Do Snitches get Stiches-November 2011

We are reading a novel-Touching Spirit Bear.  In this book the main character is a bully.  He robs a harware store, then brags about it at school.  When a boy tells on him, he beats him up so badly he may have brain damage.  Does Cole deserve the punishment he gets?   Did he have the right to harm someone else like that?  What is your opinion on bullies?  What do you think will happen when it becomes against the law to bully?