Brian Walsh: 17-year-old Ashley's so-called 'crime'? A paring knife in her lunch sack

  "Zero tolerance" policies continue to result in injustices to our nation's public school students. In one of the latest examples, a North Carolina school district's application of zero tolerance may cause 17-year-old senior Ashley Smithwick, described by local media as a standout student-athlete, to miss the rest of her senior year.

  Far worse, local prosecutors' apparently wooden enforcement against Ashley of a poorly written and dangerous criminal law may end up tacking a lifelong criminal conviction onto Ashley's resume, thus hamstringing her ability to attend the college of her choice.