Talk:Shaquanda Cotton

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Contents 1 WikiProject Law? 2 Extension of Sentence 3 Tone of the last paragraph 4 Hearsay 5 Privacy Laws 6 More Hearsay 7 Shaquanda was released yesterday (not an April Fool's joke)! 8 Texas Youth Commission 9 Outgoing links need to be checked, as they don't all lead anywhere 10 Plagiarism 11 Fairness

[edit] WikiProject Law?

This is not a law article. It does not fall within WikiProject Law's scope, any more than Anna Nicole Smith's baby's custody proceedings do. Unless someone can give me a really good reason, I'm going to remove the WikiProject Law template.--Javance 15:18, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

Agreed. I took care of it. --Evb-wiki 15:29, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Extension of Sentence

I read in the Washington Post, Thursday, March 29, 2007 -- that her sentence is being increased by one year because she possessed contraband, explained as an extra pair of socks and a foam cup.

Reference: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/28/AR2007032802196.html

An interesting comment in that article that a white girl of the same age as Shaquanda was convicted of burning down her family's home and was given probation. Yikes!

Not to justify the emotional and poor-documented writing... but this case is like something out of the 18th Century.

Dwacon 17:37, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Tone of the last paragraph

I'm concerned with this sentence in the last paragraph:

"Her sentence was "up to 7 years" meaning that she would be out of jail right now if she would co-operate with the prison officials."

It is not clear to me from the two references cited, that Shaquanda would be out of jail if she co-operated with prison officials. The articles don't state what conditions need to be met for her to be released.

Asharm 06:48, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Hearsay

"Among the write-ups Shaquanda received were citations for wearing a skirt that was an inch too short, pouring too much paint into a cup during an art class and defacing a desk that school officials later conceded bore no signs of damage."

This statement is hearsay. It would be against privacy laws for the school in question to officially release Shaquanda's discipline records without the mother's consent, which she has not given. By not giving consent to release Shaquanda's discipline records, the school cannot defend itself. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Littleein (talk • contribs) 01:58, 29 March 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Privacy Laws

"Nor does Shaquanda herself deny that she pushed the hall monitor after the teacher's aide refused her permission to enter the school before the morning bell,although Shaquanda's mother maintains that she was supposed to have been allowed to visit the school nurse to take her medication, and both Shaquanda and her mother have stated that the teacher's aide pushed her first."

Due to privacy restrictions, the school cannot comment on this statement, therefore only one side is being presented.

[edit] More Hearsay

"a 58-year-old teacher's aide, was not seriously injured"

There has never been an official press release regarding the severity of the aide's injury. The school is the only reliable source of the truth regarding this matter and they are not allowed to disclose any information because the mother refuses to let them. Under the law, any statements regarding the aide's injury would be considered hearsay.

"Let her out of TYC," said Allan Hubbard, spokesman for Lamar County District Atty. Gary Young. "Hell, she's done a year for pushing a teacher. That's too long." I don't think it can get too much clearer than that.--Javance 18:51, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Also, there has been a pronouncement by an official, Allan Hubbard, on NPR. When asked what the extent of the teacher's aide's injuries were, he evaded until pressed. Permanent? No. Serious? No. Abrasions? No answer. He stated that she was taken to the emergency room and was subsequently released. However, he would not state specifically what her injuries were. One can conclude since he wasn't forthcoming that there were none. --69.49.165.74 05:13, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Shaquanda was released yesterday (not an April Fool's joke)!

Shaquanda Cotton was released from juvenile custody yesterday. Someone please update this article now!--Pinko1977 21:12, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

Done.PaeneJoscose 00:54, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Texas Youth Commission

There needs to be an article about the Texas Youth Commission, the current sex scandal, and its use of "Resocialization". It would be good background information for this article, specifically sentencing practices and the "Academic/Workforce Development, Behavior, and Correctional Therapy" milestones that must be met for release.

I don't have the time, but there's lots of information online.

--Javance 18:39, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

Feel free to create one. Once the article exists, we can then wiki-link to it. --Evb-wiki 18:49, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Outgoing links need to be checked, as they don't all lead anywhere

Number 12 leads to a login page, not an article, and others may as well.

Not for me. I get linked to a full new article published by the Chicago Tribune, "a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois." --Evb-wiki 21:54, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

I tried it again and got the same message: "Please register or log in The story you requested is available only to registered members." A link you have to register to see should be removed.

[edit] Plagiarism

Several sentences from the "controversy" section are lifted verbatim out of the Chicago Tribune. This is plagiarism and needs to either be quoted properly or changes.

Examples: "Shaquanda's mother, Creola Cotton, does not dispute that her daughter can behave impulsively and was sometimes guilty of tardiness or speaking out of turn at school--behaviors that she said were manifestations of Shaquanda's attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, for which the teen was taking prescription medication.

Nor does Shaquanda herself deny that she pushed the hall monitor after the teacher's aide refused her permission to enter the school before the morning bell--although Shaquanda maintains that she was supposed to have been allowed to visit the school nurse to take her medication, and that the teacher's aide pushed her first." http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0703120170mar12,0,1435953.story

Feel free to edit this article in a NPOV way to fix the problem. --Evb-wiki 20:31, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fairness

This article seems to only present one side of the case. It seems biased. There is no way the author can prove the teacher wasn't hurt or what Shaquanda was written up for since a school district cannot discuss that. I also don't think they could prove that she was written up due to her mothers involvement in a civil rights group nor can they prove that white students were allowed in when blacks were not. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.38.70.216 (talk) 21:32, 20 December 2007 (UTC)