Charges Dropped Against 16 Year-Old Kiera Wilmot for Science Experiment Gone Wrong
A few weeks ago we told you about Kiera Wilmot; a 16 year-old Florida high school student facing felony charges for a science experiment gone wrong on school grounds.
According to MSNBC News, the charges against Wilmot have officially been dropped.
Wilmot – widely considered an outstanding student with a clean record – was facing up to 5 years in prison.
Wilmot’s arrest became a national story, as members of the press and the scientific community insisted that Wilmot was the victim of a massive overreaction from law enforcement. A crowdfunded legal defense fund netted over $8,000 to cover Wilmot’s potential legal fees, and a Change.org petition to get the charges dropped received nearly 200,000 signatures.
“Even though I don’t have the privilege of knowing Kiera, I believe we all have the responsibility to stand up with one another whenever there is injustice and felt I had to do whatever I could to make sure the unjust felony charges were dropped,” said Maggie Gilman, the creator of the petition, in a statement circulated by Change.org. “I’m very thankful to the 195,000 people who stood with Kiera and signed the petition on Change.org!”
Kiera did have to serve a 10-day suspension. She currently attends another high school.
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