
Florida Teen Charged With Felony After Science Experiment Goes Bad - comex
http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2013/04/florida_teen_girl_charged_with.php
======
ck2
Expulsion? Seriously? I am grasping at straws here but since it's Florida is
it possible she is "the wrong color" ? Would another kid just get a suspension
at best? Horrible to be thinking that way.

Did she have prior issues? If there were prior issues with
warnings/suspensions, yeah I could see expulsion. If first time ever in
trouble, there is something else going on here. _perfect behavior record_
seems to suggest no priors.

 _added: apparently this is an institutionalized system she was just shoved
into, please read the link in this comment:_
<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5636788>

~~~
jstrate
Immediately citing racism as the reason for her punishment isn't grasping at
straws, it's ignorant.

Did you read the part where she was creating _explosives_ on school property?
Especially within two weeks of a major bombing involving household materials!?

~~~
MikeAmelung
Ignorant? You're going to say someone else is ignorant while comparing some
mild gas expansion in a closed bottle to devices designed to maim and kill.
It's almost like, why am I even writing this comment...

~~~
UnoriginalGuy
Technically the "device designed to maim and kill" also had a gas expansion
inside of a closed vessel.

I am just making this post to point out that what she was doing COULD have
been dangerous or fatal, it just wasn't.

Fortunately plastic containers will fail long before the buildup of pressure
becomes too powerful. But in general, that kind of explosion does and can
kill.

~~~
pessimizer
So does a shaken up bottle of champagne. COULD that be dangerous or fatal?
Story at 11.

~~~
jstrate
The intent of opening and consuming a champagne bottle is different from the
intent of mixing explosive chemicals in a sealed chamber, at a public school.
I imagine if a child brought a champagne bottle to a school cafeteria, shook
it up and threw it there would be significant consequences as well. Regardless
of race.

------
Vivtek
"She made a bad choice."

Jesus. No, this _interested student_ made what, to any scientist in the
history of the world, would have to be considered a _good choice_ \- mix some
stuff and see what happens, outdoors and well away from anybody.

This is the new American culture of fear. It's what will ruin America - is
already doing so.

~~~
pekk
Bad as this is for the girl, it's dramatic overexaggeration to say that this
is "ruining America." If anything actually ruins America it would be economic
depression, major war decimating generations, internal strife or massive crime
waves, installation of a dictator, pandemics, etc. And if you think kids were
not being subjected to intensely unfair suppression in the 30s then you may be
a bit naive.

~~~
tomjen3
No, those things won't destroy America as all of those examples can be worked
around and America can be rebuild.

But the people who have to rebuild her are people like the girl here - and
without those people there may be a bunch of buildings in the geographical
area that was once North America, but it will not be worthy of America.

~~~
maxmcd
Most of the things mentioned are things that have destroyed large and
established civilizations in the past. It seems unwisely dismissive to just
say the United States could just "rebuild" from one of those things. Keep in
mind he/she doesn't specifically mention that any of those things are
currently happening in the United States.

~~~
tomjen3
Yeah but those places weren't America, they were just a place.

America is special, because it was founded by people who wanted to be free,
not founded by some warlords who wanted to rule over others. There is a France
today because some people conquered and area and set themself up to rule.
Should France be destroyed, then that will be the end of it.

Should America be destroyed, even to the point where the land that is America
is just radioactive wasteland, then it can be refounded anywhere else: the
Russian steppes, the island of Malta, the moon. All that are required is the
idea of freedom.

But ideas can and will die if they are not nurtured by people who believe in
them. This girl could have grown up to strengthen America, but now she will
instead learn that thinking is dangerous, that curiosity should be oppressed,
that blind obedience is the only thing that will keep you safe, that questions
are treason.

And that can destroy America.

