Whoa, the poor boy's just 16 yrs old. I was pretty wierd at that age too, he's probably gonna come around.
On the other hand, i can see the american's being a little paranoid about this kind of behaviour but there are other ways of dealing with this kids.

..the land of the free. or sort of. sure its abit paranoia to throw a 16yr old kid in prison...but we're not talking any regular kid here. Its a 16yr old American kid. One thats probably been nurtured and conditioned with TV violence and tremendous peer pressure, able to play M-rated games since 5, and spent many hours a day browsing the Internet.

So yeah... its just PROBABLY... but chances of that happening in America is probably somewhat higher than other country...

If u dont get them early enough u'll end up with Virginia. Just like what Russel Peters said in many of his standups... "white people, PLEASE BEAT YOUR KID!"

Just for asking for the murder of someone? No big deal eh...

its funny how this countrys way of helping people is throwing them in a prison cell. HE NEEDS PSYCHIATRIC HELP, in other words, put him in a psychiatric ward instead of a place that will make him more messed up in the head. And now hes out on bond, and he probobly is not getting the help he needs.

We grow weak as a nation because we worry too much about coddling the criminals. Remember the victims first and then you can talk.

It's one of a foolish thought that the child has been. It's one of bad leisure in america

punishable by up to one year in jail in NYS.

Here's the law:

S 240.30 Aggravated harassment in the second degree.
A person is guilty of aggravated harassment in the second degree when,
with intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm another person, he or
she:
1. Either (a) communicates with a person, anonymously or otherwise, by
telephone, or by telegraph, mail or any other form of written
communication, in a manner likely to cause annoyance or alarm; or
(b) causes a communication to be initiated by mechanical or electronic
means or otherwise with a person, anonymously or otherwise, by
telephone, or by telegraph, mail or any other form of written
communication, in a manner likely to cause annoyance or alarm; or

The only element of this crime that may not have been established is the fact that the communication was not established directly with the person that would have been the victim.

What an idiot. The Bush Pioneers and Karl Rove just send you targeted advertising for life insurance for a death in your family and then an accidental car crash occurs. Doesn't he know how the Rethuglicon mafia works? Just ask Jeb!

First off no one said the kid was going to jail , the crime of aggravated harassment can carry a maximum sentence of up to a year so don't get your undies in a twist. Just so you know MOST countries have similar laws. He will probably get some court ordered anger management and public service sentence and probation, and since he is a minor his records will be sealed. The "news" is just a bunch of entertainment whores who like to put in extream statements to jazz up stories instead of the old days when someone would bother to write the story after the sentence to give a complete and accurate account. By the way you bond means he is NOT in jail and is awaiting trial, you cannot force anyone to do anything until AFTER their convicted so get an understanding befor you spout off. By the way if anyone feels its ok to have your name and home address advertised on u-tube in a murder solitation please feel free to list it here and if I can verify you are who you say you are, I will see if someone will post a video for you.

[Dave Wrote]
"So yeah... its just PROBABLY... but chances of that happening in America is probably somewhat higher than other country..."

Really ? Last I checked it wasnt the usa that raised people that run into crowds of people with bombs strapped to thier chest. The us also did not create many of the largest mass murders in the world. I belive germany russia and china hold those records.

Noone knows what is going to happen to this kid because he is a minor. We wont know what kind of sentence he will get, what help he may or may not get, etc....

We do know that Jack Thompson should ring in any second and start saying how the intarwebs cause this stuff, and that it gives you herpeghonnasyphilaids.

F*** the little psychopath. What about the teacher and her family that have to live in fear because some little whack-job couldn't handle getting a failing grade? What about the other students that now have to fear another Seung Hui Cho in their midst? The only "help" this nut-case needs is swift and summary justice before he hurts someone else. We're long past the point where society needs to say ENOUGH and deal severely with psychotic criminals REGARDLESS of what mental conditions or excuses they may have. That would send a clear message to the other psychos out there that society is no longer prepared to put up with you and your depraved actions.

