On Sat, 21 Apr 2007 18:48:49 -0400, "Sarah Banick"
wrote:
>>>
>>>You can't deport, or arrest, someone for being weird. As he had not been
>>>"committed" to a mental health institute, there was no legal reason to
>>>deny
>>>him a gun. Despite his completely irrational behavior, no one had seen fit
>>>to followup on or force him to get psychiatric help. To me, this is the
>>>key.
>>>I think we need to pay much more attention to our mental health issues in
>>>this country.
>>>
>>>As Hatunen said, it's easy to predict things with hindsight (or something
>>>like that).
>>
>> It wasn't hindsight his professor and others had complained about him for
>> two
>> years. Why wasn't something done about their complaints?
>>
>>>There are a lot of weird people on college campuses; that's part
>>>of the college experience. "Social norms" are a little looser on campuses,
>>>and strange behavior doesn't make you a criminal. Most people grow out of
>>>it
>>>when they have to face the real world.
>>>
>>
>> Aren't stalking women and taking up skirt photos offences in the USA?
>> Isn't the green card dependant on not breaking the law?
>> --
>>
>> Martin
>>
>
>Two women reported him to the police because of the stalking, but they
>refused to press charges (probably just didn't want to go through the legal
>hassles). So he didn't have a record.
>
>As for "taking up skirt photos," I haven't heard that, I don't think....all
>I've heard is that he was taking pictures without their permission. The
>department head removed him from the class and taught him 1 on 1.
>
>I'm not disagreeing with you, he was obviously looney. But it seems he was
>always on that cusp of legal/illegal, and nobody put the whole collection of
>events together to get the full picture.
Even then, the specifics of what you can actually do about it get
a bit sticky. Stalking won't normally get you jail time at first.
A restraining order might actually work better. or maybe won't
work at all. About all the school could have done is expell him,
and it's not clear that would have prevented the massacre.
Not to mention that persecuting people who you think are looney
might get you a lawsuit.
--
************* DAVE HATUNEN (hatunen@cox.net) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps * |