Justice for Juveniles offers its version of Memorial Middle School shooter story

Justice for Juveniles, the national group that is attempting to have Memorial Middle School shooter Thomas Gregory White's case remanded to juvenile court, has posted what it calls "The History of the Thomas White Case" on its message board. It offers some interesting revelations about the case, all apparently from Thomas White's mother:

Norma White recalled an incident during Thomas' last year in elementary school, however – in the 5th grade – when his teacher was disappointed in Thomas' efforts on a particular assignment, and publicly embarrassed him in front of his classmates.

"He was devastated by it," Norma said. "Everyone laughed at him and began to treat him like an outcast. He was terribly hurt by it, and became even more reserved."

It seems Thomas' originality was also evident by his peers in middle school, at Memorial Middle School in Joplin, where he attended the 6th grade in 2005, and had just begun his 7th-grade year in the fall of 2006.

What may have been construed as "teasing" in elementary school, became "bullying" at his new middle school. Norma recalls countless times throughout Thomas' 6th-grade year that her son came home with complaints of harassment and even injuries he'd sustained in school at the hands of other students.

"He came home once limping; he had been kicked by an older kid in the halls," Norma recalled. "He came home once with a huge welt on his head too from someone slamming his locker door on his head when they passed him in the hall. And his hand was injured once.

"He did suffer from bullying," she said. "He would come home crying, begging us not to send him back to school."

Thomas' parents now look back on their son's complaints and know that they failed him. Norma herself, of mixed-Caucasian and Hispanic descent, said she was the target of bullies throughout her childhood and came to see it as a fact of life to be endured and to be risen above. She spoke to Thomas' teachers about the specific incidents during parent/teacher conferences, but never made a formal complaint with the school.

"I encouraged him to tell his teachers whenever something happened, but Thomas seemed convinced nothing would be done about it. Still, when he begged not to go to school, we tried to explain to him that the law says he has to go."

"I actually said to him, 'You go to school, or you go to jail, Son,'" Thomas' father recalled. "The irony of that – in hindsight – is incredible to me."

Judge David Mouton is scheduled to make a decision early next month on the defense request to have White remanded to juvenile court. If he remains in the adult system, his trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 6, with a backup date of Aug. 20, according to Jasper County Circuit Court records.