Question

Should bullies be legally responsible for their actions?

Answer 1

pends on the action

Answer 2

Everyone should be legally responsible for their actions.

Answer 3

if physical harm is cause to the person being bullied then i would say yes but name calling i would have to say no

Answer 4

No,it's called ignore the other person be strong and keep your head up;it's what I do

Answer 5

if yes, why

Answer 6

Every action has a consequence. Verbal actions are the same as physical actions. The degree of bullying may not warrant legal action. But bullies are responsible for what they do.

Answer 7

Of course. I mean depending on what happens because of their actions. Physical Assault is always punishable by law, just different punishments depending on the severity. Emotional damage? Not really. Bullying can be very hard to deal with for emotionally weak and unstable people. But, if that person happens to commit suicide, that is punishable by law, because it is assisted suicide, involuntary man slaughter. So there you go.

Answer 8

yes i agree they are responsible but the question is if they are legally responcable

Answer 9

Is this for an assignment?

Answer 10

Who cares if it is. Sometimes people want a good conversation

Answer 11

no its not an assignment

Answer 12

Legally no, unless it's purely physical otherwise it's nonsense,for example words causing suicide that's the person who commited suicides fault,they knew what they where doing

Answer 13

I can tell you I have a debate class, and a few papers on occasion that have to do with these types of matter. So it could end up being useful :)

Answer 14

In a debate defining your terms is important.
You need to establish what you mean by legally responsible. Everyone is legally responsible. If a child, the responsibility usually goes to the parent. A judge can rule someone to be not responsible based on mental condition, etc.

Answer 15

Legal prosecution is a different question. The District Attorney or in some states State's Attorney is responsible for legal prosecution by the government in most cases. S/he has to decide which cases to prosecute. A school bully usually doesn't rise to the level of DUI cases or murder. They have to decide where to use resources.

Answer 16

If the person is of age to be put into a Juvenile detention center, or over 18 years to be punished as an adult, very serious legal actions should be taken. Depending on what the judge rules, also depending on just how much of a part the man or woman took part in the suicide. And there will always be testing done by experts to asses the mental state of the accused, if he is not mentally stable, that will almost always call for to be put in a Mental Institution.

Answer 17

Bust bullies still need to be held responsible for damage they do. In a school setting, that may be a teacher giving detention and counseling with the student or action by the Principal. In more major cases expulsion by the School Board might be appropriate.
At home, parents take care of prosecution.

Answer 18

Your statement is mostly correct @wwhitlock, although, as previously stated it does all come back to how much of a part they took in the suicide. In many states cyber bullying itself is punishable by law, although mostly fines are given out for it. But cyber bullying leading to suicide, and if that person specifically stated that the man or woman being accused caused them to take their life, depending on the state that could end in serious punishment. My state of Pennsylvania actually gives a minimum of 2 years to someone who pushed a person to suicide, as long as the person who committed the suicide named them.

Answer 19

My comments are generally about bullying, or any anti-social behavior. In the specific case of suicide, government prosecution is, of course, warranted.

Answer 20

Of course. And I agree with your points when it comes to a school environment