Photo: Justice For Channing/Facebook
No charges will be filed in thedeath of a Tennessee teen who took his own lifeshortly after sexually explicit messages he’d exchanged with another boy when he was 15 were leaked on social media, leaving his distraught family is fighting for stronger laws.
Channing Smith, 16, of Manchester,was horrified when he learned that teens he knew had posted private messages he’d sent, outing him as possibly bisexual, his brother, Joshua Smith says.
“I really hate how I can’t trust anyone because those I did were so fake,” Channing wrote shortly after. “Bye.”
Hours later, he was dead.
“My brother committed suicide because of the actions of 2 kids that he trusted that turned personal screenshot messages over to social media in a deliberate attempt to assassinate his character,” his older brother, Joshua Smith, 38, wrote in a Facebook post entitled “Being gay shouldn’t be a death sentence,” just days after his brother died.
Students at Channing’s school held rallies and created theJustice for Channing Facebook page, asking that justice be served.
His story touched the nation: Country singerBilly Ray Cyrusand Democratic Presidential CandidatePete Buttigieg, were among the thousands who shared their condolences on social media.
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On Tuesday, a day before what would have been Channing’s 17th birthday, Coffee County District Attorney Craig Northcott released a statement saying he would not be filing criminal charges in the case.
The state Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Responsibilitybegan investigating Northcott in June,The Tennesseanreports. The outlet reports Northcott also called Islam an “evil belief system.”
Justice For Channing/Facebook
In a statement to PEOPLE in September, Northcott said his office had not “failed or refused” to investigate Channing’s death.
Joshua and his family have vowed to work to try to change the laws.
“Until those laws can be changed to make situations like this a prosecutable offense, people will continue to assassinate others’ characters online without fear of charges,” says Channing’s mother, Crystal Smith. “That is unacceptable. No family should have to go through this.”
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go tosuicidepreventionlifeline.org.
source: people.com
