AGPCAB INC
Stop Bullying Now
The Protest
BREAKING NEWS!!! TODAY 8/28/06 CT SUPREME COURT OVERTURNED JUDITH SCRUGGS CRIMINAL CONVICTION
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO BELIEVED IN DANIEL AND JUDY!!!
J. Daniel Scruggs
A 12 year old student, slight in stature with a brilliant IQ of 139 attended
Although the gatekeepers- the Police, the Prosecuter, the Judge, School Authorities, the PTA President, the Mayor, Department of Children & Family Services desperate to protect themselves were aligning themselves accordingly, there would be nothing, not one single word that could convince the world the inhumane treatment J.Daniel received at school was not a legal and moral crime.
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On
How can one conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the prosecution’s only physical evidence of several pictures of the home taken by police on
And how about the two unsheathed kitchen knives and homemade spear police found in Daniel’s room on
Four of the six jurors, Kirschmann, Diaz, Hubbard and Giardina all said the guilty verdict on the risk-of-injury count was a direct result of police testimony that Daniel kept knives in his room. (Meriden Record Journal 10/7/03)
Daniel committed suicide by using his suit tie to hang himself, not a knife or a spear.
We know that parents of all walks of life, varied socioeconomic status and domestic and hygenic habits have a multitude of potentially dangerous items in the place of their choice within their homes and in many cases firearms. We know that in many of these same homes a child has committed suicide with one of these items or firearms. We know none of these parents have been arrested for contributing to their child's suicide because of their socioeconomic status, domestic or hygenic habits, or for allowing the item or firearm used by the child to complete the suicide to be in their home.
So why, would police choose to reach down in the case of Daniel's suicide?
The answer to the question was clear for me and more than likely it is to you as well. L.T.
"They missed the whole point", says CT State Representative Mary Mushinsky of the jurors guilty verdict.
Face The State News Show 10/03
Judith Scruggs, convicted felon, with no prior criminal history, faces up to ten years in prison for the suicide of her son.
Many have asked what has happened since Judith Scruggs was convicted on
Since Judith Scruggs’ conviction the following information has been publicized:
Judith’s attorney, Reese Norris files motion for a new trial based on; juror misconduct and bias, not replacing a juror, not allowing the jury to be polled for unanimity, and a motion to acquit claiming the prosecution failed to provide expert testimony that a cluttered and messy home endangers the physical and mental well being of a child.
Vincent Giardina, a CT DOT employee and one of 6 jurors to convict Judith Scruggs, who reporters, Stowe, Makwana, & Griffin claim told them after the conviction that Scruggs’ intention to sue the city figured in on his decision to convict her. Two other jurors, Paul Kirschman and Thomas Diaz who were also questioned by reporters and testified before Judge Frazzini in a public hearing over Giardina’s alleged misconduct, said that Giardina did bring up the possibility of a lawsuit during deliberations but both told Giardina to dismiss it, as it was not part of the evidence presented to them during the trial.
Judith is fired from Wal-Mart after being suspended since her arrest because of negative publicity.
Gary Brandl, a former teacher,
"It is unusual for a police department to reach down in a situation like that", said
Paul Johnson Deanof Public Safety at the
After talking with her attorney and in consideration of her financial state, Judith reluctantly chooses to accept a severance package and resigns from Washington Middle School as a paraprofessional rather than risk being fired if Board members vote her unfit for the job in light of her conviction- which would leave her with no monetary compensation. A choice of survival for Judith who says she didn’t do anything wrong and was put on paid suspension following her arrest.
Judith is stopped by police for driving an unregistered car with plates that did not belong to the car. Judith was driving home from her part time job at Stop & Shop around
Judith is evicted from her apartment which she called home for nearly a decade, as she no longer is able to pay her rent and now lives with close friends.