~~~
rdouble
_America is special, because it was founded by people who wanted to be free,
not founded by some warlords who wanted to rule over others_

America was founded by people who wanted to be free, including the freedom to
rule over the others they kept as slaves.

~~~
Vivtek
Well, yeah, in Version 1.0, but we included a change request process, too.

------
dredmorbius
Several decades ago, in a Galaxy not very far away, a high school student
mentioned to his friend that he had an M-80 he'd stashed in his locker for a
while, and it was time to do something with it.

The firework was lit and tossed into one of the steel barrels used as garbage
containers on campus. The two walked down the hall, noted the several seconds
of absolute silence which settled over campus following the blast, and walked
into the classroom of a teacher they both had, which was generally open during
lunch. The teacher looked at both of them, shook his head and said,
"Gentlemen..." with a slight smile.

One of the students retyped spirit copier forms (this _was_ several decades
ago) for a teacher following lunch. The typewriter used sat in the vestibule
to the principle's office. He listened that hour while the yard patrol
supervisor and secretary discussed "the bomb" which had gone off, as the faint
smell of burned garbage wafted through the building. That day's work had more
than the usual share of errors.

Nothing more ever came of it.

My, how the world has changed.

~~~
bobsy
So... a few friends and I were discussing what would happen if we lit the gas
tap in the science lab. We were 11-12 and I think I had just seen an episode
of Bottom with a lit gas pipe. We were strangely unattended in a science lab
that day.

I turned on the tap and a friend lit it. Queue a rather cool jet of flame in
the middle of the room. Teacher I guess saw the glow coming from the room.
Turned it off.

Received bollocking like none other and a 2 day suspension to underline the
seriousness of this.

Notably we were not accused of either arson or trying to blow up the school.
Youthful - unacceptable - misadventure.

As usual there aren't any facts on what this girl was doing. On the surface
though it seems expulsion and criminal action is way over the top.

~~~
timthorn
Does no one blow into a gas tap to extinguish all the lit bunsens in the lab
these days?

~~~
nachteilig
A lot of school labs only stock hot plates these days ;o(

------
alan_cx
To me, she is almost the perfect kid. She is curious, proactive and
resourceful. What more could she be?

I really, really hate to conclude this, let alone say so in public, but I
think the answer to my question is: "white".

If she were my student, I'd have her back after school, under decent
supervision, to see what else she want to blow up, or to put it the proper
way, experimental with. Hell, use it to kick of the most inspirational after
school chemistry club ever.

Man, what are these people thinking? So sad, a child's natural curiosity
becomes criminal. That should never ever happen.

Reminds me of child hackers who end up in the clutches of the law. The whole
thing is perverse and absurd.

~~~
kabdib
Yup. "Sorry, but we're going to have to punish you by having you stay after
school. In the lab. While you help us make highly exothermic reactions.
Safely. For science."

:-)

------
DanBC
Using police and criminal courts to enforce school rules is a well known
problem in the US. It destroys lives and seems to be doing nothing to improve
behaviour.

Calling it a 'science experiment gone wrong' is perhaps a bit disingenuous.
Had she written down anything about methodology or expected results or any
'chemistry words' at all? Or had she just seen something on YouTube and
decided to have a go? Still, this kind of youthful experimentation should be
guided into safer forms, and not crushed under the boots of law enforcement.

~~~
UnoriginalGuy
I was really shocked to learn that most US secondary schools ("K12") have a
police officer in them and if you get into trouble the police officer will
literally come and "arrest" you.

I don't even know where to start pointing out what is wrong with THAT...

~~~
krichman
School is meant to prepare them for adulthood and the odds that an American
will go to prison are relatively high.

