Exploring Liability when Campus Violence Occurs

In the recent years, strings of violent attacks and murders have plagued college campuses around the country. In April of 2007, Seung-Hui Cho, a disturbed student at Virginia Tech, opened fire at two campus locations, killing 33, including the shooter, and injuring 17 people. In February of 2008, Steven Kazmierczak, a former student at Northern Illinois University, opened fire in a hall, killing six people, including the attacker, and wounding 18. And, just earlier this week, sources reported that the body of the missing Yale student, Annie Le, was found in a laboratory basement wall.

Besides learning that Annie Le was strangled to death, and this being an apparent isolated incident, we don’t know much yet about what lead to her death. Details are still developing about who killed Annie Le and for what reason. However, it is interesting to consider who could be held liable for her death. Although there is a certain level of trust parents and students placed in an academic community that boards students, such as a college or a university, Yale University can not be held liable for the death of a student on its campus until we learn more about who committed the murder. Once we learn more about the perpetrator, and depending upon their status as a student or staff member of the university, then more information can be probed about just how much the university knew about the suspect and if precautions could be have been in place to avoid Le’s murder (i.e. if a disturbed student or staffer could have received psychiatric help or been removed from the campus until further clearance). Otherwise, the assailant who killed Annie Le is ultimately responsible for her death. 

The Virginia Tech massacre, not only went down in the books as the deadliest shooting in American history, but it also created enough of an impact to affect how colleges and universities, like Northern Illinois University, currently handle procedures when their campus is under attack. Many speculated that Virginia Tech officials did not urgently respond to the first campus shooting incident, which killed two people. At that time, campus administration and police prematurely speculated that that incident was isolated and domestic, so they did not take any immediate precautions to warn the rest of the campus or to implement safety measures. In fact, Virginia Tech didn’t send a campus-wide email about the first murders until two hours after they had occurred. By that time, Cho was well on his way to change his bloody clothes and head to his next targeted location. 

Virginia Governor Tim Kaine put together a state review panel, which issued a final report about the massacre. The report concluded that the death toll at Virginia Tech could have been significantly reduced if classes were canceled and the community had been alerted to the presence of a gunman. The report also made more than 70 preventative recommendations, specifically directed to education and protective entities, including colleges and universities. And, the panel came to the conclusion that while the university did have errors in judgment and response, Cho himself was responsible for his own actions, and to imply that anyone else was accountable "would be wrong."

With regards to liability, some parents of the slain students, certain that more could have been done to save their children’s lives, called for the governor of Virginia to remove the university president and campus police chief of their positions. However, Governor Kaine noted that the campus had “suffered enough,” and he rejected the notions. Although the shooter himself was ultimately responsible for injuring and killing almost 50 people, a judge later approved an $11 million settlement for the families of most of the victims. This settlement helped to avoid any further legal proceedings to battle whether anyone other than the gunman was to blame.

Comments

[Cammi]

Looks like they got him after DNA test confirmed Ray Clark's involvement this morning: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090917/ap_on_re_us/us_yale_killing

Just sad...

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