Argumentative Essay

Should Scott Peterson be criminally liable for the charges of "Child Neglect" and "Culpable Negligence" for the deaths of students at Marjory Stone man Douglass High School?

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Should Scott Peterson be criminally liable for the charges of "Child Neglect" and "Culpable Negligence" for the deaths of students at Marjory Stone man Douglass High School?

Introduction

On 14th February 2018, Scott Peterson was arrested and under the statutes in Florida State law was charged with two violations. Child Neglect and Culpable Negligence were the charges placed on Scot Peterson. As a deputy, he was assigned to the resource officer at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. These charges arose from the reasoning that during a school shooting incident Deputy Scot Peterson did not perform his duties well as he put his safety and welfare above the ones he was supposed to protect. This essay will try to analyze the circumstances surrounding the incident and will prove why Deputy Scot Peterson should be found guilty of Child Neglect and Culpable Negligence.

Claims

According to Florida State law, Culpable Negligence is defined as when someone fails to take care of another person and that the other person becomes injured or is vulnerable to one due to the negligence of the primary person. Under this law, this is a misdemeanor and is punishable by fifteen years of incarceration. By running away from his duties to protect the students under his charge, Deputy Scot Peterson created a prime circumstance for the students to get hurt or even be killed by a mentally unstable individual. He might not have directly inflicted any harm on the children but his negligence did lead to the pain and suffering caused to the ones who lost their loved ones that day.

Furthermore, most of the people who died and were injured in the Parkland Shooting or the Shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School were children. Deputy Scot Peterson was given the necessary training and equipment to subdue any assailant that might have had any intention of harming the students/children that were currently enrolled in the school. His act of cowardice led to the suffering of children and students and some even lost their lives in the process. This makes him guilty under the Florida State Law for child neglect, which states that penalties are present such as prison or fine for those caregivers that fail in providing care to children and may become the cause of harm or death for said children.

Moreover, according to the statement of Sheriff Israel, Deputy Scot Peterson did not even abide by law enforcement regulations as he did not enter the premises to assess where the target is. There is also video evidence that clearly shows Deputy Scot Peterson going the opposite way of the shooting for forty-eight minutes leaving the people under his charge defenseless.

Counterclaims

However, the fact is clearly visible that Deputy Scot Peterson was being used as a scapegoat by blaming the whole school shooting on his shoulders. The fact is that he was the only one who was charged in the whole Broward Sherrif’s office and no other culprit was even investigated. Furthermore, his trial was rushed and it was clearly visible as a sign of a coverup. Eight days is such a small timeframe of investigating an incident of such a large scale. Proper time and resources should have been employed to carefully assess the situation. Lastly, nobody knows why Deputy Peterson kept the deputies back from the building. He maybe did it so the shooter would not get agitated and kill more people. The reasoning behind his decision would have been clearly known if the investigation had been properly.

Conclusion

However, Deputy Scot Peterson’s action during this crisis was not acceptable and clearly showed that he valued his life more than the life of the people he was supposed to protect. It is understandable that the investigation was rushed but this could be due to multiple reasons even rising pressure from the public itself. In regards to the facts stated in the case, it seems very probable that Deputy Scot Peterson is guilty of the charges placed upon him.