Dramatic scenes as Phoebe Prince's mother addresses the court

djones6 has a point. I don't know whether the total amount of community service is that crucial, but if they had added a large amount of time being forced to speak against bullying it might have had some positive outcome. Of course, that raises the question of how sincere they could or would be?

Our society's fixation with 'winners' and 'losers' creates these monsters. Who is a winner? Jocks, of course, and their hangers-on, or bullies, who separate themselves from the 'losers' by bullying them, thus creating 'losers.' Who is a loser? Anyone different. 'Political correctness' is not the strong suit of the bullies. These attitudes saturate our media and entertainments.

100 HOURS!! That's like, less than THREE work weeks! I smell corruption. I wonder what it cost.

I definitely feel the punishment should have been harsher. 100 hours of comomunity service is nothing. I would have opted for 500 hours with at least 200 hours of having to speak at elementary and high schools about how wrong bullying is. That certainly would have more benefits in my view.

Insightful post, DaveWUS. This whole situation is a disgrace. I agree the behavior of these kids seem to reflect their parents' failure to teach them tolerance, compassion for others, and responsibility for their actions. The school officials are to blame for allowing the bullying to take place under their watch. Parents, school officials, and the kids are all at fault. Many are still in denial about their part in the bullying and the fueling of Phoebe's emotional distress which led her to suicide. You won't solve future problems if you don't or won't acknowledge your past mistakes, don't have sincere remorse, don't take responsiblity for your actions, and don't change your behaviors. I'd give just about everyone involved a failing grade.

Here in Massachusetts this is no surprise. South Hadley is a failed industrial town that seems to be populated with parents that raise kids like this. We have many areas in our state that produce "punks"...most come from just West or South of Boston but in the middle of the state around Worcester and Springfield (Hadley is a suburb of Springfield) these struggling working class families sometimes respond to their hard times with hatred and intolerance. The kids learn it and we then have a bunch of "punks" as someone here called this guy. For me the issue is only resolved by looking at the parents that created these messes. American culture is such these days that an individual's struggles are seen as society's fault and they bear no responsibility for the results of their actions. Every time I read about bullying and they interview a parent, it is quite clear where the hate and tolerance for horrible behavior originate. What to do? Hold parents responsible? I'm not sure but just focusing on these poorly raised kids won't begin to solve the problem.

This whole thing is disgraceful and an abomination. I feel so sorry for Mrs. OBrien and her family. So much for the American Justice System! This poor excuse for punishment just gives way to this sort of thing happening again and again.

Absolutely disgraceful. Even when "apologizing" Narey was downplaying her role and, in effect, giving the typical "I'm sorry if anybody was offended by my actions..." non-apology apology. So she was tearfully expressing regret for being "unkind?" She also expressed "regret" for laughing at Phoebe in the hallway. Really? And how the heck does the punk get out of statutory rape? Mulveyhill IS a predator and he will do it again, especially now that he's been given a slap on the wrist. Cowardly, incompetent prosecutors. Pathetic.

How long until they hurt someone elses kid? we already understand that they will recieve no rehabilitation in SH, so it will only be a matter of time. In fact if Sean used drugs to incapacitate Phoebe so he could get what he wanted it could be a sign of a much bigger problem. Makes you wonder what the football team is up too. These girls still like him after all this, what a bunch of losers.