Kelly Williams-Bolar: Discrimination or Justice?

Kelly Williams-Bolar, 40, was sent to jail for 10 days and placed on probation for 3 years.

Judge Patricia Cosgrove handed down the sentence after Kelley was convicted on two felony counts of tampering with court records. Her crime - sending her two daughters to a better school district than the one in which she lived.

Kelly Williams-Bolar lived in the projects in Akron, Ohio. Her father, Edward L. Williams, lived in nearby Copley Township - a distance of about 7 miles. She registered her two daughters using their grandfather's address so that they could attend the better schools.

The school district became suspicious of the two girls' residence and hired a private detective, at a cost of about $6,000, to determine where they really lived. When the report came out, indicating that the girls did not actually live in the school district, their mother was arrested and brought before the court.

View Larger Map

Edward L. Williams and his daughter Kelly were also charged with a fourth-degree felony of grand theft. They were jointly accused of defrauding the school system for two years of educational services. The court determined the cost at $30,500 in tuition fees.

In handing down the sentence, Judge Patricia Cosgrove, said that her sentence was appropriate ''so that others who think they might defraud the school system perhaps will think twice.''

To add insult to injury, Kelly had been studying to become a teacher, taking night classes at the University of Akron, so that she and her daughters could have a better life. Now that will not happen. That opportunity was forever closed to Kelly with her felony conviction.

''Because of the felony conviction, you will not be allowed to get your teaching degree under Ohio law as it stands today,'' the judge said. ''The court's taking into consideration that is also a punishment that you will have to serve.''

 Although there are obvious differences, back in 1954 the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that in order to achieve racial integration in schools, blacks were bused into white schools where the standard of education was much higher. In many cases federal troops were sent in to protect the black students from harassment.

Kelly Williams-Bolar, was trying to achieve, albeit illegally, her own personal quest to afford her kids a better education. Her quest failed, most spectacularly, and not only did she receive jail time and a felony conviction to boot, but she also sacrificed any chance she had at earning a teaching degree to improve her own personal situation. Was it worth the effort?

On the other hand one has to speculate on the "diligence" with which the Copley Township school district pursued this case in hiring a private detective and prosecuting Kelly Williams-Bolar to the fullest extent of the law. Did they do the right thing?

If you would like to find out more about this situation or lend your support click here and also here.

Bullies and Pranksters

What is the difference between a bully and a prankster? A bully may use or threaten to use physical force to intimidate a victim whereas as a prankster's aim is usually to cause embarrassment or mental anguish to a victim while providing "entertainment" for others. Both are wrong and may lead to unintended consequences. Below are two stories involving one of each.

The Prankster

Dharum RaviTyler Clementi

Tyler Clementi and Dharum Ravi were both 18-year-old freshmen roommates at Rutgers University. One night Tyler asked Dharum if he could use their room until midnight. Dharum agreed and went to visit his friend Molly Wei. But what Tyler did not know was that Dharum had hidden a camera in the room to spy on his roommate.

When Dharum turned on the camera remotely from his friend's room he saw his roommate engaging in sex with another man. He then sent out the following tweet:

‘Roommate asked me for the room till midnight. I went into Molly's room and turned on my web cam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay.’

Tyler Clementi had no idea that what he thought was a private encounter was being recorded by his roommate. So two days later Tyler again asked his roommate if he could use the room. Dharum again agreed but this time he alerted his Twitter followers with the message:

hey, it's going to happen again. Tune in.

This time Dharum streamed the live video of the two men having sex. When Tyler found out that he had been videotaped he posted the following entry on his Facebook account:

“Jumping off the GW bridge sorry.”

And that is exactly what he did. On Sept. 22 2010, three days after being videotaped, Tyler Clementi committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge.

Dharum Ravi and his friend Molly Wei have been arrested and face charges related to the death of Tyler Clementi. Dharum is currently free on $25,000 bail. They both face 5 years in prison if convicted.

Dharum and Molly

The Bullies

Tyler Wilson

Next is the story of an 11-year-old boy named Tyler Wilson who attends Glenwood Middle School in Ohio. Tyler was attacked by bullies in his school and suffered a broken arm. Tyler had a dream which some of his classmates teased him about and some took it much further resulting in his injury. Tyler says this attack will not deter him from doing what he wants to do. Tyler wants to be a cheerleader.

Studies show that 1 in 3 Middle and High school students are the victims of bullying. Tyler Wilson put it this way:

"It feels horrible that they can't accept me for who I am.....It's my choice. If I want to be a cheerleader, I'm going to be a cheerleader."

Follow me on Twitter

"Pinky" Found Guilty

"Pinky" the 13-year-old Newburgh boy accused of manslaughter in the stabbing death of 17-year-old Levi King Flores was found guilty by Orange County Family Court Judge Andrew Bivona. He had been charged as a juvenile with:

• 1 Count Second-Degree Manslaughter (felony) 
  
• 3 Counts of Second-Degree Assault (felonies)
  
• 1 Count of Fourth-Degree Misdemeanor Criminal Possession of a Weapon.

At the time of his arrest "Pinky" had been charged as an adult with second-degree murder. Later a grand jury, finding there was insufficient evidence to support that charge, opted instead to charge him as a juvenile with the lesser offense of second-degree manslaughter. 

The trial began on Feb. 3, 2010 in Goshen, NY. The prosecution introduced as evidence - a videotaped interview with the boy, the knife used in the killing and DNA evidence - all of which was deemed inadmissible because the police failed to follow proper procedures.

The trial did however continue with two witnesses, a 12-year-old and a 13-year-old boy, who were allowed to testify. They told the court of the events leading up to the street fight resulting in the death of 17-year-old Levi King Flores.

