Teen girl charged with felony after science experiment goes wrong

veinglory said:

It sounds to me like she made a bleach bomb. This is a current fad that has left some people seriously burns. These things are really dangerous and are left to be triggered by passers by.

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I snoped it. Holy crap. What's wrong with people?

I saw the Drano bomb thing on Snopes a few weeks ago, it's terrifying.

missesdash said:

Strange that she was doing it alone, though. These sort of stupid ideas are usually the result of collective adolescent thought.

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The fact that she was doing it alone makes me think it was definitely curiosity that made her experiment with the chemicals rather than any untoward intentions.

It's such a shame that she's being suspended and they're wanting to try her as an adult. All they really needed to do was give the girl a strict talking-to in the principal's office.

veinglory said:

It sounds to me like she made a bleach bomb. This is a current fad that has left some people seriously burns. These things are really dangerous and are left to be triggered by passers by.

If that is what she was doing it is quite serious and can cause pretty major injuries from boiling caustic liquid at explosive pressure. It is not quite a "bomb" but a hell of a lot more serious than a "prank" or "kids being kids".

Everyone out there: if you see a plastic bottle on your yard or at the park that seems full or dirty liquid, bowed out and topped with crumpled tin foil. Do not touch it.

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Or shake and bake meth (a particularly nasty version of meth that's easier to make but even deadlier) that the druggies chucked out the window when they thought that they were being followed by the cops.

Sounds like a good reason to have a pellet rifle and plink that kind of thing from a distance before approaching

Zero tolerance policies have the potential to ruin or seriously damage future success. This girl screwed up. Not monumentally, IMO. Kids have always "experimented", especially when they've had access to certain tools, but in this case, she's being punished so much, I'd be surprised if she ever tried to experiment or think outside the box again.

They've ruined her access to education by expelling her, given her a criminal record, and attempted to make the record permanent by trying her as an adult. Overkill times 100.

Gretad08 said:

Kids have always "experimented", especially when they've had access to certain tools, but in this case, she's being punished so much, I'd be surprised if she ever tried to experiment or think outside the box again.

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Where's that "Mission Accomplished" banner when you need it?

cornflake said:

The same teacher showed us how to take some chemical I now forget which wasn't toxic but stained skin a gross, mottly, fairly disturbing shade, and dab it about our hands before going on 'field trips' with him.

He used to do it himself if he was tired and going home at rush hour.

Weirdly-coloured patches on your hands that you openly examine and scratch at = seats on even really crowded trains.

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I once had a bit of HCl acid land on my hand during an experiment. Thankfully, it was really diluted, but it still burned until I washed it all off.

derail/ I once had a chem teacher who would set off the fire alarm every other week. He'd blow things up which sometimes set the ceiling on fire. He made chemistry cool!

End of derail.

Billtrumpet25 said:

I once had a bit of HCl acid land on my hand during an experiment. Thankfully, it was really diluted, but it still burned until I washed it all off.

derail/ I once had a chem teacher who would set off the fire alarm every other week. He'd blow things up which sometimes set the ceiling on fire. He made chemistry cool!

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Our science teacher in middle school let me set one of the lab tables on fire for a movie we were making.

Daughter of organic chemistry engineer = lots of fun childhood experiences.

I think they went far beyond their reach in this. Yes, she did something stupid and dangerous. I'll bet she understands that now. Turning the rest of her life to crap is even more stupid. I won't lay money on it, but if she commits suicide the school district is going to have a worse mess on its hands.

We need budding engineers and scientists. This will mean a minimum amount of stupid behavior, which should be guided, not stifled.

Plot Device said:

I have full faith that Principal Pritchard will STILL do his best to protect her from needless legal proceedings of the no-turning-back variety. He's the kind of man who can parse out the difference between the kind of kids who are toxic to a school community as opposed to those kids who just make goofy mistakes from time to time.

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Unfortunately he doesn't get to make the call.

. . . How could an otherwise model student be expelled and charged with a felony over an experiment that didn't hurt anyone?

Riptide decided to call the Polk County School District to find out. The answer: The letter of the law demanded the punishment, and school administrators believe kids should learn "there are consequences to their actions."

"Unfortunately, what she did falls into our code of conduct," Leah Lauderdale, a spokeswoman for the department, tells Riptide. "It's grounds for immediate expulsion." . . .

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http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2013/05/florida_school_responds_to_cri.php

Hopefully the outcry will cause enough trouble that the school district will become aware that there are consequences to their actions.

