It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.
Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.
Thank you.
Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.
Originally posted by BrokenCircles
reply to post by MichaelPMaccabee
The children were not victims. They're the winners. They got out of school.
Originally posted by MichaelPMaccabee
At least 200 Tennessee school children were his victims,
They were affected by the excessive response. Since they didn't have enough time to assess whether or not there really was a legitimate threat, they overreacted.
Originally posted by MichaelPMaccabee
however.. so many more people were directly effected by this man's posting. Schools were closed. Children were kept home from school. People missed worked. This man's threats disrupted society, and there is a real punishment for disrupting society.
Regardless, I'm not saying that he did nothing wrong. I'm only saying that a 2 year prison sentence is extreme, and in no way is it a just punishment. If he sits in prison for a couple years, how is that going to compensate those people in a different country who missed out on a little bit of work?
Originally posted by MichaelPMaccabee
This isn't a law that was written for him. These were laws on the books.
Originally posted by BrokenCircles
reply to post by MichaelPMaccabee
Originally posted by MichaelPMaccabee
This isn't a law that was written for him. These were laws on the books.
What law?
and on whose books is it written?
You brought it up, not me.
Originally posted by MichaelPMaccabee
The law that he was prosecuted under. I live in a country that adheres to the Rule of Law. If you are so interested in the specific penal code that he was charged with, do the research.
Originally posted by BrokenCircles
reply to post by MichaelPMaccabee
You brought it up, not me.
Originally posted by MichaelPMaccabee
The law that he was prosecuted under. I live in a country that adheres to the Rule of Law. If you are so interested in the specific penal code that he was charged with, do the research.
You're missing my point though:
This alleged threat was directed towards the U.S. He was charged and arrested in the UK. If he does end up serving time in prison, it will be in the UK.
....so whose law did he actually break?
The Law of the Internet?
edit on 7/13/13 by BrokenCircles because: (no reason given)
The problem is this is why we have intent laws.
Originally posted by littled16
reply to post by jiggerj
Aaaaaaaaah....Remember the good old days when "sticks and stones" was the rule of thumb and the law agreed with it? You were free to say what you wished- so long as it didn't cause injury (like yelling "Fire" in a crowded theater) and thoughts and words were not a crime. You could say "I'm gonna whip your behind" but as long as your actions didn't carry the threat out you were safe from prosecution. Now even a bad joke or empty threats made on a rough day are considered "terroristic" and you can be sent to prison and have a record for life just for exercising what used to be your right to free speech. Might as well throw the Constitution on the bonfire kiddies!
Originally posted by BrokenCircles
Originally posted by badgerprints
Not getting into a hair splitting contest over it.
You can go ask the police but they wouldn't divulge that as the people he threatened to kill were children.
Nice try, but no. There is nothing to divulge, because he didn't actually make a direct threat towards anyone in particular.
They even stated in the video that police later determined that he actually posed no physical threat to any children, neither in America nor the UK.
Originally posted by LesMisanthrope
reply to post by jiggerj
What is this world coming to...
The world is coming to the realization that criminals should be dealt with.
Originally posted by LesMisanthrope
reply to post by badgerprints
The world is coming to the realization that criminals should be dealt with.
If writing words is a crime, we're all criminals. Luckily, not all of us fear symbols and scratches on paper. It's superstition.
There is a time and a place for free speech and trolling is not that
Originally posted by LesMisanthrope
reply to post by badgerprints
Where's all the guns and ammo he had stored ready for this massacre? Where's his plane tickets? He turned himself in and was remorseful—what a suicidal maniac. Maybe you can show me where offending someone is a crime, because that is all he has done and intended to do. But it seems you have him pegged before you gave it a rational thought.
What a load, but not surprising.
Originally posted by jiggerj
reply to post by LABTECH767
There is a time and a place for free speech and trolling is not that
LOL Either there is free speech or there isn't. Can't say that free speech occurs on Tuesdays between the hours of 3 AM to 4 PM, behind the gas station on Bullfinch Ave.
I DO NOT like defending this guy, but I still don't see it. He's a total moron, but as far as I know being a moron isn't against the law. He didn't wave a gun at anyone and wasn't even in the same country.
If there are certain statements considered to be illegal, then we have to stop calling what we have as free speech. 'Free' is supposed to mean FREE. Not Free with limitations.
The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic. [...] The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent
Originally posted by badgerprints
Originally posted by LesMisanthrope
reply to post by jiggerj
What is this world coming to...
The world is coming to the realization that criminals should be dealt with.
Nice speech by the way.
"Verbal dog food." was my favorite.
You can't yell fire in a theatre causing panic, even if there isn't a fire. This guy caused a panic with his words, and as such, was held accountable for his actions.