~~~
ams6110
Not really.

~~~
DanBC
> the odds that an American will go to prison are relatively high.

([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_incarceration_ra...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_incarceration_rate))

That "relatively" is important.

(In 2009)

    
    
        US:     743 per 100,000 
        Russia: 577 per 100,000
        China:  120 per 100,000
        Canada: 117 per 100,000
    
    

Compared to other countries the chances of an American going to prison are
higher, even though the chances overall are quite low.

------
psutor
This EXACT same thing happened to me. I had some liquid Nitrogen for a science
experiment at school, put it in a 20oz Coke bottle. Of course that's not
something you do without knowing mostly what will happen, as I suspect was
also the case with this girl. I took it to the bathroom (somewhere with no
objects or people to damage) and it exploded, making a bit of noise.

I was expelled and charged with the same sorts of felony charges -
constructing a bomb, detonating a bomb at a school, etc. With a small bit of
lawyering the charges were reduced to one count of misdemeanor disorderly
conduct for making a loud noise. For that I was able to get "diversion" (like
a lighter form of probation for juveniles), just some community service and
drug testing, and could have my record sealed at 18. I was not, however, able
to successfully appeal my expulsion.

I hope that this girl will be able to get a similar outcome and not end up as
a felon because of this silliness.

This was in the middle of my 10th grade year. My next two and a half years
doing home schooling and at the only private school in the city that would
take me were terrific, I am very glad my life took a turn the way it did.

~~~
rossjudson
It's great that your parents had money for "lawyering" and "private school"!
It would have sucked otherwise, no?

~~~
psutor
Yep, it used up most of what they had set aside for college though, which
contributed in large part to my not finishing college, but that is something I
am also glad turned out the way it did.

------
rikacomet
Ok, what she did was something stupid, but remember, how many times good
scientists have failed like this, this is actually thinking out of the box, no
one was in the vicinity, she was clearly not using this to hurt anyone, the
intention was clear here, a OUT-OF-BOX experiment, she was sure no one would
give her the go, since it might have been as per her judgement, on the line of
safety. So what? if it went bad? If it had went good, you all be calling her a
genius or something! Expulsion from the school? This is ridiculous! At max
suspend her for a week, so she thinks it through, her parents should sue this
school, if nothing, for causing a good kid such trauma, a good student gets
devastated by a expulsion, cause it sticks, on her hard work.

No wonder we asians are talking up the good jobs in America, if this is the
policy for such out-of-box thinking.

If I had done that, ten people would have asked my well being here in India,
and at max, I would have had to pay the cost of destruction, and later, me and
my friends would laugh it off, since its pretty badass.. blown up the roof
pfft!

~~~
seanp2k2
>"No wonder we asians are talking up the good jobs in America, if this is the
policy for such out-of-box thinking." I don't feel that race is relevant here.

~~~
rikacomet
race is not, but educational background is. India & China are producing more
graduates, post graduates, then any other country in the world. This is a
known fact.

~~~
asdashopping
In absolute terms or per capita? They are (by quite a wide margin) the most
populous countries in the world.

~~~
philhippus
Well, India has a millionaire population the same size as the entire United
Kingdom. But that still leaves over a billion in poverty.

------
asynchronous13
Gordon Moore used to mix chemicals and make explosions when he was a boy. He
even lost part of hearing due to his "experiments".

You might know him better as a founder of Intel, or the guy that "Moore's Law"
is named after. If he had grown up in today's society, he'd be a felon and
Intel wouldn't exist.

I worry about what we might be losing when we don't allow children to
experiment.

~~~
nlh
> I worry what we might be losing when we don't allow children to experiment

Totally agreed. I can hear her in my head saying this: "Well that's the last
time I experiment with anything new. I learned my lesson."

And that makes me sad.

------
jerrya
I read this, and if this story is anywhere near accurate, I can only wonder
what the hell is wrong with adults today.

What is wrong with administrators, and what is wrong with prosecutors?

And where are the lawyers working pro-bono to defend her? And where are the
other parents in the school to demand the school do the right thing?

I am appalled and saddened by the crap we force today's youths and young
adults to put up with.

