether there is a duty to protect or not.

[myles taylor]

It's really terrible that people did that, and if it starts happening a lot, I would definitely start to hold people liable. Yes, you can give someone a nudge in the wrong direction. There should be safeguards for this.

[Dalkorian]

Oh give me a freaking break. This loser did the world a favor and removed a pathetic little stain from the human gene pool. Nothing more. After reading idiotic comments like yours, I'm starting to think the people goading him on were heros. We don't have to worry about any stupid self absorbed panty wastes coming from this imbecile!

[myles taylor]

Dalkorian, I hope that if you are ever in a position where life feels hopeless that someone is there for you to prop you up and tell you to keep holding on. Every 16 minutes there is a suicide in the US; that is 90 people a day. As someone who has dealt with depression, I know where people like this are coming from.

Cleaning up the gene pool? Isn't that what Hitler was trying to do?

[renGek]

Anyone who sets up a webcam to kill themselves obviously have some premeditated knowledge of what they intend to do and they are carrying it out. You can put up all the barriers you want but if a person intends to kill themselves they are going to find a way to do it. He was obviously really troubled and for some reason needed a lot of attention. Just because someone says go ahead and do it should not be held accountable. If you tell someone to go jump off a bridge and they actually do it, I don't think anyone should be hauled off to jail. Thats insane. Its sad when people commit suicide but you know what, they are selfish. They are not thinking about the people closest to them and the effects on them. Even when approaching death they are still thinking of themselves only. And lets face it, teens think the universe revolves around them and that their problems are the most severe and tragic. So, sorry I don't have too much sympathy for those individuals.

[etnav382]

You know he had tried many times before, I actually went to the website and read his post he didnt even think it would work this time.