Judge Frazzini’s wife, Sheila Huddleston, a partner in the
Huddleston’s firm also advised the Meriden Board of Education on whether to fire Judith from her job as a paraprofessional. Judge Frazzini said his wife had no involvement in any of the Scruggs work nor was she aware that her firm had any connection with the Scruggs case until February 2004 when the Meriden Board of Education asked Huddleston’s firm to represent them in the federal civil suit against Judith Scruggs. Frazzini further states at that time his wife's firm called for an internal check for possible conflicts of interest and has since declined the Meriden Board of Education’s request to represent them. Judith’s attorney and the prosecutor met with Frazzini in a private conference to discuss this matter. In the conference Frazzini did not disqualify himself and both attorney’s agreed.
Frazzini called a brief public session to put the issue on the record. He asked both attorney’s if they objected and they said no. After both attorney’s said no, Judith responded to the Judge’s question by saying she also had no objection.
"It seems rather dubious to me that literally the rest of the world knew the time frame of Judith's trial, but the Judge's wife and the attorney's in her firm were not." B.C. Sweden
The city of
Judge Frazzini denies all motions for a new trial and acquittal .
Judith files a civil suit in Hartford, CT U.S. District Court seeking damages from school personnel who, the suit claims, violated Scruggs' sons civil rights by failing to protect him from bullies and for not providing for him the education he was entitled to by law. The suit names former school superintendent, Elizabeth M. Ruocco, The Meriden, CT Board of Education,
These failures, the suit states, caused Daniel severe psychological trauma, physical pain and suffering, fear for his life and well being, and a fear of bullying.
Federal Judge Peter C. Dorsey has been assigned to preside over the civil case.
"Hey, this is
Frank Kogut said. "Anybody can sue anyone and
people do it hoping they can get some money". (
Judith is sentenced on May 14, 2004; Judge Frazzini gives her an 18 month suspended sentence, (no prison time) five years probation, 100 hours of community service, manditory psychological evaluation and treatment and if she were to become responsible for , or supervise a child under 16, she must take a parenting class.
This egregious conviction sets a dangerous precedent for parents and leaves little hope for victims and bystanders who are forced to endure repeated institutional abuse and neglect. Although the Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate also severely criticized Washington Middle School Administrators and staff, DCF, and CSSD for failing to protect J. Daniel and provide him the education he was entitled to by law, none have been held criminally accountable, including the bullies who inflicted systematic physical and psychological harm or their parents. L.T (Record Journal Editorial)
May 14, 2004 Conviction Protest
Parents who are concerned about the clear miscarriage of justice, the safety of their children in the public school system, and the lack of accountability for all those deemed culpable are encouraged to attend. Your contribution could prevent the tragic pain and unfortunate death of another child. (L.T. Record Journal Editorial)
Pictures from the Judith Scruggs conviction protest
Standout..."It is from countless diverse acts of courage & belief, that human history is shaped. Each time a person stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope; and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance" (RFK)
Thank you to all who joined in protest!
Let the congressmen and women in CT know how outraged you are that this
mother is being used as a scapegoat!!
"The thing that bothered me about this case so greatly was that the child
was in full view of everyone for so long". CTState Rep.MaryMushinsky
When emergency staff and police arrived at the Scruggs home after receiving a 911 call from Daniel’s sister who took her found her 12 year old brother hanging lifeless from a necktie, Judith Scruggs daughter to a neighbor’s home to be consoled while she went back to her son. As she arrived back at her home the police stopped her before she could go in and told her she could not return because her home was a “crime scene”. Although Daniel was found with a pencil near him, a suicide note was never reported to be found by the police.
CT Office of the Child Advocate Investigation of the Death of Daniel Scruggs Report
What the jury did not hear or see was the DCF evidence:
On 12/4/01, the same day Judith met with school officials during a meeting where she expressed concern about Daniel’s treatment by student peers, (the documented minutes reflect her statements; That Daniel had been “frequently assaulted in the classrooms, hallways, he was punched, kicked, had desks slammed into him and his hair pulled so violently that his head had snapped back”.) a DCF social worker had finally met with Judith and Daniel at the Scruggs home. It had been six weeks since the initial referral and four weeks before Daniel would commit suicide.