Zero tolerance has to go.

~~~
georgemcbay
"I read this, and if this story is anywhere near accurate, I can only wonder
what the hell is wrong with adults today."

There are likely a number of factors but the worst seems to be that they are
scared to death by the mainstream media on a nearly daily basis. Fear sells.

"Could a couple of common household chemicals kill your family slowly and
painfully if mixed incorrectly by a high school student? Tune in at 11 to find
out."

------
rms
See <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School-to-prison_pipeline>

~~~
ck2
omg that is horrifying - everyone needs to read the wikipedia article linked
above

So many lives ruined before even becoming teenagers.

Where are their lobbyists?

~~~
ljf
Dear lord that is depressing, even more so this article linked to from
wikipedia:<http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2012/August/12-crt-993.html>

Quote:

The department’s investigation showed that the agencies have helped to operate
a school-to-prison pipeline whereby children arrested in local schools become
entangled in a cycle of incarceration without substantive and procedural
protections required by the U.S. Constitution. The department’s findings show
that children in Lauderdale County have been routinely and repeatedly
incarcerated for allegedly committing school disciplinary infractions and are
punished disproportionately, without constitutionally required procedural
safeguards. Children have also been arrested at school for offenses as minor
as defiance. Furthermore, children on probation are routinely arrested and
incarcerated for allegedly violating their probation by committing minor
school infractions, such as dress code violations, which result in
suspensions. The department’s investigation showed that students most affected
by this system are African-American children and children with disabilities.

------
dangrossman
Another source:
[http://www.wtsp.com/news/topstories/article/312750/250/Stude...](http://www.wtsp.com/news/topstories/article/312750/250/Student-
accused-of-setting-off-explosion-on-campus)

According to this report, she brought the bottles of chemicals from home to
the school at 7AM (likely before first classes), where she mixed them and
caused the explosion. Not quite the same as mixing the wrong vials in chem lab
without permission.

~~~
voyou
Yes, if anything the fact that she brought the chemicals from home makes the
case even less serious - chemicals brought from home aren't all that likely to
be dangerous, whereas chemistry labs can have some unpleasant chemicals in
them.

~~~
Filligree
Do you have bleach in your cupboard? Maybe ammonia? :-)

To be fair, most children are told very early never to mix those.

------
Lewton
She will be tried as an adult? That's ridiculous, even if she was being
intentionally malicious (Which I don't really believe). How do they determine
whether to try kids as adults in america?

~~~
EllaMentry
If the statistics are to be believed race and gender and age,
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_as_an_adult#Demographics>

~~~
nraynaud
on a totally off-topic note the next paragraph is quite funny:

"Advocates for the abolition of juvenile court Critics of the juvenile court
argue that the definitions of childhood and adolescence that were used to
establish the first juvenile courts in America are no longer equivalent to the
definitions of childhood and adolescence today. These critics state that the
boundary between juvenile and adult is no longer as clear, as children appear
to grow up faster, with more exposure to adult ideas, and as adults more often
engage in juvenile behaviors and activities."

That's quite a charge against 21yo drinking limit, but I don't imagine the
same person using the same arguments in both contexts...

~~~
adrr
Drinking age, handgun ownership age, age of consent,cigarette smoking age have
all moved up to either 18 or 21.

~~~
__del__
As has the age for working in the mines.

------
rada
In this report from 2008, black students in Florida were two and a half times
more likely to be arrested, referred to court, and waived to adult courts:

[http://www.iamforkids.org/wp-
content/uploads/2012/09/Promise...](http://www.iamforkids.org/wp-
content/uploads/2012/09/Promise-5-Reports.pdf)

In particular, black Florida youth were almost twice as likely to be referred
to adult courts as white youth.

I knew about DWB (driving while black) but apparently, LWB (learning while
black) is a "thing" too:

[http://www.time.com/time/education/article/0,8599,238611,00....](http://www.time.com/time/education/article/0,8599,238611,00.html)

Quote:

 _A study [...] reports that black students, although they made up just 30% of
the population of Miami-Dade County public schools in 2000-01, accounted for
half the school arrests in that district._

------
tragomaskhalos
Nothing says "victory for terrorism" more eloquently that this disgraceful
overreaction, triggered by fear and hysteria.

