BOSTON (AP) -- The state's highest court is reviewing two drawings penned by a 12-year-old Worcester, Mass., student, to determine if they were a threat against his teacher.
The drawings, made two years ago, depict a boy holding a gun pointed at a teacher as she says "please don't kill me" and sobs.
A lower court sentenced the boy last year to more than five years probation. The Supreme Judicial Court heard arguments in the case Nov. 7 and is expected to rule soon.
Kathleen Kelly, the boy's lawyer, told the SJC that a picture cannot be considered a threat, The Boston Globe reported Tuesday.
"If a picture communicates a thousand words, why does one need a thousand words?" Chief Justice Margaret Marshall asked.
"Because if it's a picture alone, there's no intent within that picture to communicate the threat," Kelly answered.
Worcester County prosecutor Sandra Hautanen argued that schools must be mindful of recent school shootings. Students in several Massachusetts town have been arrested, disciplined or expelled this year for alleged threats.
Some student rights advocates say school leaders have overreacted in the wake of high-profile school shootings.
"The punishment really does need to fit the crime, and I feel like we've been using a sledgehammer when a little tapper might be more effective," said Isabel Raskin of the Juvenile Justice Center at Suffolk University Law School.