And that's the attitude that will cause more problems. You want to oppress people? They WILL fight back eventually. No one likes self righteous society oriented pig-fools such as yourself.

To do what he did. He can get his GED on the inside and I am sure his cell mate will help him out. Not. Just for flunking math,,, amazing.

I think everyone needs to calm down a great deal. Everyone is too paranoid about everything. The kid most likely did it without serious intentions for anyone to kill her. Maybe if everyone smoked pot we'd be happy.

Okay first off, i knew matt when i first moved to staten island. Since first grade 2 6th grade, me and him were best friends. He then went to a different school than me but i went to the same school as him again in 8th grade. Me and matt were 2 kids that you could never catch being serious for 2 seconds. Were we the class clowns and that was how we always were. Me and him used to hang out everyday and talk all the time. The girl that said he wrote suicidal notes to himself is a complete liar and just wanted some attention from a camera. Little does that dumb b*tch know that even though she opened her mouth about something she has no reason talking about, it made him seem out of his mind. Im not just saying this because im his friend, its because i know everything about him. He got stressed out and said something he shouldnt but the reason everyone is flipping out is something no1 will admit. Because of the VT incident, everyone thinks he is going to kill everyone. Everyone in thier life has said they want someone dead, he just had a video camera on while saying it. If everyone stopped being so uptight about it and just noticed that he is a 16 year old, stressed out who has always had a tough life and grew up to bad experiences. You need 2 see the full picture, not just what the media wants you to see. The press wants to make an example out of him to cool everyone off, but if you are going to make and example, do it to someonw who deserves going to jail for a year. If you want to talk about this reach me at lil lynch7203

could be eligible for Youthful Offender Status, if he hasn't used it for any other crime he may have been charge with in the past. The most likely senario I can see is probation, maybe a fine, community service and anger management classes. Also in reply to Nick, if he just had his video camera on, it would have recorded either to the cassette or the computer, he made a conscious effort to post the video on Youtube. Most other people who get stressed out and say they want to kill someone, don't usually post their feelings in the public domain. His video certainly wasn't the casual, "I just want to strangle them" (being said under their breath). I will grant you however, Nick, that the facts of the case are sometimes skewed when they become entangled with the media.

Anyone ever thought bout helping these kids instead of pissing on em n listening.. listening as in "actually sitting down, listening without ur own intentions.. i know excatly how he feels. i hated school... i hated life when i was young. being young is the bomb. it should be greatly enjoyed as it is the shortest time spane in ur life in which u learn sooooo much so quickly n have 2 be accountable 4 it/urself... get over it everyone. get ur large hands off it. im sure hes a pretty cool dude!!

If that video was intended as a joke, that was the most unfunny thing I've ever seen. What is funny about saying you want someone dead? You just don't play around with crap like that. Especially when there is motive involved (suicidal notes and just failing a math class). He deserves whatever punishment he receives. And no, not everyone has had a moment where they say, I wish this person was dead. I've never said that, but even if I did I wouldn't go a step further as to start planning the whole thing. Bottom line: You just dont joke about such a horrible idea in a public scene and expect nothing to happen to you. A severe lapse in judgment; very stupid and dangerous prank. What if another idiot took that seriously and followed through with it?

As noted above it said it 'could' and up to a year. This isn't any differed for most European laws.

Perhaps it was a joke and he was acting too well or he does need help, either way leaving some other misguided person could pick this up as an confimation that it's accepted/normal behaviour to threaten to or to kill someone. Not acting upon it would send the wrong signal.

it is not to be taken lightly, suspension sounds appropriate. Anything beyond should be left to someone with direct insight into the case.

He needs a good spanking and so do his parents.

Have someone noticed that it happens almost only in USA? Is this because the kind of education? Lack of communication between parents and sons? I don't know, but something have to be changed in their way to live.