***No reference to this documented meeting indicating Daniel's abuse were found in the 10 page
police affadavit used to prosecute Judith scruggs. (
"We are taught to put only enough information in an affadavit to establish probable cause'"
(Meriden Police Sgt. Lenny Caponigro Meriden Record journal
"If we uncovered that this young man had been assaulted I think we certainly
would investigate those allegations". (Meriden Police Sgt .Lenny Caponigro MeridenRecordJournal 1/03
The entries in the case file by the social worker for that day are as follows:
The worker spoke with Daniel about going to school; She asked him “if there were any chance that he would try and get back to school and he said that he didn’t think so. He said he could not deal with the kids because they were harassing him even more. He said that his Game Boy was stolen and nothing was done about it. He was asked if things could be different if he was at another school and he said maybe. He was told that his worker would bring him some information about a school that he may want to look into and he said fine”.
Daniel’s mother stated that “she was frustrated with the school…she understands they can only do so much but she said that her son really has a problem with children there and is afraid to return”.
The worker spoke with Daniel’s sister who reported that she had a friend at the middle school and was told “Daniel was threatened by a kid in his class that told him that he would kill him”. She further explained thet their mother tried to get Daniel up for school but he refused to go “because he is really scared”.
The worker noted that she herself thought that "J. Daniel is a really good kid but because of his small stature and the fact that he is very timid, he gets seriously picked on which makes it difficult to handle the children at his school”. She further noted a description of the Scruggs home . “The Scruggs’ home is very crowded with furniture as mother is trying to find a place for her parents belongings as she has kept a lot of things since her death. The children have proper space and bedding there is adequate food in the house”.
Sadly, this DCF social worker never returned with the new school information promised to Daniel.
On or about
J.Daniel qualified for special education services in the second grade based on the discrepency model (VIQ/PIQ) as outlined by the state of CT. According to psychological and educational testing he exhibited very strong skills in math and science, verbal language and reasoning skills but showed considerable weakness in the areas of reading and written language. J. Daniel received next to nothing in intervention services for the remainder of his school years.
In fact, according to his educational records his special needs were grossly neglected. The obvious path to failure. Who is accountable for this?
On
According to an administrative note written by the school principal, on
"If we uncovered that this young man had been assaulted I think we certainly
would investigate those allegations". (
Daniel left 6th grade with plummeting grades of D's and C's. He was absent 37 days and tardy 24.
On
School officials blamed Daniel for the harassment and gave Judith a list of community providers to persue servicesfor her son.
On
Daniel stood on his desk and screamed out of control.
On
Daniel never went back to school after
This 12 year old boy had given up the fight for his life.
"I am confident our schools have quality support services and staff, and did their best
to get the family and individual in contact with
the necessary support services, " says Mayor D. Benigni who is
also the assistant principal of a
On
Individually administered test to assess intellectual functioning,
Individually administered test to assess acheivement in reading, math and spelling,
Projective tests to assess social emotional status,
Individual assessmentof adaptive/school behavior to be done by a consulting psychiatrist.
Judith Scruggs consented to the testing.
The recommended testing never took place. There is no evidence that any tests were ever scheduled or that a psychiatrist was engaged to conduct any of them. There was no one assigned to coordinate and ensure that Daniel was available to be tested or that accomodations would be arranged for his testing.
That translates into; Nobody cared.
Nobody was made to care.
Less than four weeks later Daniel was finally dead.
"None of that ever came up in executive session."
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"It was a tragedy and we want the kids to forget about this."
(Cathy Abercrombie-President,
(was elected a seat in CT House of Representatives in 2005 
)
"Bullying is not a crime. What are you going to charge a bully with?"
(Meriden Police Sgt. Lenny Caponigro Meriden Record Journal
"I was satisfied that the school did what it was supposed to do".
(Meriden Superintendent Elizabeth Ruocco Meriden Record Journal 1//13/02)
In 2003/04 Washington Middle School reported the following number of incidents to the CT state Board of Education:
39-threats/intimidation/assault/aggression
16-non sexual harassment/bullying/racial slurs
105-fighting/altercation
12-weapons
Police logs for Washington Middle School for the same time period:
3-juvenile complaints
5-breach of peace
3-threats
1-disorderly conduct