A North Carolina district attorney will not press charges i n the case of a 12-year-old who died after wilderness camp staff forced him to sleep in an enclosed, tentlike sack .
Clark Harman, 12, died on February 3 at Trails Carolina, a wilderness camp for troubled adolescents , one of many programs that make up the “troubled teen” industry in the US. Activists have long accused the industry of being abusive and dangerous for attendees, many of whom are taken to programs against their will.
“The investigation revealed that Clark Harman’s death was the result of suffocation, which, while tragic, did not involve criminal intent or recklessness sufficient to warrant criminal charges for involuntary manslaughter under the law,” Andrew Murray, district attorney for the counties of Henderson, Polk and Transylvania, wrote in a press release on Wednesday.
“While we are deeply saddened by this tragedy, we must follow the law and make decisions based on the evidence and our legal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” he added.