In exchange, prosecutors would drop more serious charges against them, a person familiar with the proposed agreement said this week. Prosecutors say the harsh treatment led Prince to commit suicide.
“When you’re dealing with kids, it’s probably always better to try to turn them into productive citizens, rather than locking them up and throwing away the key,’’ said Elizabeth Englander, professor of psychology at Bridgewater State University and director of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center.
She said she would wait for more details about the proposed agreement before judging its fairness.
“I think a lot of how we will judge this is on what the kids will actually have to do,’’ she said. “But requiring them to plead guilty to criminal harassment does send a message to people how seriously the Commonwealth takes bullying. It would be very different if they didn’t have to plead guilty to anything.’’
Coloroso, whose books include “The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander,’’ said she would like to see the alleged perpetrators required to publicly acknowledge what they did, explain the consequences of bullying and how to stop it, and to make private amends to Prince’s family.
“Community service and a fine are not enough,’’ she said. “They don’t give justice to the family of the target of the bullying, and they don’t give those who were charged the opportunity to heal from this by being held accountable. What I always hope for with juveniles is that there’s some restorative justice.’’
She suggested that the youths be required to own up to their behavior by “saying what they did to her.’’ She said they should also be required to scrub anything negative they may have written about her online.
Coloroso said the judge should order them to apologize individually to Prince’s family. “Then, they can truly get on with their own lives,’’ she said.
Prince’s relatives could not be reached yesterday.
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