Suicide of Megan Meier
Encyclopedia
Megan Taylor Meier was an American
teenager from Dardenne Prairie
, Missouri
, who committed suicide
by hanging
three weeks before her fourteenth birthday. A year later, Meier's parents prompted an investigation into the matter and her suicide was attributed to cyber-bullying
through the social networking website MySpace
. The mother of a friend of Meier, Lori Drew, was later indicted on the matter in 2008, but in 2009, Drew was acquitted.
, to Christina (Tina) Meier and Ronald Meier. She had lived in nearby Dardenne Prairie
during her childhood, with her parents and sister Allison.
From the third grade, Megan had been under the care of a psychiatrist
. She had been prescribed citalopram
, methylphenidate
and ziprasidone
. She had been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and depression
, and had self-esteem
issues regarding her weight. She was described by her parents as a "bubbly, goofy" girl who enjoyed spending time with her friends and family.
Meier attended Fort Zumwalt public schools
, including Pheasant Point Elementary School and Fort Zumwalt West Middle School in nearby O'Fallon, Missouri. For eighth grade, her parents enrolled her at Immaculate Conception Catholic School in Dardenne Prairie, with a uniform and policy against makeup and jewelry that the Meiers thought would help Megan fit in. At the time of the incident, the Drew and Meier households were neighbors, living four doors apart.
The account through which the bullying of Meier took place purportedly belonged to a 16-year-old male named "Josh Evans." However, Lori Drew, the mother of a former friend of Meier, later admitted creating the MySpace account with her daughter and Ashley Grills, Lori Drew's 18-year-old employee. Several people contributed to running the faked account, including Drew. Witnesses testified that the women intended to use Meier’s e-mails with "Josh" to get information about her and later humiliate her, in retribution for her allegedly spreading gossip about Drew's daughter.
, Meier received a message supposedly from a 16-year-old boy, Josh Evans, but actually sent by Lori Drew using a fabricated account. Meier and "Josh" became online friends, but never met in person or spoke. Meier thought he was attractive. Meier began to exchange messages with this person, and was described by family as having had her "spirits lifted". This person claimed to have just moved to the nearby city of O'Fallon
, was home schooled, and did not yet have a phone number.
On October 15, 2006, the tone of the messages changed, with Drew saying (via the account) "I don't know if I want to be friends with you anymore because I've heard that you are not very nice to your friends". Similar messages were sent; some of Megan's messages were shared with others; and bulletins were posted about her. According to Meier's father, Ronald Meier, and a neighbor who had discussed the hoax with Drew, the last message sent by the Evans account read: "Everybody in O'Fallon knows how you are. You are a bad person and everybody hates you. Have a shitty rest of your life. The world would be a better place without you." Meier responded with a message reading "You’re the kind of boy a girl would kill herself over." The last few correspondences were made via AOL Messenger
instead of Myspace. She was found 20 minutes later in her bedroom closet; Megan had hanged herself. Despite attempts to revive her, she was pronounced dead the following day.
, admitted that she and her daughter had the password to the account, and characterized the hoax to a reporter as a "joke." Initially, Drew denied knowing about the offensive messages that were sent to Meier. She told the police that the account was aimed at "gaining Megan's confidence and finding out what Megan felt about her daughter and other people". The neighborhood mother who had informed the Meiers that Drew had been responsible for the hoax account said "Lori laughed about it," and that Drew said she had intended to "mess with Megan." While Drew's name was excluded from most early news stories, CNN
disclosed her name through the inclusion of the police report in its broadcast of the story which many blog
s then featured.
There was a gap of over a year from the time of the suicide (17 October 2006) until the time that the controversy behind it was finally reported in the media (11 November 2007). This was due to a request by the FBI, who had been investigating the hoax, and had asked the Meier family not to say anything publicly in order to keep the Drews from finding out about their investigation. Shortly after the first anniversary of Meier's death, Meier's aunt, Vicki Dunn, saw an article written by Steve Pokin of the Suburban Journals
about internet harassment, and contacted Pokin to share Meier's story with him. Once the story broke, it quickly spread to national and international news outlets.