Meanwhile, expelled or not, this student is being charged with a felony as an adult -- something not done to the average 15 year old armed robber.

Of course, it is Florida, after all.

ETA:

An interesting sidelight. Tammy Glotfelty, the assistant state prosecutor who advised to press charges against Ms. Wilmot, declined to press charges in a case where a 13 year old boy shot and killed his younger brother.

"After a thorough review of the facts, available to our office at this time, it is our opinion that this case can only be seen as a tragic accident," Glotfelty wrote. . .

. . .Taylor told Fulcher that the brothers were playing around and shooting air at each other "because it felt weird and stuff like that," according to a report filed by Fulcher.

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http://www.theledger.com/article/20130425/NEWS/304255020

See, that kid didn't mean to do anything wrong - he was just fooling around. Charges need to be reserved for serious stuff, like blowing up a pop bottle with toilet cleanser. Not that I think the kid should have been charged, necessarily, but it's an interesting comparison.

And of course, Wilmot is black; the 13 yr old shooter is white -- not that I think that influenced anything, of course.

I have two thoughts on this story. One is basically what Filigree said. People are always talking about how much we need STEM students and how hard it is to interest kids in math/science. And then a school district goes and does something like this. I'm betting that not only does this put a damper on HER interest in science, but it also squashes the interest of a LOT of kids in that district. Don't get interested in Science, you might end up with a felony! Morons.

Filigree said:

We need budding engineers and scientists. This will mean a minimum amount of stupid behavior, which should be guided, not stifled.

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My second thought is about a discussion I was listening to on NPR just yesterday about some studies that have been being done regarding out-of-school suspensions. Apparently, across the board, black males and students with disabilities are FAR more likely to be suspended out of school than any other group, and for the same offenses that earn other groups in-school suspensions, or even just reprimands/detentions/etc. (They went on to discuss the effects of out-of-school suspension which disproportionately tends to equate to later difficulties with the law and lack of finishing school). Anyway, given that this is happening in Florida, well...it makes you wonder.
(This link should go to the audio of the NPR story I was talking about)

EMaree said:

IIt's such a shame that she's being suspended and they're wanting to try her as an adult. All they really needed to do was give the girl a strict talking-to in the principal's office.

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The legal action may be unnecessary, and I think it's way over the top to try her as an adult. But I can see why she's being suspended. Kids are suspended over much less stupid things. By the time I was 16, a stern talking to in the principal's office meant absolutely nothing.

veinglory said:

It sounds to me like she made a bleach bomb. This is a current fad that has left some people seriously burns. These things are really dangerous and are left to be triggered by passers by.

If that is what she was doing it is quite serious and can cause pretty major injuries from boiling caustic liquid at explosive pressure. It is not quite a "bomb" but a hell of a lot more serious than a "prank" or "kids being kids".

Everyone out there: if you see a plastic bottle on your yard or at the park that seems full or dirty liquid, bowed out and topped with crumpled tin foil. Do not touch it.

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BenPanced said:

Or a Drano bomb. Some liquid drain cleaner, a couple other choice ingredients, and a plastic pop bottle with a cap, and you have something strong enough to destroy a mailbox or take a few fingers off your hands.

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Yeah, as more details have come out, the less persecuted Ms. Wilmot is and the more "prank gone wrong" seems to be at the heart of the matter.

UPDATE: An incident report obtained by the Miami New Times' Riptide blog shows that Wilmot was apparently constructing a so-called "Works bomb" — a well-known "experiment" among teens that almost always gets the parties involved in trouble.


In her defense, Wilmot told the police she "thought it would just cause some smoke."

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Looking at the You Tube link to the "Works bomb" and it becomes apparent to me she was going for something more than "some smoke."

It's not that big of a deal, but there is the power of the Internet for you. It can take what should be a minor internal issues settled by the school, the student, the authorities and her parents and turn it into a cause celebre.

I don't consider making a bleach bomb (which I think is the "experiment" in question) to be "an interest in science". It is dangerous to the kid and to other people. I was an experiment much like drunk guy "experiment" with fireworks and likely to have the same outcome.

http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/bottlebomb.asp

That's one thing we need to keep in mind folks. What she was making could have killed people. I'm not saying this deserved a felony charge but I wouldn't allow her any where near the school chemicals again and have a ton of inschool suspension.

Oh, yeah, that was an exaggeration on my part. Still though, she experimenting with something that is flat out told to be dangerous. I do question the mindset of someone who is told, "These ingredients together in a bottle creates an unstable bomb that can hurt people." And her thought it, "Oh, I want see if I can make one of those."

