Fifteen year old Wayne Treacy recently beat thirteen year old Josie Lou Ratley into a coma over a comment she made about his brother, who Treacy found dead outside his church just two days after his birthday last October.
My question is: Could the instigator in situations like this be at fault? Is it always the attacker's fault, no matter the circumstances? At what point (if there is one) does this change?
8 comments:
Personally I think that it’s equally the fault of both of them. The instigator clearly said or did something that triggered a bad feeling and a negative reaction in the attacker. What their actions were proved so bad to the point of violence from the attacker as well. It can also be blamed on the attacker because they should have had the self control not to be psychically violent. But then again, would they have reacted the way they had if not instigated in the first place? People who instigate one another need to be aware that not everyone re-acts the same and that not everyone will brush it off, some will react, and in that case, the outcome is not always a good one. Both are at fault and both should be blamed, because the instigator shouldn’t have riled up the attacker, and because they did, the attacker...well they attacked. But they should have restrained themselves from doing so and causing physical harm to the other person.
-Nicole Bolduc
I feel as though both parties are equally responsible for the consequences brought upon them. If the girl hadn't made the comment, none of this would've been inflicted upon her, however, the boy was persistent and would not leave her alone, provoking her to make the comment that she made. She clearly did not know that the boy would do what he did, otherwise she would've bitten her tongue and disregarded him, but as far as what state of mind he was in was anybody's guess. I don't think either person should be solely blamed for this incident, because both are just as guilty as the other, but it's unfortunate that it went so far and that she was physically injured to the point where she was in a coma.
~Alicia Tabaka
I'm a big fan of the whole, "be the bigger person" bit. Yes, the girl was 100% wrong for making the comment, but the boy is responsible for his actions. It was not self defense. His actions were premeditated and he went well out of his way to physically beat a girl for a comment she made. NOT. COOL. Wake up! People say nasty things to each other all the time! Let's be real. If I got to smack around every person who ever made a hurtful comment about me I'd be looking at 25 to life by now. He has absolutely no sympathy from me. Serial killer in the making is what we have here. I believe if people are going to be set off, they will be set off. If it wasn't this particular girl's comment this time, it would've been something else that made him snap another time.
-Cristina Theriault
I completely agree with Cristina. The instigator was very rude and out of place to say a comment like that. This doesn’t mean that she deserved to get beat for it. Yes she was very wrong but she is just a kid that needs to learn to not be ignorant and grow up. Wayne on the other hand was completely wrong and at fault for this situation. No matter the circumstances people should not try to solve their issues with violence. By hurting this girl he did not gain anything but only made things worse. Wayne should have just walked away and if this comment was really bothering him, then he could have asked for help from an adult that would peacefully be able to solve the problem and teach the young girl her errors.
They are both responsible in this case. The instigator and the guy who actually beat her. Regardless of what the situation is, no one should resolve problems with violence especially when it's something as this. The instigator being the girl who made the comment about the brother yeah had it going for her, because probably she shouldn't have said what she did, but it is still not right for him to hurt a girl because of something she said. I agree with what Melissa says how issues shouldn't be resolved through violence. The boy could have clearly said it was disrespectful and that he doesn't appreciate what she said about his brother.
_Caroline Ferreira
In this case, both parties are responsible for the tragic outomce of these events. the guy was wrong in this case ebcoem there's no need to exert that much violence on someone, especially when they are defensless. violence is also not the answer to solving problems, not matter how irration a person's brain may be thinking at the time. the instigator girl is held just as responsible becasue it was out of line for her to not only express her feeling about the nature of their realtionship in such a rude tone, but to also stoop pretty low and hit a sensitive spot which she shoudl have known was going to set him off.
-Mariah Thomas
I believe that no matter how much the person interrogating does the person who commits the crime is at fault. at the end of the day they put the knife to the persons neck and killed him/her. They chose to act in the way they did and that makes it their fault.I don't believe there is no circumstance where it would be the opposite because again they made the decision to take what the person said personally and act in a violent manner if they chose to do so.
- nick lebron
I agree with Nicole on this one. If the girl kept her opinion to herself and kept her mouth shut then none of this would have happened. Clearly the kid was upset that his brother just died, and I know for certain that if any of us were to be the ones that found a sibling, or any family member, after they committed suicide that you would be an emotion mess. Granted though, that does not give the boy the right to go and almost kill a person because of something she said. But i think that they are both equally responsible for their actions. They are the only ones that are really in control of what they do or say, so with that they should know that they are responsible for their actions. I think that this sadly has become another great example why you shouldn't say things over texting that you would never normally or should never normally say.
-Cally Allen
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