Web suicide father slams online voyeurs
A sad case where people actually egged on a guy to commit suicide. A sad reflection on our society.......Should theer be stronger controls on the internet ???? What say you ?
The father of a student who broadcast his suicide live on the internet said he was appalled that people egged on his son.
Abraham Biggs snr called for tougher regulation of internet sites after his 19-year-old son took an overdose of anti-depressant pills in his bedroom and then filmed himself on a webcam as he lay dying.
Police found Abraham Biggs Jr on Wednesday at his home in Broward County, Florida, some 12 hours after he first announced on a bodybuilders' website that he had taken the pills and redirected viewers to another site showing his webcam footage.
Hundreds of people are believed to have watched the footage on the website Justin.tv, some encouraging him or posting insults.
A few belatedly raised the alarm after they noticed that Mr Biggs was not breathing and realised it was not a hoax. Some users of the site told police Mr Biggs had posted previous suicide threats which he had never carried out.
His father said those who watched and the website operators shared some blame in his son's death.
"I think they are all equally wrong. It's a person's life that we're talking about," he said.
"And as a human being, you don't watch someone in trouble and sit back and just watch."
His family said the dead man had been taking anti-depressants for bipolar disorder.
Mr Biggs snr said he believed the webcast was a cry for help. "But rather than get help, he was ignored," he said.
William Hill, a Miami lawyer, said there were probably no legal grounds to prosecute those who watched the suicide broadcast and did not act.
He also said it would be a "stretch" to argue that the San Francisco website, on which people broadcast live footage of their everyday lives, had been negligent.
They said he was bi-polar, that would be why he did it. He was obviously on a low.
"Some users of the site told police Mr Biggs had posted previous suicide threats which he had never carried out."
- maybe then people just watched because of the above -
Perhaps the father should have been regulating what was going on under his own roof before blameing everyone else, what had been happening the 19 years before the event?I’m very sorry and appalled to hear what happened.
FS you are rght.. it depends on kid to kid too.. I am not saying to fence them completly and restrict on everything and make them a rebel.
We may need to monitor .. there is no choice I guess.
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Live,
Let Live,
& Help Live..
Providing food, shelter and education are not enough for children.. Love/affection, care and feeling of security....is what makes them a responsible individual..
The big question is when do we know that they are old enough to take care of themselves..
just had a discussion with one QL member regarding this issue... Why do Parents indulge in childrens affairs??
Gypsy...somewhere in between these 19 yrs..they lost their son...they should have found out the cause than being sorry now..
I dont think they get to know life even at 19 gyps.. we all have passed that age.. I am not sure how serious and matured I was at 19??.. May be am wrong..
But I wouldnt let ma small one completly free untill i am convinced..
______________________________________________
Live,
Let Live,
& Help Live..
He should have talked with professionals if he really said before that he will suicide. In the end a young life has gone for nothing. Sad story :(
"What doesn't kill me; makes me stronger..."
He was 19, how much longer were they supposed to keep an eye on him?
What a torture to the poor parents..
Gota really keep an eye on kids on everything they do untill they get matured ..
______________________________________________
Live,
Let Live,
& Help Live..
:( he is so stupid can't tell yeah ...sad very sad.
Moving on is simple; it's what you leave behind that makes it so difficult .
its a very sad news. some virtual audience encouraged him to do it. i saw this kid's suicide note on nypost and its really depressing.
To Whom It May Concern
I am going to leave this for whoever stumbles across my bookmarks later on. I hate myself and I hate living. I think that if someone who knows me reads this they will know who I am. So I will leave this unsigned. I am an a–hole. I have let everyone down and I feel as though I will never change or never improve. I am in love with a girl and I know that I am not good enough for her.
I have come to believe that my life has all been meaningless. I keep trying and I keep failing. I have thought about and attempted suicide many times in the past. I used to think of my failure as some mystical way of telling me that I was really meant for something meaningful. The only thing I dread besides the pain, is the way my family will suffer. I do not want my mother or father to think that it was anything they did that lead me to kill myself. I never really had any plans of leaving a note. I thought that I would not be able to describe why I want to do this and I am right. There is no way to tell you or anyone else why I dread every new day. My father had such high expectations for me and tried to give me every opportunity to improve upon myself. I let him down. I think that I am a major disappointment to him. I have a job but I’m always broke and I am in college but barely, I show up to class but that’s about it.
I want my life to end. I am tired of f—ing up everything. I am tired of people always telling me that they do not like me. I am tired of trying to be decent. I hope that someone finds this post and I hope that my parents know that I f–ked up not them. It is my fault I screwed up my own life.
This hate rages full force towards me and only me. I have long forgiven those who’ve hurt me, but I have not and cannot come to terms with forgiving myself, and the things I’ve done to hurt those in my life. You have all touched my life in one way or another, especially those whom I call family.
I cannot tell you how sorry I am for ending my life the way I did. I hope that you can all find it in your heart to see it as a way for me not suffering anymore and that I am finally at rest with myself, for being at rest with my guilt that constantly ate at me for so long.
Please forgive me all for taking my life so early. I tried so hard to fight against this strong battle I have reached out for help so many times, and yet I believe, I was turned away because of the things I did, that it is a punishment. I am willing to take, for I know that being who I am has only brought myself and others pain.
I love you all and will forever live within the memories we created.
Forgive me
Love always and forever
As for my signatre I will leave you with a quote so that if anyone reads this they will know it’s me. “Can’t feel pain if your dead? Just Saying”?
Its a tragedy, but we all need to learn something from it. Yes, theer are sickos around, who would probably get off on watching someone commit suicide.. However, others should have been quicker in informing the authorities..
Really tragic...How could someone watch a person dying...
On Internet..there is a very thin line between fake and real
What a shame. I feel sorry for his father. I don't know how people could sit and watch that, even if they did think it was a hoax. I wonder if it would be possible to institute "good Samaritan" laws in respect to the internet?