I am willing to give her some benefit of a doubt that maybe she wasn't clued in on the danger of these bombs. Still, I can't imagine why she thought it was a good idea to do this on school grounds. Again, not saying she should become a felon, but it was a pretty stupid move.

There have been cases where these devices blew off fingers and caused serious burns. I think a response could be found that is in between "what a cute little scientist" and "OMG she's a terrorist".

Celia Cyanide said:

The legal action may be unnecessary, and I think it's way over the top to try her as an adult. But I can see why she's being suspended. Kids are suspended over much less stupid things. By the time I was 16, a stern talking to in the principal's office meant absolutely nothing.

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She's not being suspended, which would be totally appropriate.

She was expelled, and although a juvenile, is being charged as an adult with a felony.

As a kid, I used to blow up things with an M-80. You can lose fingers that way. Not the brightest of pastimes, but I fail to see how a felony conviction would have been the appropriate response.

nighttimer said:

Yeah, as more details have come out, the less persecuted Ms. Wilmot is and the more "prank gone wrong" seems to be at the heart of the matter.


Looking at the You Tube link to the "Works bomb" and it becomes apparent to me she was going for something more than "some smoke."

It's not that big of a deal, but there is the power of the Internet for you. It can take what should be a minor internal issues settled by the school, the student, the authorities and her parents and turn it into a cause celebre.

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Now that you mention all this...

I think (especially since she's a minor) this gives the authorities plenty enough reason to look at any computers she's used and see what she's been doing, especially what videos she may have seen on Youtube or Vimeo before the event. This could be rather damning in that she may have pretty much knew what she was doing and what to expect, rather than her claim of "some smoke." There's no such plausible deniability once there's evidence of having seen such a video.

Even so, being expelled and charged with a felony is still over the top. It's not like she's spent months overseas involved with some shady people or has otherwise been "radicalized."

I'm torn. Yes, she's a good student without any behavioral issues (so far)...

But this is fishy. Why bring these items to school? Why is she doing it in the playground? There is more to this story than meets the eye, because if she's "just experimenting" as she'd like us to believe, why didn't she do it at home?

The suspicious writer in me wonders if there's not jealousy and a love triangle involved. Or something. I'm not letting her off the hook because she's a "good student."

benbradley said:

I think (especially since she's a minor) this gives the authorities plenty enough reason to look at any computers she's used and see what she's been doing, especially what videos she may have seen on Youtube or Vimeo before the event. This could be rather damning in that she may have pretty much knew what she was doing and what to expect, rather than her claim of "some smoke." There's no such plausible deniability once there's evidence of having seen such a video.

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Yes, that would be a terrific use af time and resources for law enforcement. We must expose the terrible lies of 15 yr olds.

I never bought she just was a curious science student in the first place. She was a kid that heard about or saw this neat trick and wanted to try it herself. Doing it in school was stupid, and deserves to have consequences.

But expulsion and felony charges are not just over the top, it's absurd and an example of mind numbingly stupid policies that are actually hurting students all over the country.

You know, we have felonies and misdemeanors; how about a third category: 'dangerous stupidity,' for acts committed without any sort of criminal intent, and not quite serious enough for 'reckless endangerment' or 'criminal negligence.' Kind of a misdemeanor version of those two.

I do think that anyone mixing together household chemicals in an uncontrolled way isn't exactly 'innocent.'

rugcat said:

Yes, that would be a terrific use af time and resources for law enforcement. We must expose the terrible lies of 15 yr olds.

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Well, if it turns out that she was knowingly creating something dangerous and doing it on school grounds, then I do think that is worth the time of the police to check out.

benbradley said:

Now that you mention all this...

I think (especially since she's a minor) this gives the authorities plenty enough reason to look at any computers she's used and see what she's been doing, especially what videos she may have seen on Youtube or Vimeo before the event. This could be rather damning in that she may have pretty much knew what she was doing and what to expect, rather than her claim of "some smoke." There's no such plausible deniability once there's evidence of having seen such a video.

Even so, being expelled and charged with a felony is still over the top. It's not like she's spent months overseas involved with some shady people or has otherwise been "radicalized."

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What does her being a minor have to do with it?

I'm on board with the idea that the cops writing up warrants, going to a judge, if they could theoretically get one signed off, seizing her computer, her parents' and/or family members' as well, the school ones, etc., taking them to the forensics lab, etc., seems a serious waste of resources.