At a press conference on Monday, December 3, 2007, Jack Banas, the prosecuting attorney of St. Charles County, said that Lori Drew's 18-year-old temporary employee, Ashley Grills, wrote most of the messages addressed to Meier and that she wrote the final "Josh Evans" message addressed to Meier. Grills said she wrote the final message to end the MySpace
hoax and get Megan Meier to stop communicating with "Josh Evans." Banas stated that he did not interview Grills because, at the time, she was under psychiatric treatment for the involvement in the Meier case, and did not plan to interview her at a later date. The Meiers criticized the prosecutor's statements, saying that Banas did not interview any party other than the Drews and that Banas is solely relying on the testimony of the Drews. Banas stated that the original FBI investigation into the matter, at which time Grills was interviewed, established the employee's role in the event. The Meiers have said they do not hold Grills responsible for Megan's death. Banas said the Drews' daughter, now 15, is attending a different school and is not currently living in Dardenne Prairie. He said Lori Drew was fearful of telling him where her daughter lives. According to Lori Drew's attorney, she has had to close her advertising business in the wake of the controversy and the Drews will probably be unable to continue to live in the neighborhood. Neighbors shunned the Drews following the incident.
Internet webloggers posted photographs, telephone numbers, e-mail details, and addresses of the Drews and the employee on various websites. Businesses that advertised in Drew's coupon book business were also shunned. Sarah Wells, a weblogger who revealed the given
and family
names of Lori Drew, stated that "I don't regret naming Drew," in an e-mail message. Stephen Hutcheon, a writer for the Australia
n newspaper The Age
, compared the Dardenne Prairie street which has the Drew residence to Wisteria Lane in Desperate Housewives
, citing neighbors feuding and increased police presence. After reviewing the case, county prosecutors decided not to file any criminal charges in relation to the hoax.
in 2008 over the matter, but her conviction was reversed on appeal in 2009.
's decision not to print the name of the Drews. The reporter stated in an interview that the names were withheld out of concern for the minor child of the hoaxer. However, the identity of the chief perpetrator, Lori Drew, was quickly revealed by webloggers, who reported finding the names of the parents within minutes from the information given in the article, followed by the media eventually revealing Lori Drew's name and photograph. Banas said he was aware of the national outrage against the Drews, which originated on the Internet in response to the Steve Pokin article in the O'Fallon Journal. The Drews have had their home and work addresses, phone and cell phone numbers, and aerial photos of their home posted on the Internet. The Drews' property had also been vandalized. Banas said some of these actions against the Drews could constitute Internet stalking
. "Because we can’t prosecute somebody it certainly does not justify violating the law," Banas said. "We live in this country by the rule of the law." He described Lori Drew as "upset, cautious and guarded" when he interviewed her. Banas said that Mrs. Drew felt "terrible" about Meier's death. A vigil was held for Megan Meier on November 24, 2007. The crowd gathered in a near-by parking lot and walked past the homes of the Meiers and the Drews. A small piece of ground adjacent to the Drews' house was the scene of remembrances by friends of the Meiers.
The case has caused several jurisdictions to enact or to consider legislation
prohibiting harassment
over the Internet
. The Board of Aldermen for the City of Dardenne Prairie, passed an ordinance
on November 22, 2007, in response to the incident. The ordinance prohibits any harassment that utilizes an electronic medium, including the Internet, text messaging services, pagers, and similar devices. Violations of the ordinance are treated as misdemeanors, with fines of up to $500 and up to 90 days imprisonment. The city of Florissant
, Missouri
also passed a "Cyber Harassment" law, with other municipalities, counties, and states considering following suit. The state of Missouri is to revise its harassment laws in response to the case, updating them to cover harassment through computers and mobile phone messaging, and creating a new crime to cover adults 21 and over harassing children under the age of 18. The new legislation went into effect on August 28, 2008. The bill was a reaction to Missouri police's inability to comprehensively prosecute Lori Drew for cyberbullying and harassment by computer
. According to the St. Louis Daily Record, the "new language expands the definition of the crime of 'harassment' to include knowingly intimidating or causing emotional distress anonymously, either by phone or electronically, or causing distress to a child." It also "increases the penalty for harassment from a misdemeanor
to a felony
, carrying up to four years in prison, if it’s committed by an adult against someone 17 or younger, or if the criminal has previously been convicted of harassment." This is one of the first comprehensive cyberbullying and cyberstalking
state laws that protects children and adults from harassment on social networking sites. The bill is a reaction to Lori Drew's case dismissal and Governor Matt Blunt
, the politician who signed the law into effect states, "[Missouri] needs tough laws to protect its children." A bill was introduced in the 111th Congress on April 2, 2009 as H.R. 1966. Both houses of the Missouri State Legislature voted unanimously on May 15, 2008 to criminalize usage of the internet to harass someone, the existing statute was expanded to prohibit abusive "communication by any means..." and is known as "Megan's Law." (not to be confused with New Jersey's Megan's Law
). On May 22, 2008, Congresswoman Linda T. Sanchez introduced H.R. 6123 as the "Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act" to "amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to cyberbullying."
