'I don't want to die but I want to be saved from the pain': Mother shares heart-wrenching suicide note of bullied daughter, 14, as she seeks to get anti-bullying bill passed
A mother whose 14-year-old daughter
committed suicide after being bullied for two years has read out the
girl's heart-wrenching suicide note to senators in a bid to pass an
anti-bullying bill.
Danielle Green shared the letter written by her daughter Angelina 'Angel' Green with the Senate Education Committee in Indianapolis on Wednesday.
'To all the bullies that have called me names, [you] are the reason why I am feeling the way I am now,' the handwritten note reads. 'I didn’t want to die. I just wanted to be saved from the pain.'
The bill, which sets a new definition for bullying to include electronic taunts and helps schools know how to identify it and react, was approved in the state Senate on Wednesday with 8-2 votes.
It will now be debated and voted upon in the full Senate and, if successful, it will be signed into law.
Danielle Green has been a key figure in the battle; Angel had asked her mother to seek justice in her suicide note.
The eighth-grade student was found hanged on a tree by a bus stop on March 5. Her mother said Angel chose the spot because she knew her tormenters would see her.
She had been bullied for two years over her red hair, her freckles and her weight, her mother said.
Angel was even the victim of intimidation at home and after her father was arrested for assaulting her, this information was used by the bullies to torment the girl, too.
'They called her names. They pushed her.
They tripped her in school. They have thrown food and trash at her
during school,' Green said, the IndyStar reported.
The treatment eventually led to tragedy when Green found her daughter was missing and heard that someone had been found hanging from a tree - Angel.
Before her death, the teenager addressed one note to her classmates and also scrawled one to her mother.
'I'm really sorry that I did this,' the note, which Danielle shared with RTV6, said. 'Don't you EVER think it was your fault. Because it's not. I love you so much and I couldn't ask for a better mum...
'But my heart can't take this pain... It's bullying that killed me. Please get justice.'
After reading the note to the classmates aloud and learning that her battle had been successful, Green said: 'My daughter's story is now heard. It gives my Angel wings.'
She said that she had raised her concerns repeatedly with her daughter's school, but that nothing was ever done to help her.
Under the bill, bullying is defined as overt, repeated acts or gestures - made verbally or over the internet - that create a hostile school environment for the student, the IndyStar reported.
The treatment can lead the student to
fear they will be harmed or interferes with the student's physical or
mental health, or their performance at school, the definition notes.
The bill also outlines procedures for the schools on how to deal with complaints of bullying, including reporting to parents or law enforcement and discipline procedures.
It also requires training for teachers and lessons for students on bullying prevention.
Before the bill was passed, conservative groups had expressed concern that the bill could infringe on rights of free speech and religion and drafted an amendment for the bill, which was adopted.
I'm really sorry that I did this. Don't you EVER think it was your fault. Because it's not. I love you so much and I couldn't ask for a better mum. Thank you for caring and feeding and loving me for 14 years.
I'm sorry once again. But my heart can't take this pain.
I'm gonna miss you so much. I love you. And I can't wait till the day I get to see you again. I'll be waiting at heaven's gates for you. I love you.
Goodbye :(
Angelina Green
P.s. It's bullying that killed me. Please get justice.
Danielle Green shared the letter written by her daughter Angelina 'Angel' Green with the Senate Education Committee in Indianapolis on Wednesday.
'To all the bullies that have called me names, [you] are the reason why I am feeling the way I am now,' the handwritten note reads. 'I didn’t want to die. I just wanted to be saved from the pain.'
The bill, which sets a new definition for bullying to include electronic taunts and helps schools know how to identify it and react, was approved in the state Senate on Wednesday with 8-2 votes.
Tragedy: Angel Green, 14, hanged herself in March after enduring two years of bullying at school
Danielle Green has been a key figure in the battle; Angel had asked her mother to seek justice in her suicide note.
The eighth-grade student was found hanged on a tree by a bus stop on March 5. Her mother said Angel chose the spot because she knew her tormenters would see her.
She had been bullied for two years over her red hair, her freckles and her weight, her mother said.
Angel was even the victim of intimidation at home and after her father was arrested for assaulting her, this information was used by the bullies to torment the girl, too.
Battle: Her mother, Danielle, spoke about Angel's struggle to senators in a bid to pass an anti-bullying bill
Heartwrenching: Angel wrote this suicide note to her mother revealing her pain - and her love for her
BATTLING THE BULLIES: WHAT DOES THE NEW BILL PROPOSE?
The bill going through the Indiana Senate:
- Defines bullying as 'overt, repeated acts or gestures' that create a hostile school environment for the student and affect his or her physical or mental health or performance at school
- Notes these can be verbal or on online
- Outlines procedures for schools to deal with reports of bullying, including reporting incidents to parents and police
- Sets discipline procedures for anyone who makes false bullying claims
- Requires schools to give training to employees on bullying
- Requires schools to give lessons on bullying prevention for all students by October 15 of the school year
Source: IndyStar
The treatment eventually led to tragedy when Green found her daughter was missing and heard that someone had been found hanging from a tree - Angel.
Before her death, the teenager addressed one note to her classmates and also scrawled one to her mother.
'I'm really sorry that I did this,' the note, which Danielle shared with RTV6, said. 'Don't you EVER think it was your fault. Because it's not. I love you so much and I couldn't ask for a better mum...
'But my heart can't take this pain... It's bullying that killed me. Please get justice.'
After reading the note to the classmates aloud and learning that her battle had been successful, Green said: 'My daughter's story is now heard. It gives my Angel wings.'
She said that she had raised her concerns repeatedly with her daughter's school, but that nothing was ever done to help her.
Under the bill, bullying is defined as overt, repeated acts or gestures - made verbally or over the internet - that create a hostile school environment for the student, the IndyStar reported.
Tormented: Angel killed herself in a place where her bullies would see her body, her mother said
The bill also outlines procedures for the schools on how to deal with complaints of bullying, including reporting to parents or law enforcement and discipline procedures.
It also requires training for teachers and lessons for students on bullying prevention.
Before the bill was passed, conservative groups had expressed concern that the bill could infringe on rights of free speech and religion and drafted an amendment for the bill, which was adopted.
'PLEASE GET JUSTICE': ANGELINA GREEN'S LAST LETTER TO HER MOTHER
Before
she committed suicide, Angelina Green wrote suicide notes - one
addressed to her classmates, and another for her mother. This is what
she wrote to her mother:
Dear Mum,I'm really sorry that I did this. Don't you EVER think it was your fault. Because it's not. I love you so much and I couldn't ask for a better mum. Thank you for caring and feeding and loving me for 14 years.
I'm sorry once again. But my heart can't take this pain.
I'm gonna miss you so much. I love you. And I can't wait till the day I get to see you again. I'll be waiting at heaven's gates for you. I love you.
Goodbye :(
Angelina Green
P.s. It's bullying that killed me. Please get justice.