Link to my article: http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/27/california.gang.rape.investigation/index.html

This article talks about the gang rape incident which occured on Saturday night October 24th at Richmond High School in Richmond, California. It was the night of their homecoming dance and a 15 year old girl was outside alone when she was attacked and gang raped. Authorities have reported that at least 20 people stood by and watched the entire incident without calling 911. It says that 10 people were involved with the attack itself and 10 other people stood by and did nothing. The victim was found unconscious under a bench shortly before midnight Saturday, soon after police received a phone call from someone in the area who had overheard people at the assault scene "reminiscing about the incident," The girl was flown by helicopter to a hospital where she was admitted in critical condition, and by tuesday was in stable conditon. So far three people have been arrested and two are facing charges such as rape, robbery, and kidnapping.

  1. Why do you think those 10 bystanders stood around and watched this girl get raped without calling 911?
  2. What can schools do better to make sure that this type of incident won't happen again?
  3. Should there be a more severe punishment for these types of crimes?
  4. What can we do as a community to prevent these types of things from happening?
  5. "A 1999 California law makes it illegal not to report a witnessed crime against a child, but the law applies only to children 14 and under." What are your thoughts about this law? Should there be changes made to it?
  6. "We do not have the ability to arrest people who witnessed the crime and did nothing," Gagan said. "The law can be very rigid. We don't have the authority to make an arrest." What are your thoughts in responce to this statement made by Richmond Police Lt. Mark Gagan? Should a chnage be made to this to ensure that justice is served?