Isabella County Prosecutor Larry Burdick has decided not to press charges of ethnic intimidation relative to the hanging of four nooses in a Central Michigan University classroom last November.

A 28-year-old male engineering student was thoroughly questioned and a formal investigation was conducted to determine whether the act was racially-motivated.

The decision was made by Burdick after receiving results from a forensic examination detailing the contents of the computer owned by the student.

“I am confident of the work performed by the CMU police, in conjunction with the FBI. The facts determined due to the joint investigation does not support a charge of ethnic intimidation, and the intent needed for that crime cannot be proven,” Burdick said in a press release.

The charge of ethnic intimidation is detailed in section 750.147b of the Michigan Penal Code. To be guilty, a person must have specific malicious intent.

The Central Michigan Police Department was called to the Industrial Educational Technology Building Nov. 12, 2007 when the nooses were found. They were formed with flexible compressed gas lines hooked up to the countertop under where the nooses were hung.

During the course of the investigation, police contacted more than 70 students enrolled in classes held in the computer lab.

An anonymous e-mail was sent to Engineering and Technology Chair David Pape during the investigation. It included a confession. In the e-mail, the sender stated it was a joke with no racial motivation and apologized.

After the e-mail was sent, police secured a search warrant and obtained the sender’s information.

At around 1:30 p.m. that day another e-mail was sent to Central Michigan Life again detailing the incident, with mention that the intent symbolized the student would rather be hanged than work on his class project, and made plans to come forward with his identity.

“The student’s e-mail to the campus newspaper was, in my opinion, both insensitive and demonstrative of a complete lack of knowledge and understanding about the historical significance of the hanging of nooses,” Burdick said. “His explanation, however, as to the reason he constructed and hung four nooses last November was corroborated by two of his classmates, which I found to be very credible and forthright concerning the incident.”

The day after sending the e-mail to CM Life, he turned himself in. Police interviewed the student and three of his classmates who witnessed the incident.

One classmate said that during the interviews that the student created a noose and said “we can use this” to hang themselves because of the difficulty of their assignment.

Another classmate during police interviews said that he said he would “much rather hang myself than do this project.” Shortly after, his classmate made the nooses.

The Michigan State Police Computer Crimes unit examined the computer the student had used the night of Nov. 12 in the IET building and found that he had not visited any racially associated Web sites.

His personal computer was also forensically examined by the FBI, which involved reviewing 100,000 Web images and personal documents.

Burdick said young people use their computers as an extension of themselves, and that they are a window into their state of mind.

“Because intent lies at the heart of the charge that was under consideration, both we and the FBI felt it important to fully and carefully examine the individual’s personal computer to see if there was anything to suggest his actions were racially motivated,” Burdick said.

He said the investigation was lengthy because it was important to uncover the personal conduct of the student.

“What happened on campus should not just serve as a badly needed educational experience for one college student, but enlighten all of us as to the detrimental effect of this symbol,” Burdick said.

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