A judge said the student, now 18, showed no remorse for the beating. His mother said he has mental health conditions and needs help.
A Florida student accused of beating a school employee unconscious after she confiscated his Nintendo Switch last year was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday, court records show.
Brendan Depa, 18, pleaded no contest to one count of aggravated battery on an elected official or education employee, according to sentencing documents from the Seventh Judicial Circuit Court in Flagler County.
Depa, who was 17 at the time of the assault, was also sentenced to 15 years of probation.
Did you read the article?
He was already a special needs student with an apparently individualized education program. This doesn’t sound like a “Why now?” Situation. It sounds a bit like there may be more going on, especially since the school district declined to answer when questioned about it.
You may be right that it’s probably not the first sign of aggression but he’s also autistic with other issues. Do you know how expensive it is to get help, how our healthcare/insurance system preys on people to take their money rather than help them, and the likelihood of this family maybe not being able to help more than they already were?
I feel sorry for the person that he hurt, but this is a mentally ill black kid getting tossed in prison because of a mental illness. Which is going to ruin him just like you said.
The judge saying he showed no remorse is bs used to paint this kid in the worst light. Well no fucking shit he showed no remorse, if he’s got a bunch of mental problems that would make sense. I knew a kid growing up that was similar, he was extremely strong and even the slightest thing could set him on a rampage. His parents drained everything they had into helping him, but it wasn’t enough. When the insurance stops paying what are you going to do?
I’m not saying that nothing should be done but there’s more to this than “parents failed the kid with mental disabilities”.
On top of that, an autism diagnosis rarely gets you any support that isn’t Applied Behavioral Analysis therapy. That’s essentially dog training for your autist (designed by the same B. F. Skinner of “Skinner box” fame using the same principals), and people who have been through it have described it as torture. The ADA doesn’t make many accommodations for folks with non-physical disabilities, and cops have no idea how to interact with folks with communication barriers and an inability to control their bodily movements. It’s tough being autistic in public. It’s tough trying to navigate our society as a parent of autistic people. With or without insurance, it’s hard. The problems are not purely financial.
I recommend some books on the subject, particularly Neurotribes by Steve Silberman and Unmasking Autism by Dr. Devon Price.