WAS TOWER CLIMB CRIME OR TRAGEDY?

A teenage girl climbed six stories up a high-voltage utility tower in
southwest Houston after arguing with her mother.

Getting her down required massive rescue operations that included
shutting off electricity to a large part of the city for more than
two hours. Thousands of people were inconvenienced in their homes.
Business was disrupted in retail outlets and offices.

The teen-ager suffered third-degree electrical burns over more than
half her body. She was hospitalized in critical condition. Emergency
surgery was required with additional surgery anticipated. Recovery
from such extensive injuries is a long and painful process.

Girl's actions raise questions Here is an unfortunate situation that
warrants some thought and discussion. What sort of response or
responses should be forthcoming from our society? What paths should
we follow in pursuit of justice in this case?

Here is a teen-ager who was doing something she shouldn't have been
doing, climbing that tower. She was using poor judgment, ignoring
rules. As a result, she caused herself injury and endangered others.

Luckily, she was rescued. But does her future remain perched
precariously atop that tower?

Don't we hold people accountable for their actions? Can we simply
ignore any felonies or misdemeanors that may have been committed?
Will this 15-year-old girl be held in the firm grasp of our justice
system for years to come? Will she find that, long after her burns
have healed, her educational and employment opportunities remain
limited by a record that started with the climb up that tower?

How much do we want to help this teen-ager and how much do we want to
punish her? What about her parents? Do we want to hold them
accountable for their daughter's actions, punish them, make them pay?

And let's not forget the power company. A passer-by, a man with
daughters of his own, noticed the girl going up the tower and quickly
started climbing up after her. When police and firefighters arrived,
they ordered this man, whose noble intentions had put him in danger,
back to the ground. Are those towers too easy to approach and climb?
Are there safety concerns that should be addressed by the power
company?

A news story reported that the towers are posted as being dangerous
and a two-strand wire fence blocks the right of way. The story quoted
a power company spokesman as saying such incidents are unusual. He
also said most people who make contact with a line carrying 138,000
volts do not survive. He said that what happened to the teen-ager in
this case was not so much a crime as it was a tragedy. So the power
company is not likely to pursue criminal charges against the girl, he
said.

It bears repeating, what he said: not so much a crime as it was a tragedy.

Share your thoughts on case Let's conduct a little informal and
unofficial survey. I'd like to ask you to share your thoughts about
help and restoration, or about punishment and retribution.

I also would like to find out whether many people see similarities
between this troubled teen who climbed an off-limits tower and some
other troubled teens, such as those who get high on off-limits drugs.

One of the saddest things I've heard in all my years in this business
was a mother telling how she had been unable to find help and
adequate treatment for her troubled teen-ager. He suffered from a
brain illness and self-medicated with street drugs and had taken
things out of the home to buy the drugs. Finally, the mother said, an
official in the criminal-justice system advised her to turn her son
over to authorities so that he might get some treatment while in
custody.

Not so much a crime as it was a tragedy.

So please, send me your thoughts about the teen who climbed the
tower. Let me know if you find her story as allegorical as I do.
Maybe we can forge this tragedy into an opportunity to learn
something about ourselves.