Additional update on Byrnedale Assault story…
For those of you who were following the story after my earlier post on it, in December I received an e-mail pointing out that the Toledo Journal has an additional story about two of the young men who stated they were being falsely accused of being involved in the assault. According to the Journal:
Magistrate William Hutcheson dismissed the charges for lack of witnesses to testify against the two youths. Lori Olender, supervising prosecutor for the Juvenile Court Division, chose not to prosecute because of unreliability of witnesses, all of whom were students.
”The witnesses’ stories changed, interestingly enough,” Ms. Olender said. ”After further interviews, they recanted their stories.”
Unfortunately for the two boys while the charges were dismissed, TPS is not removing the disciplinary action taken against them that was based on testimony of some of the same students who changed their stories when this came before the Juvenile Court.
Brian Murphy, TPS director of Pupil Placement Services, noted that the youths went through the expulsion appeals process. The school district cannot unilaterally expunge the expulsions because of a court decision, he said.
”Due process has been exhausted,” Mr. Murphy said.
It seems a bit contradictory for it to be stated that due process was exhausted when confirmed evidence exists that some of the information TPS based their decision on has been demonstrated to be questionable. It sounds as if at least one of the parents is going to continue to push the issue, which is understandable since both boys were involved in the Young Scholars program, and this situation could cost them their ability to earn a scholarship to Ohio State University since part of the requirement is a B average, and an overall grade point average of at least 3.0. That seems a bit heavy of a consequence for something that they have been found to not have been guilty of.
It would seem in the hierarchy of things that a legal proceedings would take precedence over a school investigation. I would be suing TPS into bankruptcy if I were the parents of the children whose future may be ruined by this. Several million dollars would give the kids a cushy future if they can not get law degrees because of this. I would also take the “students” to court who caused this furor, and see if I could get some recompense from their parents.
January 24th, 2009 at 9:46 pmThis is typical. Kids are regularly railroaded without adequate due process at TPS.
Schools are supposed to prepare children for the world and that includes living in a democratic republic. It would seem most appropriate to use the discipline system as another lesson in life. Due process as accorded in our constitution and the laws of our land should be in full use in TPS.
TPS’ discipline system focuses on punishment and not behavior modification.
I continue to believe that as long as the individual case is under appeal, and that includes the courts, the individual should not be serving a suspension or expulsion. The courts have now said there is inadequate evidence and therefore not guilty. Yet both of these boys have served their sentence before the appeals were exhausted. Now they are in jeopardy of failing and TPS won’t expunge their record.
What lessons did these young people learn?
January 25th, 2009 at 9:44 amThe lesson I would learn is that there is no justice in the TPS system for students.
January 25th, 2009 at 11:04 amAll that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke
Why we would wait silent as these children suffer….it is beyond the pale.
What can be done to correct this?
January 26th, 2009 at 1:13 amThat is a sucky thing for TPS to do to those boys.
I hope the parents are successful in getting the disciplinary action reversed. I don’t know if I would support suing the school, because it really doesn’t hurt the actual people who made the decision, but it hurts every student in the district.
January 27th, 2009 at 2:06 pmI’d have turned this over to our legal retainer by now for action against the school.
But then that’s a difference isn’t it? Or a coincidence that these things are happening in neighborhoods where many of the families do not have full time legal representation.
January 27th, 2009 at 2:23 pm