Text messege leads to attempted murder
Posted on: May 24, 2010 - 8:38pm
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Text messege leads to attempted murder
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Psychologist: Teen Beating Suspect Has PTSD
(May 24) -- The Florida teenager accused of nearly beating an eighth-grade girl to death was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from the suicide of his brother, says the court-appointed psychologist who evaluated him.
Psychologist Michael Brannon spent 20 hours with suspect Wayne Treacy, who pleaded not guilty to attempted murder for the March 17 attack on 15-year-old Josie Ratley in Deerfield Beach.
In an interview on NBC''s "Today" show, Brannon said Treacy, 15, never dealt with the October death of his brother and is "a very sad kid" who is remorseful for the attack.
"He was overwhelmed with emotions about his brother, who he found hanging from a tree," Brannon said. "He never dealt with that. One of the things that became triggered in this whole thing with Josie ... is those exact feelings that were being suppressed and pushed down."
"I do think he snapped in kind of a nonclinical way," Brannon said. "In a clinical way, he has post-traumatic stress disorder."
Treacy had an earlier diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and was recommended to take Ritalin at age 4, he said.
Treacy's lawyer released text messages last week between the two in which Ratley at one point wrote "jus go vist ur dead brother," to which he responds "I swear to god I'm gonna kill you!" She writes back: "u make me giggle."
Treacy then texted several friends and told them he planned to kill Ratley, according to reports.
His lawyer, Russell Williams, likened those texts to flares.
"What he said to each one of those people is like, 'Stop me. Stop me. Stop me. I need help. I need help. I need help,'" Williams said on "Today." "And it just never happens."
Police say that Treacy, wearing steel-toe boots, rode his bike several miles to Ratley's middle school and stomped and kicked her, nearly to death.
Prosecutors released a videotape last week of Treacy telling police that the text angered him and he "couldn't get the feeling to subside."
Ratley has had brain surgery and must relearn to walk and talk. Filed under: Nation, Crime
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I agree to this post. Although text messaging has a great advantage to us of course it has also a negative effect. Like for instance in texting while driving. Lately driving etiquette has gone away. It is unbelievable that individuals don't realize simply how much time they lose driving badly. Our teens are getting drivers licenses much too fast, and if you do not want to cover your vehicle damages by a payday loan, we better teach them the optimal way to drive. Just test it if you do not trust me. Try driving with proper etiquette for just a few days. If you do not see a change than I am incorrect, but I'm prepared to bet cash you will.
"our teens" are getting their licenses far later then previous generations...
kindly like how 14 used to be the prime marriage age
What Would Kharn Do?
Sure, and every baby had a cell phone just a few centuries ago.
No cell phones (and cars) for my kids ... sorry.
BTW, I don't see how texting is the cause here.
i'm fairly certain the age limit used to be 18 way back in the day. of course, in those days, more people just ignored it. my grandfather got his first driver's license in the military in WWII. when he came home he was required to switch it over to a civilian license if he still wanted to drive legally, but he just never did. he drove the rest of his life without a license, but then again, he very rarely left the county.
here in europe it's 18, and driver's licenses are incredibly expensive--somewhere in the area of 500 euros, i think. kids usually get them as graduation gifts from their parents. i wholeheartedly agree that 16 is far too young to take responsibility for several tons of speeding steel, but unfortunately i think for the US it's necessary, since our teens lead such active lives that it's impossible for parents to take them everywhere and in most of the country public transportation is nonexistent, unlike in europe.
european driving laws on the whole are stricter. headlights must be on all the time, day or night. absolutely no talking on the phone or texting while driving. every car must be equipped with a reflective triangle to put out behind the car if you have problems and have to pull over and stop, and anyone who gets out of the car in that situation must be wearing a reflective orange vest. their laws on speeding and alcohol are zero tolerance: there is no "speed buffer" and if you blow anything you're under arrest. there have to be regular emissions inspections.
"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson
I think you missed the point of the article. The article wasn't about texting being bad, and it never even mentioned driving.
I don't understand why the Christians I meet find it so confusing that I care about the fact that they are wasting huge amounts of time and resources playing with their imaginary friend. Even non-confrontational religion hurts atheists because we live in a society which is constantly wasting resources and rejecting rational thinking.