Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler, pictured in 2018, says his workplace just isn’t pursuing fees within the Nex Benedict case.

Sue Ogrocki/AP

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Sue Ogrocki/AP

Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler, pictured in 2018, says his workplace just isn’t pursuing fees within the Nex Benedict case.

Sue Ogrocki/AP

If you or somebody you recognize could also be contemplating suicide or is in disaster, name or textual content 988 to achieve the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Prosecutors in Oklahoma say they won’t pursue fees within the loss of life of Nex Benedict.

Nex was a 16-year-old nonbinary pupil whose loss of life final month was dominated a suicide. They had been injured in a battle with highschool classmates the day earlier than.

Nex, who used each he/him and so they/them pronouns, had been focused by bullies within the months main as much as their loss of life due to their gender identification, based on their household.

Bullying somebody to try or full suicide is a felony in Oklahoma, reported member station KOSU. But Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler says the battle was not one-sided and there is not sufficient proof to press fees.

“Based upon the investigation of the Owasso Police Department, I am in the agreement with their assessment that the filing of juvenile charges is not warranted,” Kunzweiler mentioned in a press launch Thursday. “From all the evidence gathered, this fight was an instance of mutual combat. I do not have a reasonable belief that the State of Oklahoma could sustain its burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt if charges were presented for prosecution.”

Attorneys for Nex’s household have mentioned accidents Nex sustained within the battle had been vital even when their loss of life was dominated a suicide, KOSU reports.

Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation president Sarah Kate Ellis instructed KOSU Thursday that Kunzweiler, Owasso police, the college district and the health worker’s workplace “have failed Nex Benedict and failed us all.”

The college district mentioned it has supplied counselors for college students and mentioned that, “Any notion that the district has ignored disciplinary action toward those involved is simply untrue.” It known as Nex’s loss of life devastating. An after hours name to the district was not instantly returned.

While within the hospital for the accidents they sustained throughout the battle, based on physique cam footage, Nex instructed police that they poured water on a gaggle of women in the highschool toilet after they picked on them for the way they laughed. The group then began beating Nex to the bottom till they “blacked out,” they mentioned.

The subsequent day, Nex was pronounced useless. The health worker’s workplace discovered that that they had died after taking a deadly mixture of prescription and over-the-counter medicine. The full post-mortem report has not but been publicly launched.

People collect outdoors the Stonewall Inn on Feb. 26 in New York City for a vigil for Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old who recognized as nonbinary.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

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Spencer Platt/Getty Images

People collect outdoors the Stonewall Inn on Feb. 26 in New York City for a vigil for Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old who recognized as nonbinary.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Owasso police discovered transient notes written by Nex that “appeared to be related to the suicide” and are an essential a part of their investigation, the district legal professional mentioned. The notes, which do not make point out of the battle or difficulties in school, Kunweiler mentioned, are “a personal matter” for Nex’s household.

Nex’s case has sparked demonstrations by LGBTQ+ advocates and requires bullying legislation reforms.

Suicide charges amongst transgender youth are disproportionately excessive in comparison with cisgender youth, as NPR previously reported. Trans youth report that the wave of anti-LGBTQ+ laws across the nation is a significant contributor to detrimental impacts on their psychological well being.