Bullies Should Be Held Legally Responsible

We all know what bullying is. We usually tend to think of it as some huge kid threatening to beat you up if you don’t give them your lunch money. But sometimes, bullying goes so much further than that. Sometimes bullies go too far, and their victims make the unfortunate choice of ending their own lives. As awful as it is, it happens every day, and the worst part about it is those bullies aren’t held legally accountable for their actions, but they should be.
Bullying is a form of harassment. It damages people physically and mentally. Even though the “normal” type of harassment is illegal, bullying someone literally to death isn’t. Rebecca Ann Sedwick was one of those victims who were bullied to death. She was a 12 year old girl in high school, and several other girls began taunting and making fun of her over a boyfriend issue. The taunting and teasing didn’t let up. Rebecca was both verbally and physically assaulted. One girl was reported telling Rebecca to “drink bleach and die”. Eventually Rebecca couldn’t take it anymore and she climbed to a concrete tower and hurled herself to her death. Rebecca was harassed, which is against the law, but people don’t seem to understand that.
In addition to being a form of harassment, bullies should be held legally accountable for their actions because those who bully know the difference between right and wrong. In the case of minors, when bullying gets brought up, many people bring up the fact that their brains are not fully developed until the age of 20 or so. This is true, and I do not dispute it. However, just because their brains aren’t entirely developed does not mean that shouldn’t be held accountable for their actions. If a minor cheated on a test, would the claim about their brains be considered legitimate and make it to where they don’t receive punishment? Of course not, so why should bullying someone to death be any different? Finally, bullies should be legally responsible for their actions because it would