Tina Meier started the Megan Meier Foundation, headquartered in Chesterfield, Missouri
. The organization states that it exists to promote "awareness, education and promote positive change to children, parents and educators in response to the ongoing bullying and cyberbullying in our children’s daily environment."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
teenager from Dardenne Prairie
Dardenne Prairie, Missouri
Dardenne Prairie is a city in St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,384 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Dardenne Prairie is located at...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, who committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
by hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
three weeks before her fourteenth birthday. A year later, Meier's parents prompted an investigation into the matter and her suicide was attributed to cyber-bullying
Cyber-bullying
Cyber-bullying is the use of the Internet and related technologies to harm other people, in a deliberate, repeated, and hostile manner. As it has become more common in society, particularly among young people, legislation and awareness campaigns have arisen to combat it.-Definition:The term...
through the social networking website MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
. The mother of a friend of Meier, Lori Drew, was later indicted on the matter in 2008, but in 2009, Drew was acquitted.
Background
Megan Meier was born in O'Fallon, MissouriO'Fallon, Missouri
O'Fallon is a suburban city along Interstate 70 between Lake St. Louis and St. Peters in Saint Charles County, Missouri. It is part of the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census population of 79,329, it is the seventh largest city in the state and the largest in St. Charles...
, to Christina (Tina) Meier and Ronald Meier. She had lived in nearby Dardenne Prairie
Dardenne Prairie, Missouri
Dardenne Prairie is a city in St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,384 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Dardenne Prairie is located at...
during her childhood, with her parents and sister Allison.
From the third grade, Megan had been under the care of a psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
. She had been prescribed citalopram
Citalopram
Citalopram brand names: Celexa, Cipramil) is an antidepressant drug of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor class. It has U.S...
, methylphenidate
Methylphenidate
Methylphenidate is a psychostimulant drug approved for treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome and narcolepsy. It may also be prescribed for off-label use in treatment-resistant cases of lethargy, depression, neural insult and obesity...
and ziprasidone
Ziprasidone
Ziprasidone was the fifth atypical antipsychotic to gain FDA approval . In the United States, Ziprasidone is Food and Drug Administration approved for the treatment of schizophrenia, and the intramuscular injection form of ziprasidone is approved for acute agitation in schizophrenic patients...
. She had been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
, and had self-esteem
Self-esteem
Self-esteem is a term in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame: some would distinguish how 'the self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem, the...
issues regarding her weight. She was described by her parents as a "bubbly, goofy" girl who enjoyed spending time with her friends and family.
Meier attended Fort Zumwalt public schools
Fort Zumwalt School District
Fort Zumwalt School District is headquartered in O'Fallon, Missouri, United States.The school district serves Saint Paul and portions of O'Fallon, Saint Peters, and Dardenne Prairie.-High schools:* Comprehensive** Fort Zumwalt North High School...
, including Pheasant Point Elementary School and Fort Zumwalt West Middle School in nearby O'Fallon, Missouri. For eighth grade, her parents enrolled her at Immaculate Conception Catholic School in Dardenne Prairie, with a uniform and policy against makeup and jewelry that the Meiers thought would help Megan fit in. At the time of the incident, the Drew and Meier households were neighbors, living four doors apart.
