FLORIDA TEENAGER KEIRA WILMONT CHARGED WITH 2 FELONIES FOR DOING A SCIENCE EXPERIMENT IN SCHOOL

 

This is true injustice...this girl is not a terrorist and should not be treated like one.  Her life is being ruined by the state of Florida. Here's the story from the Miami New Times:

Kiera Wilmot got good grades and had a perfect behavior record. She wasn't the kind of kid you'd expect to find hauled away in handcuffs and expelled from school, but that's exactly what happened after an attempt at a science project went horribly wrong.
See also:
- Florida School Responds To Criticism For Expelling Student Over Science Project: "There Are Consequences To Actions"
On 7 a.m. on Monday, the 16 year-old mixed some common household chemicals in a small 8 oz water bottle on the grounds of Bartow High School in Bartow, Florida. The reaction caused a small explosion that caused the top to pop up and produced some smoke. No one was hurt and no damage was caused.
According to WTSP, Wilmot told police that she was merely conducting a science experiment. Though her teachers knew nothing of the specific project, her principal seems to agree.
"She made a bad choice. Honestly, I don't think she meant to ever hurt anyone," principal Ron Pritchard told the station. "She wanted to see what would happen [when the chemicals mixed] and was shocked by what it did. Her mother is shocked, too."

Here's the response from the Florida School:

"Unfortunately, what she did falls into our code of conduct," Leah Lauderdale, a spokeswoman for the district, tells Riptide. "It's grounds for immediate expulsion."

More specifically, Wilmot's mini-explosion -- which came after she mixed "common household chemicals" in a plastic bottle -- violates Section 7.05 of the school's conduct code, Lauderdale says, which mandates expulsion for any "student in possession of a bomb (or) explosive device... while at a school (or) a school-sponsored activity... unless the material or device is being used as part of a legitimate school-related activity or science project conducted under the supervision of an instructor."

So even though Wilmot's principal acknowledges that the 16-year-old wasn't trying to hurt anyone and simply made a "bad choice," the school's rules said she had to be expelled.

Police, meanwhile, have charged her with possession/discharge of a weapon on school grounds and discharging a destructive device.

The other most common question about her story is what kind of chemicals she was mixing. Lauderdale says she doesn't know.

Riptide has requested a police report from the Bartow Police Department to try to find the answer. 

In the meantime, Lauderdale says Wilmot can challenge her expulsion, but says she's unable to discuss whether or not the teen has done so because of student privacy rights.

The spokeswoman says the school district stands by its rules. "We urge our parents to convey to their kids that there are consequences to their actions," she says.