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Comment by jack-r-abbit | Hacker News Reader

Why do they just gloss over the location of this "experiment"? Was it in the science lab? doesn't sound like it. Was it out in the school yard? sounds like it. Was it being supervised by a teacher? nope. Was it assigned by a teacher? doesn't sound like it. I think context matters. I can think a few bad things to do that could simply be labeled as an "experiment" when you get caught.

I hate that we have two such extremes. On one end we have this hyper-militant, zero tolerance agenda that turns every little thing into a felony (kindergartners getting kicked out for gun shaped finger pointing). On the other side we have hyper sensitive, rights agenda that wants to let little billy express his creativity even if that means a few bottle bombs go off on school grounds once in a while.

Is this girl a felon? hell no. what a stupid over reaction. But let's not pretend she didn't do anything wrong.

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The only result of you "not pretending she didn't do anything wrong" is she becoming a felon.

You never support wrongful accusation on the matters that the person accused is guilty of "something". That's what gets the person pronounced guilty and now you share this sin and is going to rot in hell and everybody loses: you, the society, the wrongfully accused.

I said the felony was an overreaction. Your statement really confuses me. Are you saying there is only two outcomes: 1) she suffers 0 punishment or 2) she is a felon

Surely there is something in the middle.

No there isn't unfortunately. Courts do not work that way. They either let you go or you suffer fixed punishment not necessarily related to severity of your crime. That's what killed Socrates.

Fixed punishment is tied to the level of crime you are convicted of. There are many levels of "crime" that this could fall into. I don't think it has to be felony or nothing.

These days of zero-tolerance (that is, most days on the planet except mid-twentieth century) it is too easy to just go with the flow and convict of whatever is brought to the eyes of justice. You need luck, good lawyer or both to get fair treatment, especially if the public thinks you're guilty of "something".

Well, the answer to zero tolerance is not "ALL tolerance". If those are my only choices and I am absolutely forced to pick one of those two sides, then I'm going to go with the side that doesn't foster an environment of "do as you please... we'll tolerate anything". That is a pretty slippery slope to get on. We have to have some amount of rules and punishment.

Well then, you are wrong and you are going to rot in hell for that sin as I told.

well that escalated quickly. sheesh.

that's why you don't bring it before the court system...a severe scolding and a couple weeks of detention would have probably been sufficient

>That's what killed Socrates.

I was always assumed it was the hemlock, personally.

She tried a fairly-safe experiment in an out-of-way place on school grounds. She's 16 years old, so old enough that she can do an experiment like this fairly safely, out of the way makes sense. What exactly did she do wrong? Was it her presumption that the school is a place for curiosity.

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