Sixth Grader Kicked Out Of School

A sixth grader at Hankins Middle School is kicked out of school after she brought a pocket knife in her purse.

Deanna Thorton, 12, says she put the knife in her purse after she used it to fix a zipper on her coat. She insists she forgot it was there when she carried the purse to school a few days later.

A classmate, who Deanna says was looking in her purse for a pair of earrings, discovered the knife and reported it to a teacher.

Deanna was suspended for 103 days.

"It wasn't no threat," said Mona Thorton, who believes the school overreacted. "This is too severe for this child. She could be suspended for a couple days or whatever that's fine, but a whole term," said Thorton.

Hankins Middle School's principal, Cheryl Wittner, says school administrators based their decision on several factors. "We've looked into the character of the child, her previous discipline since kindergarten and also the statements written by the other children and the teacher," said Wittner.

According to Mobile County School District's weapons policy, the twelve year old could have been suspended for as few as seven days or she could have faced expulsion.

Thorton can attend the alternative school until her suspension from Hankins Middle School is over. She will be allowed to return to Hankins in the fall.