The account through which the bullying of Meier took place purportedly belonged to a 16-year-old male named "Josh Evans." However, Lori Drew, the mother of a former friend of Meier, later admitted creating the MySpace account with her daughter and Ashley Grills, Lori Drew's 18-year-old employee. Several people contributed to running the faked account, including Drew. Witnesses testified that the women intended to use Meier’s e-mails with "Josh" to get information about her and later humiliate her, in retribution for her allegedly spreading gossip about Drew's daughter.
Death
Soon after opening an account on MySpaceMySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
, Meier received a message supposedly from a 16-year-old boy, Josh Evans, but actually sent by Lori Drew using a fabricated account. Meier and "Josh" became online friends, but never met in person or spoke. Meier thought he was attractive. Meier began to exchange messages with this person, and was described by family as having had her "spirits lifted". This person claimed to have just moved to the nearby city of O'Fallon
O'Fallon, Missouri
O'Fallon is a suburban city along Interstate 70 between Lake St. Louis and St. Peters in Saint Charles County, Missouri. It is part of the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census population of 79,329, it is the seventh largest city in the state and the largest in St. Charles...
, was home schooled, and did not yet have a phone number.
On October 15, 2006, the tone of the messages changed, with Drew saying (via the account) "I don't know if I want to be friends with you anymore because I've heard that you are not very nice to your friends". Similar messages were sent; some of Megan's messages were shared with others; and bulletins were posted about her. According to Meier's father, Ronald Meier, and a neighbor who had discussed the hoax with Drew, the last message sent by the Evans account read: "Everybody in O'Fallon knows how you are. You are a bad person and everybody hates you. Have a shitty rest of your life. The world would be a better place without you." Meier responded with a message reading "You’re the kind of boy a girl would kill herself over." The last few correspondences were made via AOL Messenger
AOL Instant Messenger
AOL Instant Messenger is an instant messaging and presence computer program which uses the proprietary OSCAR instant messaging protocol and the TOC protocol to allow registered users to communicate in real time. It was released by AOL in May 1997...
instead of Myspace. She was found 20 minutes later in her bedroom closet; Megan had hanged herself. Despite attempts to revive her, she was pronounced dead the following day.
Local
Six weeks after her death, Megan Meier's parents were informed that the mother of one of their daughter's friends—with whom Meier had a falling out—had created the "Josh Evans" account. The parent, Lori Drew, who created the fake accountSockpuppet (Internet)
A sockpuppet is an online identity used for purposes of deception. The term—a reference to the manipulation of a simple hand puppet made from a sock—originally referred to a false identity assumed by a member of an internet community who spoke to, or about himself while pretending to be another...
, admitted that she and her daughter had the password to the account, and characterized the hoax to a reporter as a "joke." Initially, Drew denied knowing about the offensive messages that were sent to Meier. She told the police that the account was aimed at "gaining Megan's confidence and finding out what Megan felt about her daughter and other people". The neighborhood mother who had informed the Meiers that Drew had been responsible for the hoax account said "Lori laughed about it," and that Drew said she had intended to "mess with Megan." While Drew's name was excluded from most early news stories, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
disclosed her name through the inclusion of the police report in its broadcast of the story which many blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
s then featured.
There was a gap of over a year from the time of the suicide (17 October 2006) until the time that the controversy behind it was finally reported in the media (11 November 2007). This was due to a request by the FBI, who had been investigating the hoax, and had asked the Meier family not to say anything publicly in order to keep the Drews from finding out about their investigation. Shortly after the first anniversary of Meier's death, Meier's aunt, Vicki Dunn, saw an article written by Steve Pokin of the Suburban Journals
Suburban Journals
Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis is a group of publications in the St. Louis region owned by Lee Enterprises. The chain serves St. Louis and St. Louis and St. Charles counties in Missouri and Madison County in Illinois....
about internet harassment, and contacted Pokin to share Meier's story with him. Once the story broke, it quickly spread to national and international news outlets.
