01-28-2005, 04:34 AM
3rd-Graders Arrested for Their Drawings
Two boys ages 9 and 10 in Ocala, Fla., have been arrested and charged with a second-degree felony for making primitive pencil-and-crayon stick figure drawings on scrap paper that depicted a 10-year-old classmate being stabbed and hung, reports The Associated Press. Police took the children, who are special education students, out of school in handcuffs.
The official charge: Making a written threat to kill or harm another person. The two have been suspended from their elementary school. One of the drawings showed the two boys standing on either side of the other boy and "holding knives pointed through" his body, AP says of the police report. They identified each person in the drawing with written names or initials.
A second drawing showed a stick figure hanging with tears falling from his eyes and the other two stick figures standing below him. In addition, other pieces of paper had misspelled profanities and the initials of the boy they were allegedly threatening. The boy who was depicted as the victim saw the drawings and told his teacher, who confiscated the sketches and informed the school\'s dean. The dean then called police, who consulted with the State Attorney\'s office before making the arrest. AP reports that the boys\' parents said they thought the children should be punished by the school and families and not the legal system.
Two boys ages 9 and 10 in Ocala, Fla., have been arrested and charged with a second-degree felony for making primitive pencil-and-crayon stick figure drawings on scrap paper that depicted a 10-year-old classmate being stabbed and hung, reports The Associated Press. Police took the children, who are special education students, out of school in handcuffs.
The official charge: Making a written threat to kill or harm another person. The two have been suspended from their elementary school. One of the drawings showed the two boys standing on either side of the other boy and "holding knives pointed through" his body, AP says of the police report. They identified each person in the drawing with written names or initials.
A second drawing showed a stick figure hanging with tears falling from his eyes and the other two stick figures standing below him. In addition, other pieces of paper had misspelled profanities and the initials of the boy they were allegedly threatening. The boy who was depicted as the victim saw the drawings and told his teacher, who confiscated the sketches and informed the school\'s dean. The dean then called police, who consulted with the State Attorney\'s office before making the arrest. AP reports that the boys\' parents said they thought the children should be punished by the school and families and not the legal system.