webmaster notes: america is a police state now. i used to write crazy storys in grade school but i was never jailed or punished. the teachers just said i had a wild iminagtion.not an adbusive police state goverment jails kids for stupid stuff like this
Arizona Republic
Thursday, November 4, 1999
Student locked up for 5 days over story
Friends, teacher killed in, tale
By Josh Romonek
Associated Prom
PONDER, Texas Thirteenyear-old Christopher Beaman's scary Halloween story earned him extra credit - and five days in jail.
The seventh-grader was arrested last week for writing a story about shooting two classmates and a teacher. He was released from a juvenile detention center Tuesday.
"It seems like a year ago, a big ol' long year," Christopher said. "I was supposed to write a horror story. I don't think I did anything wrong."
He said teacher Amanda Henry assigned his class to write a horror story about being home alone and hearing noises. The teacher gave Christopher extra credit for volunteering to read his essay in class last Wednesday.
The boy was picked up at school by sheriffs deputies the next day after a call from Ponder High officials. Parents had complained about the essay, which was written in the first person with several misspellings and included a passage in which the writer "acssedently shot Mrs. Henry."
Juvenile Court Judge Darlene Whitten reviewed Christopher's school disciplinary records and ordered him held for 10 days, school officials said. He was released early after the family's lawyers demanded his freedom and Denton County prosecutors dropped the case.
Prosecutors did not return calls for comment on what charges they had considered bringing, and the boy's disciplinary records were not disclosed.