Thursday, May 02, 2013

Kiera Wilmot: How Her Arrest and Expulsion Exposes America's Racial Discipline Gap

Kiera Wilmot: How Her Arrest and Expulsion Exposes America's Racial Discipline Gap: Sixteen-year-old Kiera Wilmot was conducting a science experiment on the grounds of Bartow High School in Florida. It was early in the morning, 7 a.m, school had not started yet. Would her hypothesis be proved accurate? Would mixing aluminum foil and household toiled cleaner in a bottle produce smoke? Yes, but it would also cause a small explosion that caused the top of the water bottle to pop off. Thankfully, no one was hurt and no damage was done. So why was she arrested and expelled?

The Miami New Times reports that following the experiment Wilmot was taken into custody by one of the schools resource officers. She was charged with possession/discharge of a weapon on school grounds and discharging a destructive device. After that she was taken to a juvenile assessment center where she was told she was expelled. Wilmot will be tried as an adult.