Prodigal

~4.6~

When I got home from school, I saw the daily newspaper laying on the kitchen table. It was that day’s paper, and the headline caught my attention.

Three Sydney teens found guilty in death of West Sydney 16-year old.

Thinking this was about the Cole kid from West Sydney who killed himself because his teammates tormented him for being gay, I read the article.

Yesterday afternoon, a jury came back with a verdict for three Sydney teenagers, Guilty of 2nd Degree Manslaughter of 16-year-old Cole Morris. Cole committed suicide on April 3, after he was subjected to what prosecutors called “relentless torment” for his sexuality. Five of Cole’s friends tearfully testified against the three defendants, explaining to the court the torment that they witnessed occur.

The jury returned after three days of deliberation with a guilty verdict, convicting the three of 2nd Degree Manslaughter.

“it was a difficult deliberation.” One of the jurors said. “A lot of us have kids, and we asked ourselves, what if our kids were on trial for manslaughter because of seemingly innocent teasing they did? We also asked ourselves, what if our kids killed themselves because of nonstop harassment they faced at school? It was a tough decision to come to.”

All three teens were tried as children, not adults, and their names will not be released. Judge Anthony presided the trial, and a sentencing will take place this Thursday at 9 a.m.

The article also mentioned that the lawsuit Cole’s parents were bringing against the school for gross negligence for letting the bullying happen was still ongoing.

I wondered if the three teens that were convicted for Cole’s death were the three that were on the poster that was going around social media.

Even through everything that was happening, I was glad to see that justice was going to be served for Cole’s loved ones. I was also going to follow the story to see what the sentencing would be.

Notes

There will be more on Cole's story later. His story will weave into Emelia's later in the arc.