Who is to blame when bullying ends in death?

Bullying is a destructive and all-too-prevalent part of school life, but only recently have most schools started to craft solutions to the problem. A verdict in a criminal court raises a whole new side to the debate, asking the question: Who has the primary duty to protect a bullied child, the parent or the school?

A jury in Meriden, Connecticut, placed part of the blame for a young bullying victim's suicide on the child's mother, agreeing with prosecutors that by disregarding her troubled son's problems and waiting too long to seek help for him, she contributed to his death. In March, a judge refused to overturn the conviction.

Judith Scruggs, a single mother who worked two jobs, had problems with her son J. Daniel: Although intellectually gifted, the 12-year-old skipped school, refused to shower, and suffered from incontinence. His classmates bullied him repeatedly, with some witnesses saying that he was pushed, beaten, and spit on. He started sleeping in a closet surrounded by kitchen knives.

His mother said she tried to get help for J. Daniel. She met with school officials and representatives of the state's Department of Children and Families (DCF) and the Superior Court for Juvenile Matters. The DCF investigated J. Daniel's situation and concluded that he was at low risk for injury.

But it was too little, too late: On January 2, 2002, J. Daniel hanged himself in his closet.

Judith Scruggs filed a federal suit against the city of Meriden, the school's vice principal, and the school guidance counselor. Scruggs alleged that the defendants violated J. Daniel's civil rights by not providing him the education he needed and was entitled to bylaw, and by not preventing the bullying. Other similar cases have been filed around the country. (The Bully Pulpit: Post-Columbine, Harassment Victims Take Schools to Court, TRIAL, Dec. 2002, at 12.)

But barely two months after she filed her notice to sue, Scruggs was arrested. Police investigating J. Daniel's suicide reported that the Scruggs home was cluttered, filthy, and unsanitary. The district attorney's office argued that her neglect of her son's poor hygene contributed to the conditions that caused his torment at school, leading to his suicide.

In October 2003, a jury agreed and convicted Scruggs of having an unhealthy home; she was acquitted of three counts of risking injury to a minor. At press time, she was facing a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Jurors later were quoted in news reports as saying that they blamed Scruggs for her son's death not so much because of the home's condition but because of the knives in Daniel's bedroom. They saw the presence of the knives as a clear sign of parental indifference.

The case took an odd turn when reporters covering it were called to testify about comments made to them by juror Vincent Giardina. After the trial, Giardinia had been quoted in local newspapers as saying that one reason he voted guilty was Scruggs's lawsuit. Her lawyer, M.H. Reese Norris of Hartford, moved for a mistrial, but the court dismissed the motion.

Norris said Scruggs has "numerous grounds for appeal of her conviction." Chief among these, he said, is that the prosecution never introduced expert testimony to show that keeping an unhygienic home would lead to a child's suicide.

Meanwhile, Scruggs's lawsuit is ongoing, and an investigation by the state's Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) found fault with the school, the juvenile court, and the DCF for failing to act in time to help J. Daniel.

"Each neglected to conduct complete assessments of the boy's emotional strengths and weaknesses," the OCA said in its final report. "They failed to recognize that tie was showing signs of emotional disturbance, possibly depression, and was at risk for suicide. J. Daniel's safety system failed to recognize and acknowledge that he was a victim of chronic bullying and abuse. The 12-year-old sought help [and] showed signs of distress but was ignored, punished, and held accountable for behaviors and conditions that may not have been under his control."

Scruggs's conviction sparked a firestorm of news coverage and reaction from parents' advocacy groups, most of it sympathetic to her. The Advocacy Group for Parents of Children Affected by Bullying, in Wallingford, Connecticut, planned a protest to take place on Scruggs's sentencing date and has issued a petition condemning her conviction. The Web site bullyonline.org, based in the United Kingdom, criticized the verdict and urged readers to write to the trial judge.

In July 2002, in response to J. Daniel's death, Connecticut passed a comprehensive bill requiring schools to institute antibullying policies. It includes a provision promising anonymity to anyone who reports bullying.