~~~
pekk
Such overreactions also occurred in the 80s and 90s.

------
keeran
This is ridiculous! At our school we were over enthusiastic with a thermite
experiment that burnt through the workbench, the floor and into the room below
- with no consequences for anyone involved (though the teacher probably never
ran that experiment again).

I expect I would have been charged with WMD possession in the States?

Sickening.

~~~
rollo_tommasi
Only if you're poor and/or black. If you're able to attend private school, or
a public school in an affluent district, you'd be fine. The rules are applied
very differently depending on what social class you belong to.

------
riveteye
I know exactly the kind of mindset it takes to do 'experiments' like this:
Clever, mischievous, inquisitive, questioning, maybe even a little defiant but
not malicious. Never malicious. Authorities don't understand that knowledge
and experience isn't inherently evil. If you want to prevent events like what
happened in Boston, you can't do it through the policing and control of
knowledge. It's impossible! I'm a girl like this girl, I had a perfect record
in high school, but still (to this day!) enjoy learning about how the universe
works through explosions and experiments and hands on demonstrations of half-
formed understandings, because it's the best way to learn! Doing this kind of
thing at school was probably a bad call. But hell, I made dry ice bombs in the
football field with my physics club in 2001, and it was seriously the most fun
I ever had on school property. I get this fear sometimes, a fear I call
'afraid-to-science', when I'm doing something really interesting but that
could be potentially dangerous, I feel it even when I've taken all possible
safety precautions, even when I know my rights, because we are all criminals
sometimes if portrayed in the wrong light. If the powers-that-be decide to
shine the wrong spotlight on you. Just like this girl is getting the full
brunt of now...Anyway. I would also be interested in contributing to a defense
fund for Kiera Wilmot. Always be learning, girl. Learning is the most
worthwhile thing you can do, never stop.

------
anon1685
Even if the girl practiced poor judgement, it's obvious she was not malicious.
it's remarkable how the US has become completely intolerant to people making
mistakes.

So according to the article we have a girl with good grades and behavior doing
something stupid which did not cause any damage or hurt anyone. Her punishment
for this is expulsion and trial as adult?

~~~
katherineparker
Agree. I guess they (the school) really fear that this could be a repetitive
trend and they want to crush it by throwing the expulsion in for her. It is
unfortunate because - like you said - she doesn't seem malicious.

------
United857
So... what were the chemicals involved? Article is very vague.

Some stuff is obviously more dangerous than others.

~~~
Luyt
I think putting baking soda and vinegar into a bottle and then closing it.
Coke and menthos is also a possibility, but the article speaks about
'household chemicals', not candy and fizzy drink...

~~~
alan_cx
A sensationalist tabloid in the UK might well call candy ( sweets UK) and
fizzy drinks "house hold chemicals" to ramp up the "evil" factor.

Frankly I am please to see the word "terror" hasn't been weaved in just yet.

------
tlrobinson
For my high school physics group project we built a 20 foot air compressor
powered potato cannon. We got a few good shots off across the football field
before one of the joints failed spectacularly. Fortunately no one was injured,
aside from some temporary hearing loss.

I have no idea why they let us do that, and I'm pretty sure we got an A, but
this is absurdly on the other end of possible reactions.

