No, he didn't use a gun. But if she can be found partially responsible because she kept a messy home, I suppose someone could easily be found responsible for leaving firearms laying around (?).
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10277981&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=517515&rfi=6
Meriden mother found guilty in suicide of son
Associated Press 10/07/2003
MERIDEN — A mother was convicted Monday of contributing to the suicide of her 12-year-old son, who hanged himself in his closet with a necktie after being bullied at school over his bad breath and body odor.
Judith Scruggs, 52, was found guilty of risk of injury to a minor for creating a filthy home that prosecutors said prevented J. Daniel Scruggs from improving his hygiene.
She faces up to 10 years in prison when she is sentenced Nov. 20 in Superior Court.
A six-member jury acquitted Scruggs of cruelty to persons and a second risk of injury charge that alleged she failed to provide proper medical and psychological care for Daniel.
Legal experts said the case may be the first time a parent has been convicted of contributing to a child’s suicide.
Defense attorney Reese Norris called the verdict an injustice.
"I hope the public will have an outcry that someone could be convicted of any charge ... in association with the suicide of her child," Norris said.
Prosecutor James Dinnan agreed the case was disturbing, but said it was proper for a jury to decide whether Scruggs’ actions contributed to the boy’s death.
"There are those who may disagree, but it is our position that parents are responsible for the care and welfare of their children and must ensure their basic medical, emotional and psychological needs are satisfied," Dinnan said.
Scruggs showed no emotion as the guilty verdict was read, but several onlookers in the packed courtroom gasped. She refused to comment as she left the courthouse.
Jurors Thomas Diaz and Vinny Giardina said the fact that Daniel slept in his closet with knives and a homemade spear led them to vote for a conviction. He slept many nights in the closet and hanged himself there on Jan. 2, 2002.
Scruggs knew about the knives and had told police her son kept the blades because he was afraid.
"These were not just pocket knives they were talking about. They were pretty big blades," said Diaz, the jury’s foreman.
Diaz, of Meriden, said the jury could not convict Scruggs of the second risk of injury charge because prosecutors did not present any evidence about the kind of medical or psychological help Daniel needed.
Giardina, of North Branford, said he wanted to convict Scruggs of the second risk of injury charge, but one juror could not be convinced.
"I didn’t want her to get off scot-free," Giardina said.
When Scruggs spoke to police several days after Daniel’s death, she acknowledged her son would sometimes have body odor or bad breath and would soil himself to get out of going to school. She said she frequently told Daniel to take showers, but said she could not force him to do so.
Scruggs told police Daniel was afraid of bullies who had kicked and punched him, so she kept him out of school on the advice of school leaders and a state social worker.
Prosecutors presented evidence that showed there was barely room to move around her home because of clothes, boxes, papers and other debris that littered the floor. The kitchen was full of dirty dishes and spills and stains. The bathroom floor and the bathtub were covered with clothes, and the toilet, sink and tub were soiled.
Friends of Scruggs and her daughter, Kara Morris, testified that the house was not as dirty as police claimed.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10277981&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=517515&rfi=6
Meriden mother found guilty in suicide of son
Associated Press 10/07/2003
MERIDEN — A mother was convicted Monday of contributing to the suicide of her 12-year-old son, who hanged himself in his closet with a necktie after being bullied at school over his bad breath and body odor.
Judith Scruggs, 52, was found guilty of risk of injury to a minor for creating a filthy home that prosecutors said prevented J. Daniel Scruggs from improving his hygiene.
She faces up to 10 years in prison when she is sentenced Nov. 20 in Superior Court.
A six-member jury acquitted Scruggs of cruelty to persons and a second risk of injury charge that alleged she failed to provide proper medical and psychological care for Daniel.
Legal experts said the case may be the first time a parent has been convicted of contributing to a child’s suicide.
Defense attorney Reese Norris called the verdict an injustice.
"I hope the public will have an outcry that someone could be convicted of any charge ... in association with the suicide of her child," Norris said.
Prosecutor James Dinnan agreed the case was disturbing, but said it was proper for a jury to decide whether Scruggs’ actions contributed to the boy’s death.
"There are those who may disagree, but it is our position that parents are responsible for the care and welfare of their children and must ensure their basic medical, emotional and psychological needs are satisfied," Dinnan said.
Scruggs showed no emotion as the guilty verdict was read, but several onlookers in the packed courtroom gasped. She refused to comment as she left the courthouse.
Jurors Thomas Diaz and Vinny Giardina said the fact that Daniel slept in his closet with knives and a homemade spear led them to vote for a conviction. He slept many nights in the closet and hanged himself there on Jan. 2, 2002.
Scruggs knew about the knives and had told police her son kept the blades because he was afraid.
"These were not just pocket knives they were talking about. They were pretty big blades," said Diaz, the jury’s foreman.
Diaz, of Meriden, said the jury could not convict Scruggs of the second risk of injury charge because prosecutors did not present any evidence about the kind of medical or psychological help Daniel needed.
Giardina, of North Branford, said he wanted to convict Scruggs of the second risk of injury charge, but one juror could not be convinced.
"I didn’t want her to get off scot-free," Giardina said.
When Scruggs spoke to police several days after Daniel’s death, she acknowledged her son would sometimes have body odor or bad breath and would soil himself to get out of going to school. She said she frequently told Daniel to take showers, but said she could not force him to do so.
Scruggs told police Daniel was afraid of bullies who had kicked and punched him, so she kept him out of school on the advice of school leaders and a state social worker.
Prosecutors presented evidence that showed there was barely room to move around her home because of clothes, boxes, papers and other debris that littered the floor. The kitchen was full of dirty dishes and spills and stains. The bathroom floor and the bathtub were covered with clothes, and the toilet, sink and tub were soiled.
Friends of Scruggs and her daughter, Kara Morris, testified that the house was not as dirty as police claimed.