Lori Drew vs Megan Meier

The cyber-bullying case of the year is in the hands of the jury. Both sides have presented their case and the jury will deliberate today. Here's a good article summarizing things:

Prosecution: Lori Drew Schemed to Humiliate Teen Girl

The judge could still throw the case out, which seems weird.

RIP Megan. Your death has already changed online laws. Hers to hoping Lori get hers.

Lori Drew vs Megan Meier

The trial against Lori Drew, the scambag mother who created a fake MySpace page to prey on Megan Meier, has started. Lori's request for a bench trial was denied. The motions to have the case dismissed were denied. The motions to have suppressed any mention of Megan's suicide were denied. Lori is charged with conspiracy and 3 counts illegal computer access. Charges normally reserved for hackers. It will be argued that Lori purposely used the internet to prey on Megan and to cause emotional distress. Megan committed suicide after receiving a note from the fake "boyfriend" that the world would be better off without her.

I can't see Lori not being found guilty. She's all but admitted doing this. Practically bragging to some friends about it. The prosecutors have witnesses who have been granted immunity in exchange for their testimony. Considering how despicable this was, it seems all but certain she'll be found guilty and do time.

I need to focus some attention on Megan, though. Clearly, she was a troubled teen. I don't know that her story is much different than that of any other typical teen in America, but she had her problems. She suffered with depression and was taking medication for it. She also had ADD. I'm sure these facts will be brought up by the defense in the case. Particularly in light of recent acknowledgement that certain anti-depressants carry a suicide warning. Fact is, though, Lori also knew that.

Anyway, I wonder about Megan's family life. I wonder about the parents. The night Megan hung herself she had gotten in to an argument with her mother. It stemmed from the internet and Megan's use of it.

Just how closely was Megan being watched and cared for?

I ask not to demonize the parents of Megan Meier. Clearly, Lori drew is subhuman. But, if we learn anything from this, one thing should be that you can't love your children too much. You can't care too much. I don't know that I'd have my 13 year old on anti-depressants, but I do know I will always have an active role in her life . . . and business. There will be boundaries. There will be limits. And, there will be consequences to resistance. For my part, I will stay informed, remain protective, and provide guidance. I won't be a helicopter parent. My daughter will need to develop her own independence. But, I won't take for granted the influence people and society can have on a young mind.

Megan Meier was victimized by Lori Drew. No question. But I have to wonder if it needed to end the way it did. Is it right to question the parenting?

Lori Drew, cyber bully update

The case against Lori Drew, the . . . if I may . . . assnozzle who created a fake MySpace to humiliate her daughter's friend, got a couple of breaks recently. First, Lori's request for a bench trial was denied. She'll go before a jury. Then, lawyers for Drew wanted Megan's suicide suppressed. They argued Megan's suicide wasn't related to the crime Lori committed. The judge thought otherwise:

A federal judge in Los Angeles reversed himself Friday and decided to allow prosecutors to use the 2006 death of a 13-year-old Dardenne Prairie girl, Megan Meier, in the cyber-bullying trial of former neighbor Lori Drew.

U.S. District Judge George Wu had signaled Monday that he was inclined to bar any evidence relating to the 2006 death of, saying that it was not related to the crime she's accused of and could prejudice jurors at Drew's trial, scheduled to start Tuesday.

But in a hearing Friday, Wu denied Drew's lawyers' motion to suppress any evidence of Megan's death or suicide.

Drew's lawyers had argued that Megan's death was unrelated to the charge that Drew faces, prejudicial and designed to inspire sympathy or even outrage among the jury.

In court filings, federal prosecutors said that Megan's death was essential to be able to tell a logical story to jurors and to allow witnesses to testify about what Drew allegedly did and said after Megan's death.

It also demonstrates that Drew's plot to “humiliate (Megan) and cause a troubled, depressed young girl emotional distress” succeeded, they say.

Megan and Drew's daughter had been friends but had a falling out. Prosecutors said that Drew and others, including Ashley Grills, an 18-year-old family employee at the time, created the fake online identity of a boy on the social networking site MySpace to befriend Megan and find out what she had been saying about Drew's daughter.

Hard to say what will ultimately happen, but neither of these motions bode well for Lori.