Thursday, July 21, 2005

Canadians in trouble, updated

Remember that Canadian teenager who allegedly threatened to blow up his Pennsylvania high school?
Well, he was back in court on Wednesday.
This from KYW Newsradio:
The sentence is boot camp, probation, and counseling for a 17-year-old from Bucks County who threatened to blow up Central Bucks East High School a couple months ago and was found in possession of materials to make a bomb.
Travis Biehn is not a terrorist with anti-American sentiment, says Judge Kenneth Biehn (no relation).
And defense lawyer William Goldman would concur:
"Since September of ‘04, over three thousand e-mails were searched. There was not one recipe or bomb-making discussion of blowing up. Not one pipe. Nothing."
But the boy had been in trouble with the law before, and neither he, his parents nor the school district took things seriously -- not until after the boy made his threat.
Psychiatrists found -- and the judge agreed -- that the boy thinks himself superior to others and doesn’t take responsibility for his actions.
The plan is now to put him in a month-long wilderness camp. That satisfies Bucks County DA Diane Gibbons:
"What this program will make him do is work with other kids who have also gotten in trouble and learn to work with them, respect them, and treat them with the decency and humanity he should."
If that works, and if he apologizes, he'll be freed to do community service while attending counseling sessions with his parents.
If not, it’s back to youth jail for more evaluation.
The parents must also pay for half the cost of searching and securing Central Bucks East after the threat was made.

I love reporter David Madden's line:
Psychiatrists found -- and the judge agreed -- that the boy thinks himself superior to others and doesn’t take responsibility for his actions.
A classic North American leftist in bloom, huh?