------
rohitkhare
Is there a "defense fund" to contribute to? Any other constructive actions to
suggest?

~~~
alan_cx
Cant some science favouring educational establishment give her a scholarship?

------
venomsnake
First rule of organic chemistry - if you mix something organic with enough
nitric acid in the presence of enough sulphuric acid to use as a catalyst
chances of getting something that can blow up in your hands are high.

And it is something not worthy of felony charge. The message that is sent is
terrible.

------
pvnick
When I was in middle school, I had a few science teachers who would actually
show us how to make bombs during experiments. We made and set off a few dry
ice bombs, and at one point we were mixing chemicals and our teacher said
"watch this" and proceeded to mix something with something else which set off
an explosion similar to a shotgun blast, shattering the test tube holding the
mixture - much to the excitement of us students. What a great way to
demonstrate the laws of thermodynamics! I am now in college studying
biochemistry, in part because of the lessons I learned early on that science
can be fun.

The paranoia that is gripping this country is absurd and intellectually
stifling. The reaction to this student's behavior should be guided
encouragement, not knee-jerk punishment.

------
jcampbell1
This is sad. In my youth, I bursted hundreds of soda bottles. It is amazing
how much noise it makes (similar to a shotgun), but it is harmless. Sometimes
I would explode them with toilet bowl cleaner and foil, but my all time
favorite was exploding one at the dinner table. I was trying to make seltzer
with dry ice and water. My parents were not amused, but thank god I didn't try
that at school.

------
rdouble
It sounds like a drano bomb:
<http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/bottlebomb.asp>

~~~
droithomme
That's definitely what it was from the description - household chemicals in a
plastic bottle that went boom and gave off smoke.

This guy here makes a very good argument that it is a reaction and not an
explosion under ATF guidelines defining how strong something has to be to be
an explosion:

[http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110928103240AA...](http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110928103240AA0tCGj)

He also notes that 2Al + 3H2SO4 -> 3H2 + Al2(SO4)3 is not on the prohibited
list of reactions that are federally impermissible without a license.

------
adventured
In response to mob / crowd politics and mentality (heavily driven by the tort
problems, fear of lawsuits), America has become a lazy nation that does what's
expedient to shut the most people up and 'resolve' a situation. That by
default tends to drift toward harsh penalties, since the draconian level of
the punishment favors what the squeakiest wheel in the mob wants.

If you want to fix the drift toward criminalization of trivial things, get
some heavy momentum going on tort reform. Sooner the better.

------
wahsd
Wow! Just, wow! I have to agree that there is quite a good likelihood that
this is only a felony ... to be tried as an adult ... let that sink in for a
second or two ... because she is black. We all know it. And I say that as a
very fortunate, white, male that realizes how the world works. It's sad, sad
and pathetic, and sadistic; as our society it dominated by sadistic values.

------
ars
For some reason I just don't believe the article as written. I suspect she
took the chemicals without any permission, and the "experiment" was more in
line with "oooo, chemicals, lets mix them together randomly".

~~~
spamizbad
If the part about the good grades and perfect record are true: Why would a
student in good standing do something like that maliciously? It doesn't fit
the "profile" of a good student.

~~~
illuminate
Fireworks are simultaneously "malicious" and "awe-inspiring".

Similarly, drano bombs are "dangerous" and "exciting".

------
01Michael10
No priors, no known intent to actually blow something up, and no one was hurt.
This can't be handled in school and not require the police and courts?

The school to prison pipeline continues...

------
dccoolgai
Can we start a Hacker News Scholarship Fund for her or something? I'm in for a
couple hundred $...

------
charonn0
Why are these school administrators even drawing a salary if they cannot or
will not exercise their judgment in carrying out their duties?

------
nnq
> She will be tried as an adult.

I don't know much about US law, but how tf could this be even possible?!

------
klintcho
When i went to 8th grade (in Sweden) we did an experiment in chemistry class
where we would put a tiny bit of Sodium into a bowl of water to see it fizzle
about (reacting with the water), all students where allowed to carry out this
on our own. However a group of student (unaware of the possible consequences)
took a chunk of sodium and put it in the water, violent reaction of course
which left mark in the ceiling and glass everywhere. Nothing came out of this
other than quite a long talk about dangers in chemistry and so on.

------
eridius
This seems like a textbook case of why zero-tolerance rules are terrible.

------
bproctor
I don't think there is enough information in this article to be making
judgement calls.