At a press conference on Monday, December 3, 2007, Jack Banas, the prosecuting attorney of St. Charles County, said that Lori Drew's 18-year-old temporary employee, Ashley Grills, wrote most of the messages addressed to Meier and that she wrote the final "Josh Evans" message addressed to Meier. Grills said she wrote the final message to end the MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
hoax and get Megan Meier to stop communicating with "Josh Evans." Banas stated that he did not interview Grills because, at the time, she was under psychiatric treatment for the involvement in the Meier case, and did not plan to interview her at a later date. The Meiers criticized the prosecutor's statements, saying that Banas did not interview any party other than the Drews and that Banas is solely relying on the testimony of the Drews. Banas stated that the original FBI investigation into the matter, at which time Grills was interviewed, established the employee's role in the event. The Meiers have said they do not hold Grills responsible for Megan's death. Banas said the Drews' daughter, now 15, is attending a different school and is not currently living in Dardenne Prairie. He said Lori Drew was fearful of telling him where her daughter lives. According to Lori Drew's attorney, she has had to close her advertising business in the wake of the controversy and the Drews will probably be unable to continue to live in the neighborhood. Neighbors shunned the Drews following the incident.
Internet webloggers posted photographs, telephone numbers, e-mail details, and addresses of the Drews and the employee on various websites. Businesses that advertised in Drew's coupon book business were also shunned. Sarah Wells, a weblogger who revealed the given
Given name
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
and family
Family name
A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...
names of Lori Drew, stated that "I don't regret naming Drew," in an e-mail message. Stephen Hutcheon, a writer for the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n newspaper The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
, compared the Dardenne Prairie street which has the Drew residence to Wisteria Lane in Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
, citing neighbors feuding and increased police presence. After reviewing the case, county prosecutors decided not to file any criminal charges in relation to the hoax.
Federal
Drew was indicted and convicted of violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse ActComputer Fraud and Abuse Act
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is a law passed by the United States Congress in 1986, intended to reduce cracking of computer systems and to address federal computer-related offenses...
in 2008 over the matter, but her conviction was reversed on appeal in 2009.
Reactions
Megan Meier's story was first reported in the St. Charles Journal, and reader comments focused on unnamed adults implicated in the hoax — who were later revealed to be Lori and Curt Drew. Later, the focus was on the St. Louis Suburban JournalsSuburban Journals
Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis is a group of publications in the St. Louis region owned by Lee Enterprises. The chain serves St. Louis and St. Louis and St. Charles counties in Missouri and Madison County in Illinois....
's decision not to print the name of the Drews. The reporter stated in an interview that the names were withheld out of concern for the minor child of the hoaxer. However, the identity of the chief perpetrator, Lori Drew, was quickly revealed by webloggers, who reported finding the names of the parents within minutes from the information given in the article, followed by the media eventually revealing Lori Drew's name and photograph. Banas said he was aware of the national outrage against the Drews, which originated on the Internet in response to the Steve Pokin article in the O'Fallon Journal. The Drews have had their home and work addresses, phone and cell phone numbers, and aerial photos of their home posted on the Internet. The Drews' property had also been vandalized. Banas said some of these actions against the Drews could constitute Internet stalking
Cyberstalking
Cyberstalking is the use of the Internet or other electronic means to stalk or harass an individual, a group of individuals, or an organization. It may include false accusations, monitoring, making threats, identity theft, damage to data or equipment, the solicitation of minors for sex, or...
. "Because we can’t prosecute somebody it certainly does not justify violating the law," Banas said. "We live in this country by the rule of the law." He described Lori Drew as "upset, cautious and guarded" when he interviewed her. Banas said that Mrs. Drew felt "terrible" about Meier's death. A vigil was held for Megan Meier on November 24, 2007. The crowd gathered in a near-by parking lot and walked past the homes of the Meiers and the Drews. A small piece of ground adjacent to the Drews' house was the scene of remembrances by friends of the Meiers.
