Kid jailed over Facebook comment

[Mertex]

Lol..no shit.

I guess you don't keep up?


PostPartisan - George W. Bush will always have the Tea Party

Naw, I don't get my information from opinion pieces that quote other opinion pieces about unnamed polls.

I'm crazy that way.

No, I have already figured you get your information from yourself, which is generally always wrong!

 

[bodecea]

Kids say stupid things. It was up to the police or FBI to investigate to determine whether or not he was a threat. If they determined that he is not a threat, then why is he still in jail? Either they really believe he is or our judicial system is really as screwed up as many of us think it is.

It's the Texas system. Draw your own conclusions.

 

[JakeStarkey]

Texas teen makes a joking comment on Facebook about going and shooting up a school full of kids and eating their hearts followed by LOL and JK, but still lands in jail, facing up to 8 years in prison.

The community has started a petition, hoping that it will help free Justin.

Do you think this is over-reach, or should a teenager know better than to make those types of jokes?

After reading his comment, I'm inclined to believe he was joking, but shouldn't teens know better than to make those types of jokes after all we've been through in this country?

NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas – An Austin man wants to warn other parents and teenagers that statements made on social media websites can land them in jail.
Justin Carter was 18 back in February when an online video game "League of Legends" took an ugly turn on Facebook.
Jack Carter says his son Justin and a friend got into an argument with someone on Facebook about the game and the teenager wrote a comment he now regrets.
“Someone had said something to the effect of 'Oh you're insane, you're crazy, you're messed up in the head,’ to which he replied 'Oh yeah, I'm real messed up in the head, I'm going to go shoot up a school full of kids and eat their still, beating hearts,’ and the next two lines were lol and jk.," said Carter.
“LOL” stands for “laughing out loud," and “jk” means “just kidding," but police didn’t think it was funny. Neither did a woman from Canada who saw the posting.
Justin’s dad says the woman did a Google search and found his son’s old address was near an elementary school and she called police.
Justin Carter was arrested the next month and has been jailed since March 27. He’s charged with making a terroristic threat and is facing eight years in prison, according to his dad.

Friends and family have started an online petition they’re hoping will garnish more attention for Justin’s plight. You can find it by clicking here.

Texas teen charged with making terroristic threat after online joke | khou.com Houston

Many kids and some adults are very stupid about how they use FB.

This case? better safe than sorry.

 

[J.E.D]

It's thought control.

The teen never should have been picked up for using his First.

I hope he sues and gets millions

Yep. This is a complete over-reaction. I heard an interview with the kid's dad on NPR today. The dad talked about his son being beaten up in jail and having to be put in protective custody. The guy was crying talking about his son being scarred for life. Over a fucking comment online.

 

[JakeStarkey]

The kid was talking about shooting a school up.

You don't say in airport, "I have a gun".

You don't say in a theatre, "Fire"

 

[Montrovant]

The kid was talking about shooting a school up.

You don't say in airport, "I have a gun".

You don't say in a theatre, "Fire"

Sorry Jake, you are coming off as authoritarian here. The kid wasn't in a school. This was a facebook post, and one which was clearly said to be a joke. Unless there is other evidence that this was a serious threat, the fact that he is still apparently in jail is the real insanity here.

 

[JakeStarkey]

The kid was talking about shooting a school up.

You don't say in airport, "I have a gun".

You don't say in a theatre, "Fire"

Sorry Jake, you are coming off as authoritarian here. The kid wasn't in a school. This was a facebook post, and one which was clearly said to be a joke. Unless there is other evidence that this was a serious threat, the fact that he is still apparently in jail is the real insanity here.

Sorry Montrovant you are coming off as being super silly. No one has the right to absolute free speech. Saying it was a joke does not excuse the stupidity of what he did, and, yes, such stupidity is criminal.

I don't know whether he should be in jail or not, but I am very sure he never should have written it. I am authoritative about that.

 

[Montrovant]

The kid was talking about shooting a school up.

You don't say in airport, "I have a gun".

You don't say in a theatre, "Fire"

Sorry Jake, you are coming off as authoritarian here. The kid wasn't in a school. This was a facebook post, and one which was clearly said to be a joke. Unless there is other evidence that this was a serious threat, the fact that he is still apparently in jail is the real insanity here.

Sorry Montrovant you are coming off as being super silly. No one has the right to absolute free speech. Saying it was a joke does not excuse the stupidity of what he did, and, yes, such stupidity is criminal.

I don't know whether he should be in jail or not, but I am very sure he never should have written it. I am authoritative about that.

Again, unless there is an actual threat, this is NOT criminal activity. I don't care that there have been publicized school shootings in recent times. That is no excuse to curtail free speech rights.

