In the wake of the Massachusetts suicide of Phoebe Prince, New York criminal defense attorneys are dealing with a cyberbullying suicide in their very own back yard. And for New York criminal defense lawyers, "computer crimes" might be an area of law gaining fast prominence ever since Phoebe Prince's suicide made national headlines.
Alexis Pilkington, 17, of West Islip, apparently committed suicide on March 21. The police department in Suffolk County is now investigating the case, determining whether Alexis Pilkington was another Phoebe Prince-- driven to suicide after incessant taunting.
At this stage, police are looking into Formspring.me, a social networking website, to determine if cyberbullying was a factor in her suicide. According to news sources, Alexis received harassing messages through the website.
But even in death, Pilkington was the target of online "trolls", a word commonly used to denote people who post derogatory comments online. Phoebe Prince suffered the same fate, with hateful messages appearing on her Facebook memorial site after her death.
Here's the problem with trolling, however. It's not necessarily illegal. While some online comments may cross the line and be incredibly offensive, cases of trolling could be incredibly difficult to prosecute for several reasons.
For starters, a "troll" could be very hard to track down. In light of anonymous comments, the culprit could be trolling from any location in the world. Secondly, there needs to be something tangibly illegal about the act. Defamation is not necessarily illegal. While it is a tort, it is typically not a criminal act in the United States. Pushing someone into suicide, however, might raise some concern.
To date, no real cyberbullying laws exist to adequately address the issue, which essentially makes the task of understanding the legal framework that much more difficult for New York criminal defense attorneys. Currently, the National Conference of State Legislatures state that New York does not have a law which would make cyberbullying a crime, despite the fact that a bill has been proposed to harshen penalties for online hazing. Federal law is in the same limbo, whereby legislation has been proposed to punish those who engage in severe cyberbullying, which would essentially be defined as repeated, hostile and severe communication made with an intent to harm.
Related Resources
- Cyberbullying: A Rundown of Cyberbullying Laws (FindLaw's Law & Daily Life Blog)
- Teens Charged in Phoebe Prince Suicide (The New York Criminal Law Blog)
- Find New York Criminal Defense Lawyers (FindLaw)
ShareThis
