Veronica Jones: Florida 'Hiccup Girl' found guilty of murder

Hiccup Girl. Does anyone remember her? I certainly don't. However, in 2007 her non stop month long hiccuping made her an internet-celebrity. Six years later, she has been found guilty of murder. Hiccup Girl (whose real name is Jennifer Mee), was arrested in 2010 for luring a man named Shannon Griffin to a vacant home via internet where he was shot by her two male accomplices. Laron Raiford and Lamont Newton were arrested along with Mee soon after the man's body was found. All three were charged with first degree murder. Both Mee and Raiford have been found guilty and Newton is still waiting for a trail. 

To be honest, I wasn't planning on picking this article; The story seemed mundane and unintersting. Murder has, unfortunately, become just another story. However, something about this article also irked me. I wasn't quite sure why originally, but after rereading it, this one sentence explained why: "And all three were charged with first-degree murder, even Mee, although police indicated she didn't pull the trigger." Why wouldn't she face the same charges? The author of this article seemed surprised and I wasn't sure why. Because she didn't pull the trigger? She did do most of the work, didn't she? Her companions just had to be at the ready to shoot, but she was the one who made contact, created a friendship, then lured him to his death. So, why be surprised at this? 

When I scrolled down to look at the comments, I possibly found my reason. Being one of the first comments on the story, my eye naturally fell on it. It read: "Had a fellow lured the victim in, it would not have even been mentioned that "even though she did not pull the trigger." It has been long held that participants in crimes who the particular 'dastardly deed' are just as guilty as those did, except it seems, when said person is a female. More often than not, female get a far lighter sentence. What's the matter CNN? Surprised that she got the same as the rest?" I think this comment pointed out and summed up why this article bugged me, and I find it annoying that this is still a problem in our country. If a person is guilty, they are guilty, regardless of gender

link: http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/20/justice/hiccup-girl-murder-verdict/index.html?hpt=us_c2