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I don't think that the people in the chat room are criminally liable for this one individual's actions given the tenor of that chat room. Perhaps the moderator is, if he was closely following the proceedings, but the individuals screaming encouragement were just playing along with what they thought was a game. The closest analogy I can come up with is a boxing match that results in the death of one of the boxers (the other one is superfluous in my arguement) - the referee might be liable for not stopping the fight soon enough but the audience, who was screaming for blood, isn't culpable.
Is it horrible? Yes. Is it a tragedy? Yes. Is it a crime? No, I don't think so.
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"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo
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