Drew sentencing set for July 2 in MySpace case

Lori Drew's sentencing is slated for July 2 2009. U.S. District Judge George Wu delayed the May 18, 2009 sentencing date to review the case as the defense has stated that prosecution failed to prove its case and requested that the jury verdict be dismissed. (http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/05/drew_sentenced/)

Drew was initially charged under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, with one count of felony conspiracy and three counts of felony unauthorized computer access for allegedly violating MySpace’s terms of service by participating in the creation of a fake profile for a non-existent 16-year-old boy named “Josh Evans.”

Using the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to prosecute Drew, the indictment charged that in September 2006 Drew conspired to create the Josh Evans account with her then 13-year-old daughter, Sarah, and a then-18-year-old employee and family friend named Ashley Grills, for the purpose of inflicting psychological harm on a 13-year-old neighbor named Megan Meier.

A month after “Josh” initiated the online relationship with Megan, he turned on her and told her he wanted to sever their relationship, writing that the world would be a better place without her in it. Shortly thereafter, Megan hanged herself in her bedroom.

Drew was convicted of three misdemeanor charges for unauthorized computer access and faces a maximum sentence of three years and a $300,000 fine.

Thomas O’Brien, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, aided by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Krause, personally oversaw the prosecution and handled some of the witness testimony himself. Using the federal anti-hacking statute known as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act prosecutors in Los Angeles brought the case against Drew based on the government’s novel argument that violating MySpace’s terms of service for the purpose of harming another was the legal equivalent of computer hacking. Prosecutors stated MySpace’s user agreement requires registrants, among other things, to provide factual information about themselves and to refrain from soliciting personal information from minors or using information obtained from MySpace services to harass or harm other people. By allegedly violating that click-to-agree contract, Drew committed the same crime as any hacker.

During prosecution witness Ashley Grills' Grill’s 80-minutes of testimony, she stated that nobody involved in the hoax actually read the terms of service. Grills also said that the hoax was her idea, not Drew’s, and that it was Grills who opened the account, clicked through the MySpace terms of service, created the Josh Evans profile, and later sent the cruel message that tipped the emotionally vulnerable 13-year-old girl into her final, tragic act. Ashley Grills testified for the prosecution under a grant of immunity. (http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2008/11/lori-drew-pla-3/)

While most of the prosecutors case was built on terms violation of a MySpace account; it was on AOL Instant Messenger that Grills’ sent the last message to Megan: "The world would be a better place without you."
Grills testified that Megan responded: "You are the kind of boy a girl would kill herself over" .

Very little was allowed into testimony about thirteen years old Megan Meiers or her medical history; that she was suicidal by 3rd grade; diagnosed with depression; diagnosed as ADHD and taking a cocktail of prescribed Schedule 2drugs. (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/01/21/080121fa_fact_collins?currentPage=all)
Megan was prescribed Celexa (an antidepression drug), Concerta (for A.D.D.), and Geodon (a mood stabilizer).
In the 7th grade, Megan and the Drews’ daughter had secretly set up a MySpace account. They were found out when a cousin of Megan's mother discovered the profile, which featured a flashing Playboy bunny icon. The Meiers did not mention the incident to the Drews. Supposedly, Lori Drew, going through her cell-phone bills, found that someone had placed a series of calls to New York. Lori’s daughter told her that Megan had made the calls, to talk to a boy they had met online. The Drews and the Meiers never discussed that incident, either.

In September 2006, Megan's parents allowed her open a MySpace with conditions and some restrictions:
1. Both parents were the only ones to know the password.
2. It had to be set to ‘private.’
3. Her parents had to approve the content.
4. Her parents had to be in the room at all times when Megan was on MySpace.

On the day she committed suicide, Megan's mother had left with her Megan's sister for a dental appointment. She knew Megan was online and told her to shut down. Megan's father was asleep upstairs and her mother found her still online when she returned home. Little was said in court of an insult war had broken out among Megan, Josh, and some of their friends . Megan had called another girl a slut, and the insult were returned in kind. In one interview, Megan's mother stated she was shocked and angry at the foul language replies her daughter had sent.

And as yet, there hasn't been any charges filed against people who pursued the Drews online on message boards, who posted the Drews’ home address and Curt’s business address, who organized a telephone and e-mail campaign against them and the businesses advertised in The Drew Advantage, who hacked into Lori Drew’s voice mail, or any other number of retalitory acts including a creepy video on On YouTube. Nor were any charges filed against Tina Meier, Megan's mother, for following Drew to places she went and asking any businesses “Do you advertise with The Drew Advantage? If so, I advise you to take a look at the Journals. The girl involved was my daughter.” No one has been charged for the acts of damage and vandalism against the Drew's home and property. And who will be charged in the future violence that may happen if the judge sets aside the verdict?

It's all a tragic set of circumstances that lead to a 13 year old commiting suicide. The case has already changed the law on cyber crime issues and possibly also changed the way some people behave online.

Has anybody ever bothered to read the full TOS of any social networking site? On the other side of the coin haven't judges found them to be not enforceable because it is assumed that people arent reading them because they are too long and can change without notification and/or warning. People who have been online for a number of years will tell you to never use your real name on any social networking site. No social networking site is going to 100% guarantee your protection or privacy.

My interest in the case was that Megan was on the usual stimulant drugs given to millions of kids daily for their 'diagnosed' mental problems and disorders. My question has always been; would a normal 13 year old have commited suicide over what was said? Since Drew was found guilty, shouldn't Megan's parents also be charged as they allowed Megan to open a MySpace account at 13? Why aren't the drugs and the medical personel who prescribe them, ever questioned or held accountable?