The prosecution wrapped up its case against "Pinky" on Wed. Feb. 17. The defense declined to present any witnesses - not even "Pinky" himself - and requested that the charges be dismissed. The judge, Andrew Bivona, did no such thing.

Without so much as taking a break, Judge Andrew Bivona of Orange County Family Court declared the 13-year-old boy guilty.

After the verdict the family of the slain 17-year-old Levi King Flores went into consultation with the prosecutors.

13-year-old "Pinky" faces possible incarceration until he is 18. His family left the court without any comment.

Follow me on Twitter

The "Pinky" Trial Continues

On trial at Orange County Family Court in Goshen, NY, is the 13-year-old boy known as "Pinky". He has been charged in the stabbing death of 17-year-old Levi King Flores on Jan. 13, 2010 in Newburgh NY. The trial began on Feb. 3 with police statements that the 13-year-old "Pinky" had assisted them in recovering the knife used in the attack. See the details here.

The prosecution suffered a setback when Family Court Judge Andrew Bivona threw out much of the evidence, including the statements made by "Pinky" when he was questioned by the police and the knife used to kill Levi King Flores, which the boy had helped them find - calling them the "fruit of the poisonous tree." Here is why the judge threw out the evidence:

As previously noted both the boy and his mother were read his Miranda rights. The mother was told in Spanish and the boy, who speaks English, in English. The problem was that the police conducted the entire interview with the boy in English, which his mother did not understand.

The boy's attorney, Stuart Greenberg, argued that "the language barrier of the mother prevented her from helping her son understand what police were asking and the consequences of answering." The judge agreed and granted Greenberg's motion to suppress the boy's statements.

Since the police were unable to use the boy's statements, they were also unable to use any evidence obtained from the interview with the boy, including the knife and any DNA evidence recovered from the scene.

Prosecutors were however allowed to use identifications made by two witnesses who claimed to see the stabbing. Each picked the boy out of a photo array as the killer. They were both friends of Levi.

The trial continued with the testimony of two of Levi King Flores' friends, both of them in 7th grade. They described the events leading up to the death of the 17-year-old. Both parents of Levi King Flores were in court, silently watching the proceedings.

View Larger Map

The first to testify was a 13-year-old boy. This is how he described what happened:

Levi and his friends were playing on a frozen pond in Downing Park. They had a small bat and were trying to punch a hole in the ice. A group of girls approached them and started swearing at them. One of the girls was the sister of the 13-year-old defendant, "Pinky". The girls continued to belittle the gang the boys belonged to - La Eme. During the confrontation "Pinky's" sister used her cellphone to call her brother. He came to join them and they all left going in the direction of a nearby store.

Levi and his friends also left, heading in the same direction. The argument continued culminating in a fight between "Pinky" and another 12-year-old boy. At the same time, Levi himself, was arguing with "Pinky's" sister and eventually got caught up in ongoing the fight. No one knew at the time that "Pinky" had a knife - hidden in one of his sleeves - until it was too late.

"After that Levi was limping, and we carried him to St. Luke's," he said.

After relating the story the boy was crying. "Pinky's" lawyer, Stuart Greenberg, gave the boy time to recover before starting the cross-examination. Under cross-examination the boy said that Levi King Flores was indeed a member of the Newburgh street gang known as La Eme. He said that he did not know what had happened to the bat used to break the ice on the pond. He also said that it was not used in the fight.

When the second witness - a 12-year-old boy - took the stand he recounted the same story as the previous boy. When the Assistant District Attorney Allan Drian asked him to lift up his shirt, he revealed the scars left from the three puncture wounds he had received during the knife attack. This provoked an audible gasp from Martha, Levi's mother.

The trial continues.......

Follow me on Twitter

12-Year-Old Arrested for Doodling

It's one thing when there are disruptive kids in class: - if a fight breaks out, someone brought drugs to school or a knife or a gun - there may be a need to call the cops. But should kids be arrested and placed in handcuffs for doodling on a school desk? Well, Yes!! say the officials at Junior High School 190 in Forest Hills, Queens, NY.

Alexa Gonzalez, a 12-year-old Queens girl, was arrested for writing with a lime green marker the words “I love my friends Abby and Faith” on her desk. She also added “Lex was here. 2/1/10” with a smiley face. She was scribbling those words on her desk while waiting for her Spanish teacher to pass out homework. That was probably the biggest mistake the 12-year-old Alexa ever made in her entire life.

She was led out of school in cuffs and walked to the precinct across the street, where she was detained for several hours, she and her mother said.

"I started crying, like, a lot," said Alexa. "I made two little doodles. ... It could be easily erased. To put handcuffs on me is unnecessary." Alexa, who had a stellar attendance record, hasn't been back to school since, adding, "I just thought I'd get a detention. I thought maybe I would have to clean [the desk]."

What Alexa got was much more than detention. Alexa was suspended from school. She and her mom, Moraima Camacho, had to go to family court, where Alexa was assigned eight hours of community service, a book report and an essay on what she learned from the experience.

City officials acknowledged Alexa's arrest was a mistake and school principal Marilyn Grant has lifted the suspension, although she says that allowing the arrest was not her fault and was something that school policy required her to do.

"Even when we're asked to make an arrest, common sense should prevail, and discretion used in deciding whether an arrest or handcuffs are really necessary," said police spokesman Paul Browne.

In this case neither common sense nor discretion prevailed. One would think that that law enforcement officials would have more important things to do than arresting and traumatizing 12-year-old girls for writing on their school desk.

Follow me on Twitter