Friend in trouble, police at my door.

Why not? It clearly meets the criteria for a public order offence.

Very much doubt she will be sentenced to anything.
This isn't likely to go to court.

Surely the school will have CCTV cameras?

@FiddlyDiddlyDee we don’t know what the school did/ didn’t do. From the OPs post it sounded as though everyone thought that the school had dealt with it but then it emerged this weekend that there had been further incidents which the OP says the teachers hadn’t seen. So we don’t even know if the school were aware of the further incidents at the time when the friend was threatening to kill the child in the playground.

Pleased to hear it.

A child cannot change their poverty, their parents profession, their need for glasses, their red hair, their freckles…

But even if it was something they could change (eg their friendship with an unpopular individual) why should the fact someone is beating them up every lunch time for that rather than their race mean there is less urgency in stopping it?

You're wrong

She has fixed the issue. Nobody is going to mess with this kid now.

Can’t say I did or do actually.

The school have failed clearly but acting the way the mum has won’t have fixed her issue. Her child will be an outcast. school won’t be able to let her in again as she’s a threat to children.

The other parents are going to want zero to do with her or her child apart from To gossip.

All that she’s achieved is possibly a criminal
record and needing to move her child’s school oh and playing into the “crazy black women” trope/sterotype that is already held against black women everytime they dare be mad about anything.

Those could be considered as mitigating factors in sentencing.

possibly because it's something that the victim can't ever change and why should they want to - the same applies to various disabilities.

Mine got their comeuppance, it was carefully planned and not traceable.

There are three possible levels of public order offence that may apply here, none of which require the court to believe there was an intention to kill:

4Fear or provocation of violence.
(1)A person is guilty of an offence if he—
(a)uses towards another person threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour,
with intent to cause that person to believe that immediate unlawful violence will be used against him or another by any person, or to provoke the immediate use of unlawful violence by that person or another, or whereby that person is likely to believe that such violence will be used or it is likely that such violence will be provoked.

4AIntentional harassment, alarm or distress.
(1)A person is guilty of an offence if, with intent to cause a person harassment, alarm or distress, he—
(a)uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, or disorderly behaviour,
thereby causing that or another person harassment, alarm or distress.

5Harassment, alarm or distress.
(1)A person is guilty of an offence if he—
(a)uses threatening or abusive words or behaviour, or disorderly behaviour,
within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/64

I bet that you wanted to kill your bully as did your parents though.

It is totally the school's fault. The poor woman asked to deal with it but they didn't.

The same with your school. I would not have blamed your parents at all if they did what the lady did.

I'm in a job where I have to sign up to a moral code of ethics and behaviour in my personal and professional life my registration and therefore livlihood depend on it

In that case I'd take a very big step back from this "friend", who frankly sounds deranged

For the avoidance of doubt, nothing excuses the hideous racism her child's suffered, and nothing excuses the appalling way she behaved either, so personally I wouldn't want this mess in my life

The only thing I'd add is to stay well away from Whatsapp or whatever. People love a drama, but once they've moved on to something else you don't want to be the one left carrying the can so it may be best to distance yourself from all this completely

Good that you're still alive to tell the tale, many children who were bullied have take their own lives.

If the school did nothing about it then the mother was simply protecting her childs life. It is a life or death situation as far as I'm concerned. And perhaps other children won't end up in the same predicament now thanks to her actions.

@Wellingtonspie whilst I don't condone her behaviour, it's not purely the bullying.

She has lost both her parents this year - I'm struggling to remember a time when I've been as angry as I was in the aftermath of my mother's death. I absolutely hated everyone, and it's a wonder I never lost it with a complete stranger, as it wouldn't have taken much.

Then you have the hurt and pain caused by her ex husband on top of this.

Not excusing what's happened today, but these things all add another layer on how her friend must have been feeling to reach the point she's reached.

You may listen to cases like this but you are clearly not a criminal lawyer as you are yet again mis-stating the law. Offences Against the Person Act 1861 S16 says, "A person who without lawful excuse makes to another a threat, intending that that other would fear it would be carried out, to kill that other or a third person shall be guilty of an offence". Yes, there needs to be genuine fear for one's own life or that of another, but that does not mean that the defendant must have actually intended to carry out their threat as you keep saying.

See, for example, the case of Michael Donaldson, jailed earlier this year for threatening to kill Ed Milliband. He appeared to be drunk at the time and there was no suggestion that he actually intended to kill Milliband. There was clearly no planning involved. He said it was only a joke. However, he pleaded guilty, presumably on advice from his lawyer that he stood no change of being found not guilty given the evidence, and was sentenced to 3 years in prison.

Both are bullying and need to be stopped but a racist one needs more urgency and attention.

Why should racist bullying require more urgency and attention than bullying someone for their accent, their poverty, their parent’s profession, their glasses or any other attribute?

There shouldn’t ever be an excuse for an adult to behave like that to a child. Sorry

No one has said it is acceptable, only understandable in the context of racial abuse of which I assume does not apply to you - or you might understand it differently.

So verbally abusing a child and telling them you will kill them is acceptable behaviour.

Hmm

I was bullied horribly as a child, I refused to go to school, was dragged in and eventually moved schools. At no point did my family decide running upto a child screaming and threatening them was acceptable thank god.

That is not true. Threats to kill charges require there to be reasonable grounds for the courts to be confident that the intention to kill was there, and fear for life. I listen to cases exactly like this, they usually have supporting evidence of a degree of planning, purpose. It is a very serious offence, and can not be applied to someone idly saying they will kill you or someone else. There needs to be genuine fear for one’s own life or that of another.

Cross words in a playground is not likely to be enough - unless she was carrying a weapon or there is substantial grounds to believe she intended to kill the child. It does not seem likely to be the case..

Totally agree.

I'm racist. This is because I don't like the way a certain religion sees women. That's it. It makes me racist in some people's eyes.

IN this case we don't know what was said to this little girl. It could have been something such as 'you smell', which would also have been awful and unacceptable but the kind of thing that has been said in the school yard for generations. Just because her skin is a different colour does not make every nasty insult racist. So one assumes a racist comment would rightly be handled differently to another comment. Both are bullying and need to be stopped but a racist one needs more urgency and attention. We don't know what was said and we don't know how and if the school was aware/handling it.

Only one percent of Zimbabwéens are a religion other than Christianity ( that 1% figure includes Hindu, animist etc as well as Muslim).

Be cautious, OP.

I think that is the best you can do. In the circumstances.
You know her, and know her to be an intelligent, warm person. Her character and anrecedence will matter even if she is charged by the police. The courts will take the mitigation into consideration.

Your friend’s child deserves to have an education free of abuse and racism.

Of course she went about this the entirely wrong way - but she sounds desperate, triggered and unsupported.

Just remember for every silly parent posting on social media making sweeping comments and generalisations there will be many more parents remaining quiet and will wish to model much better behaviour to the children and wider society.

I hope it blows over. Half term is here soon, hopefully the school will use the time to address the racism issues. Please keep us updated.