The case has caused several jurisdictions to enact or to consider legislation
Legislation
Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...
prohibiting harassment
Harassment
Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour intended to disturb or upset, and it is characteristically repetitive. In the legal sense, it is intentional behaviour which is found threatening or disturbing...
over the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. The Board of Aldermen for the City of Dardenne Prairie, passed an ordinance
Local ordinance
A local ordinance is a law usually found in a municipal code.-United States:In the United States, these laws are enforced locally in addition to state law and federal law.-Japan:...
on November 22, 2007, in response to the incident. The ordinance prohibits any harassment that utilizes an electronic medium, including the Internet, text messaging services, pagers, and similar devices. Violations of the ordinance are treated as misdemeanors, with fines of up to $500 and up to 90 days imprisonment. The city of Florissant
Florissant, Missouri
Florissant is a second-ring suburb of St. Louis, located in northern St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The city has a total population of 52,158 in 2010 census.-History:...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
also passed a "Cyber Harassment" law, with other municipalities, counties, and states considering following suit. The state of Missouri is to revise its harassment laws in response to the case, updating them to cover harassment through computers and mobile phone messaging, and creating a new crime to cover adults 21 and over harassing children under the age of 18. The new legislation went into effect on August 28, 2008. The bill was a reaction to Missouri police's inability to comprehensively prosecute Lori Drew for cyberbullying and harassment by computer
Harassment by computer
Harassment by computer is a crime in several U.S. states . It is distinct from stalking in that stalking typically requires two or more contacts, whereas harassment by computer may be a single incident...
. According to the St. Louis Daily Record, the "new language expands the definition of the crime of 'harassment' to include knowingly intimidating or causing emotional distress anonymously, either by phone or electronically, or causing distress to a child." It also "increases the penalty for harassment from a misdemeanor
Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...
to a felony
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
, carrying up to four years in prison, if it’s committed by an adult against someone 17 or younger, or if the criminal has previously been convicted of harassment." This is one of the first comprehensive cyberbullying and cyberstalking
Cyberstalking
Cyberstalking is the use of the Internet or other electronic means to stalk or harass an individual, a group of individuals, or an organization. It may include false accusations, monitoring, making threats, identity theft, damage to data or equipment, the solicitation of minors for sex, or...
state laws that protects children and adults from harassment on social networking sites. The bill is a reaction to Lori Drew's case dismissal and Governor Matt Blunt
Matt Blunt
Matthew Roy Blunt served as the 54th Governor of Missouri from 2005 to 2009. Before his election as governor, Blunt served ten years in the United States Navy, was elected to serve in the Missouri General Assembly in 1998 and as Missouri's Secretary of State in 2000.A Republican, Blunt was elected...
, the politician who signed the law into effect states, "[Missouri] needs tough laws to protect its children." A bill was introduced in the 111th Congress on April 2, 2009 as H.R. 1966. Both houses of the Missouri State Legislature voted unanimously on May 15, 2008 to criminalize usage of the internet to harass someone, the existing statute was expanded to prohibit abusive "communication by any means..." and is known as "Megan's Law." (not to be confused with New Jersey's Megan's Law
Megan's Law
Megan's Law is an informal name for laws in the United States requiring law enforcement authorities to make information available to the public regarding registered sex offenders. Individual states decide what information will be made available and how it should be disseminated...
). On May 22, 2008, Congresswoman Linda T. Sanchez introduced H.R. 6123 as the "Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act" to "amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to cyberbullying."
Tina Meier started the Megan Meier Foundation, headquartered in Chesterfield, Missouri
Chesterfield, Missouri
Chesterfield is a second-ring western suburb of St. Louis and is the largest city in west St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2010 census the population is 47,484. Chesterfield also celebrated its 20th birthday in 2008.- Geography :...
. The organization states that it exists to promote "awareness, education and promote positive change to children, parents and educators in response to the ongoing bullying and cyberbullying in our children’s daily environment."
See also
- Cyberstalking legislationCyberstalking legislationCyberstalking and cyberbullying are relatively new phenomena, but that does not mean that crimes committed through the network are not punishable under legislation drafted for that purpose...
- Harassment by computerHarassment by computerHarassment by computer is a crime in several U.S. states . It is distinct from stalking in that stalking typically requires two or more contacts, whereas harassment by computer may be a single incident...
- List of people who died by hanging
- Suicide of Tyler ClementiSuicide of Tyler ClementiTyler Clementi was an eighteen-year-old student at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey, who jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge on September 22, 2010. His roommate Dharun Ravi had video streamed Clementi kissing another man over the Internet without Clementi's knowledge,...
- Suicide of Ryan Halligan
- Suicide of Phoebe Prince