Jeeze, he doesn't even fit the physcological profile of insane. Come on man, the kid had many friends.
"But we are the court and the court finds these acts very displeasing" I sentence you to bla bla bla years. Ever wonder why they call them detention facilities and not correctional facilities anymore?
Lets just say that little mathew will find some new friends, who he will associate on better terms with while locked up. They will then release him with the mind of a killer.

Has anybody ever heard of counseling?

I would tend to agree with that. You say we should help the kid, and I'm going to assume that by "we' you mean society in general. Well his parents have been with him his whole life, and if they are responsible at least know him decently well. If he needs help, they should be giving it to him, or finding it for him. On the other hand, it's not like he's the victim of a disease or something; he is entirely responsible for his own actions, and most of us seem to agree that those were unacceptable. The way every judicial system on this planet works is, if you sanely do something that breaks the law, you get punished. It is up the judge to decide how much your decision was influenced by circumstances, and how lenient to be. That's why very few people in this country get the maximum sentence.

Mustve been one of those emo's with no lives... suicide notes... what an attention seeker (for people to even know that about him is sad)
His parents should go to jail just for letting him grow up like that.

The reality is, in some areas of the world we have a large number of rehabilitation centers, psych hospitals, etc. Some people really do get help and get better. However, the reality is they are the minority by far. The vast majority of people who have been in jail end up there again. Everybody tries to blame the system, the jails, the psych help. It's all a load of garbage (for most people). Some people are just out to be jerks! Maybe they had bad parenting or no friends in school, but that does not excuse their actions. Why do we worry so much about how to react gently to someone's actions? They CHOSE to make it happen, it's ALREADY DONE. Punishment is appropriate for an action taken, regardless of the motive. The extent of punishment can be moderated if appropriate, but you're damn right some people deserve plain old PUNISHMENT. We are WAY too hung up on being gentle and coddling everybody. This kid went WAY WAY too far threatening someone like this, and even providing his personal information. I personally feel 1 year in prison would probably give him lots of time to think about it. NOBODY should EVER be allowed to do that.

Wow 26 comments and nobody's blamed violent video games yet. That's gotta be a first.

Must of been that hooker after that mob hit.

this is obviously his fault, the bastard. =)

don't go on and blame everyone who is innocent! When the world turns to custard, we can't all blame each other for our own crimes. we must blame our leaders, for it is them who have neglected their duty to control the people. so, naturally it's all Bush's fault.

Mo, Dave sort of blamed video games in the second comment... At least "M" rated games. BUT, Dave then went on to reference the VT shooter, who had no video games, so Dave might have negated the usefulness of his entire comment with that one, seeing as the VT shooter had no games...

All the crap like this comes straight from no discipline. All these little punka$$ kids pull this crap because they know nothing will happen to them. Parrents either don't or are not allowed to discipline a child. "Don't spank your kids" is pure bull$hit. They do something wrong, they need to be punished and know they wont get away with it. This is another great example of the "Coddle your kids and they will behave" mentality that is running rampant these days. I'm not a religious person, but I believe that when they took the teachers and parents abilities to discipline kids away that society started it's tumble back down to the days of cavemen. Come on Governments and parents, grab some balls and show our future generations they NEED discipline!!

none of you kno anything at all. you dont kno the kid and if you do you will kno he was kidding. some people find it funny and some people dont but that dont matter. kids joke around. get over it. & ii doubt he said "heres her adress go kill her". hes a good kid and your all idiots.

matt shood be of the hook dat5 my son we rapp together it5 not suacidle it5 rymes he rite5 so get straight pussy people

Um, not everyone that grows up like that end up that way. In fact, most don't. However, unlike some other countries, the USA likes to put any story on tv or the news that can draw a crowd. So while other countries don't report on such things or put a media spotlight on, USA looks worse. Though I will say A LOT of parents or less than worthless, but to say its because of M rated games, movies, music.... sorry no. Its a mentally unbalanced individual, with psychological problems. If the parents care or paid attention it wouldn't happen.