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      Supreme Court overturns mother's conviction in son's suicide
      By John Christoffersen, Associated Press  |  August 28, 2006
      NEW HAVEN, Conn. --The state Supreme Court on Monday unanimously 
      overturned a mother's conviction for contributing to her 12-year-old son's 
      suicide by creating an unsafe and unhealthy home.
      Judith Scruggs of Meriden was convicted of risk of injury to a minor in 
      October 2003 after her son, J. Daniel, hanged himself with a necktie in 
      his closet in January 2002.
      She said he killed himself because of constant bullying at school and 
      filed a federal lawsuit against Meriden school officials contending they 
      should have done more to stop the bullying.
      Scruggs was thrust into the national spotlight and legal experts said they 
      believed it was the first time a parent had ever been convicted in 
      connection with a child's suicide.
      In Monday's ruling, Justice William Sullivan wrote that the law used to 
      convict Scruggs was unconstitutionally vague and ordered the trial court 
      to acquit her.
      "The state has pointed to no statutes, published or unpublished court 
      opinions in this state or from other jurisdictions, newspaper reports, 
      television programs or other public information that would support a 
      conclusion that the defendant should have known that the conditions in her 
      apartment posed an unlawful risk to the mental health of a child," 
      Sullivan wrote.
      Messages seeking comment were left with attorneys in the case.
      The case inspired a new state law requiring schools to report bullies to 
      authorities, and many school districts revamped bullying policies.
      The attorney defending Scruggs argued in court three years ago that no 
      psychologist or counselor ever testified that her filthy home was a factor 
      in her son's death.
      Scruggs was sentenced to probation rather than jail time. The state 
      Supreme Court weighed whether the evidence was sufficient and whether the 
      law she was convicted under was too vague because it does not indicate 
      that failure to provide a clean home environment is criminal conduct.
      Authorities testified that the Scruggs home was so dirty that the medical 
      examiner had to climb over heaps of debris to get to the boy's body. 


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