Twitter. Social Media Use. Instagram Online.
Fast paced, fun, useful, and interesting, however, social media use—when done outside of the bounds of the law—can land you into trouble. A 17-year old teen in Philadelphia discovered this the hard way, as he faces criminal prosecution.
The suspect, Nasheen Anderson, was arrested at school on Tuesday, allegedly because he used Twitter and Instagram to intimidate witnesses. He is accused of posting photos on Twitter of a 2012 attempted-shooting victim who had testified in a homicide case. The suspect allegedly wrote “Expose All Rats” next to postings of police reports of the attempted shooting, according to the Inquirer. And, the police have evidence that Anderson is the person behind an Instagram account (rats215), which posted the identical photos that are found on Twitter.
Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney, Seth Williams, said his office will seek to prosecute Anderson as an adult. ADA Williams said, “the actions of this teenager could have lasting repercussions on untold cases” in a city where witness intimidation has reached near “epidemic levels.” ADA Williams said, “I don’t care how old you are, if you intimidate a witness in this city I’m going to come after you.”
No surprising, Anderson’s mother described her son as a “good kid”, when she was interviewed by the Inquirer.
What are your thoughts? Should kids be tried as adults? is there ever a behavior that would compel you to try a kid as an adult? It seems people get upset about Cyberbullying, so long as it’s not their kid who is the alleged predator. Ironically, when it is your kid, people seem to make excuses for their behavior, and when it is someone else;s kid, we say ‘burn them in hell”. What are your thoughts?
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