Two teens have been sentenced for their part in a school bathroom fight at a Delaware high school that resulted in the death of a 16-year-old girl.
According to the Associated Press, one 17-year-old who was convicted in the attack that left Amy Joyner-Francis dead was sentenced Monday to six months in a juvenile facility.
That teen was convicted of criminally negligent homicide by a Family Court judge in April for the 2016 attack that turned deadly. Cellphone footage showed Amy trying to fight back and escape as she was repeatedly struck and kicked in the head.
The newswire notes that the teen will be sent to a secure, residential treatment program for juvenile delinquents and, upon her release, will face additional supervision and programs until age 19, followed by two more years of probation. The girl will also have to do 500 hours of community service.
Meanwhile, another 17-year-old co-defendant was sentenced to 18 months of probation and 300 hours of community service after being convicted of conspiracy for helping to plan the attack. That girl was seen on video kicking Amy while she was on the floor.
A third defendant was acquitted of conspiracy.
An autopsy found that Amy died of sudden cardiac death, brought on by heart and lung conditions and further aggravated by the physical and emotional stress of the April 2016 fight in the bathroom of the Howard High School of Technology in Wilmington, Del.
Defense attorneys attempted to argue that Amy’s death was unforeseeable, but Family Court Judge Robert Coonin sided with prosecutors in that the incident in the bathroom was indeed an “attack” and not a mere fight.
Coonin also criticized the effect that social media has on modern society. As AP notes:
He told the girl convicted of homicide that social media had interfered with developing an “appropriate sense of humanity” and allowed her to put ego ahead of thoughts and feelings about the well-being of others.
Coonin prohibited both defendants from using social media while serving their sentences.
“This is an extraordinarily difficult case, and it has been from the beginning,” Coonin said Monday. “The community has lost, the defendants and their families have lost, and most importantly, Amy’s family has lost.”
Read more at ABC6.