------
michaelfeathers
Is there any organization that advocates for the repeal of zero tolerance
policies in schools?

This has been going on for a long time and it is ridiculous.

------
cantankerous
So much for criminal intent. I mixed all kinds of crap together to see what
would happen when I was a kid. Glad I didn't grow up here!

------
squozzer
All children must be broken. Especially the smart and ambitious ones.

------
pasbesoin
I'm developing "zero tolerance" for the morons infesting and increasingly
apparently driving the decisions of our society.

------
smiddereens
If you're making anything but meth in Florida you must be punished.

------
dccoolgai
This is insane... anyone have links to petitions or anything like that? I feel
like I should do something...

------
dromidas
This sounds like the toiletbowl cleaner + aluminum foil in a sealed 20 oz or
2liter bottle "experiments" I would do as a kid. I blew up a lot of bottles
back then lol, it was so much fun. But quite toxic to breathe, so had to
exercise more common sense than a rock.

------
snambi
This is bad. kids are supposed to experiment. If it goes bad, so what? The law
seems to be too dumb here. Her intention is to not kill anyone or damage
anything. Intention is to experiment something. Why would she be expelled and
put in jail for that?

------
primelens
The type of bottle in question can be seen in this video:
[http://www.wtsp.com/news/reporter/article/312878/79/Teen-
gir...](http://www.wtsp.com/news/reporter/article/312878/79/Teen-girl-
arrested-for-science-project-gone-bad)

Words fail me! The top of that flimsy little bottle would pop off if she
filled it with grape juice and shook hard. "Possession of a weapon" indeed!

------
mathattack
Give her a college scholarship. If she were on the football team, they'd sweep
it under the rug.

------
oddshocks
Seems a bit harsh, eh?

------
jongibbins
Only in America ....

~~~
rooshdi
Welcome to the circus my friend.

~~~
solistice
Where we require a constant supply of freaks and side show accidents, of
clowns and strongmen to feed the show of 3rd rate tabloids. And remember, any
circus can only have one director in his impeccable top hat shouting down to
the audience, not more and not less.

------
sonabinu
That is bad justice

------
joemaller1
Obviously, the solution is to ban science.

------
steve19
There must be more to this than what Maimi New Times is reporting. When I was
in school half the kids in science class were constantly scheming on how to
get their hands on chemicals to mix them, heat them and generally be
irresponsible.

Edit: I suspect she stole the chemicals and/or this was a repeat offense.

~~~
joenathan
>Edit: I suspect she stole the chemicals and/or this was a repeat offense.

There are no grounds to suspect such, the article says "Kiera Wilmot got good
grades and had a perfect behavior record.". It's more reasonable to assume
that this reaction is a result of the increased fear that recent bombings and
school shootings have brought about.

~~~
olefoo
My immediate reaction to seeing the multiple occurrences of "She must have
done something to deserve it." in this thread was "Because, Racism!".

But on second thought, it's probably just the reflexive servility of the
average american. The "authorities" charged her with something, so they must
be right.

Bah, I mean, what's one more black girl driven to a life of marginalization
and petty crime because she was too inquisitive; after all. She wasn't the
first, she won't be the last; the system is supposed to divert people like her
into career paths appropriate to her social status; in this case, curiosity
about vinegar and baking soda means that meth cook is her only viable career
choice; because it's not like she could learn enough to be an actual chemist
or anything...

This country is F _CK_ D, if we are wasting the potential intellectual
capacity of our young, like we are here.

~~~
VLM
"if we are wasting the potential intellectual capacity of our young"

What if we have more capacity that we can use? WRT to half of STEM grad not
working in STEM and all that. You don't need a chemist at the local factory
anymore when the factory moves to China.

The other thing is its a balance. Destroy an innocent life, vs the school
administrators saved the school from terrorism, the prosecute saved the public
from terrorism, the profitable prison industrial complex will make money off
her...