If the police found evidence it was a credible threat, then I can understand charging and jailing him. If that isn't the case, he should not have been arrested in the first place, let alone spent months in jail on baseless charges.

Such stupidity is supposed to be protected by the first amendment, not made into criminal activity. That you think he should be persecuted for his harmless but foolish words IS an example of your authoritarianism.

Offensive speech is exactly what the first amendment is there to protect. Without evidence this was more than a joke, it most certainly should be protected speech and this kid should never have been incarcerated.

 

[JakeStarkey]

Sorry Jake, you are coming off as authoritarian here. The kid wasn't in a school. This was a facebook post, and one which was clearly said to be a joke. Unless there is other evidence that this was a serious threat, the fact that he is still apparently in jail is the real insanity here.

Sorry Montrovant you are coming off as being super silly. No one has the right to absolute free speech. Saying it was a joke does not excuse the stupidity of what he did, and, yes, such stupidity is criminal.

I don't know whether he should be in jail or not, but I am very sure he never should have written it. I am authoritative about that.

Again, unless there is an actual threat, this is NOT criminal activity. I don't care that there have been publicized school shootings in recent times. That is no excuse to curtail free speech rights.

If the police found evidence it was a credible threat, then I can understand charging and jailing him. If that isn't the case, he should not have been arrested in the first place, let alone spent months in jail on baseless charges.

Such stupidity is supposed to be protected by the first amendment, not made into criminal activity. That you think he should be persecuted for his harmless but foolish words IS an example of your authoritarianism.

Offensive speech is exactly what the first amendment is there to protect. Without evidence this was more than a joke, it most certainly should be protected speech and this kid should never have been incarcerated.

That's merely your opinion not the law. And I agree that being stupid can be criminal, in this case. The first amendment protects political speech, not this type of stupidity.

 

[AmyNation]

The kid was talking about shooting a school up.

You don't say in airport, "I have a gun".

You don't say in a theatre, "Fire"

You see, those examples are situational.

If he had been standing in a school and said "im going to shoot this place up" I might be more sympathetic to the over the top reaction by the police.

 

[JakeStarkey]

The kid was talking about shooting a school up.

You don't say in airport, "I have a gun".

You don't say in a theatre, "Fire"

You see, those examples are situational.

If he had been standing in a school and said "im going to shoot this place up" I might be more sympathetic to the over the top reaction by the police.

Whether in school or an airport or online, when one engages the public with such statements, trouble is going to occur. The kid was relentlessly stupid.

 

[AmyNation]

Rubbish.

Context and situation is everything.

If I post "Fire!" on my facebook page, the consequences will be completely different than if I had shouted it in a theater.

 

[JakeStarkey]

AmyNation, the issue here is boundaries, and you don't seem to respect them.. The child should not have said such a thing publicly; common sense and the law prevents it.

What is your problem with boundaries. Were you the one who said as a 17 year old girl you were after 14 year old boys. No sensible boundaries.

 

[AmyNation]

Total horseshit.

This kid was having an argument about video games on Facebook with a friend. Was what he said in poor taste? Sure. Does that mean he loses his freedom to make a bad joke? Hell no.

 

[Montrovant]

AmyNation, the issue here is boundaries, and you don't seem to respect them.. The child should not have said such a thing publicly; common sense and the law prevents it.

What is your problem with boundaries. Were you the one who said as a 17 year old girl you were after 14 year old boys. No sensible boundaries.

The problem is you seem to think that common sense boundaries should equate to criminal boundaries. What one should say as a matter of politeness or to be socially acceptable is not the same as what one should say in order to avoid prosecution by the state.

Racial epithets, for example, are something I would consider stupid to say and unacceptable from a social standpoint, but are absolutely protected speech.

More, this wasn't an implied joke, it was actually stated that this was not a serious statement. So now we can be arrested for saying something in jest, when there is no question it was in jest? If I, on this board, say, "I want to shoot up a school".....can I now be arrested? Even though I clearly have not said that is something I'm actually intending to do? That is what you seem to be promoting.

You seem dangerously close to advocating the government act as thought police. This was NOT, based on the information given, a threat, terroristic or otherwise. And yet this person remains imprisoned? Unless there is more information we have not gotten that shows it WAS actually an actual threat (a possibility, I admit) this entire situation is ludicrous in a nation that claims to hold freedom of speech sacred.

 

[JOSweetHeart]

Because words are the only thing that he is guilty of, to me, too much action was taken against him.

God bless you and him always!!!

Holly

P.S. I get why he said what he said and if them authority people don't, then obviously he is not the one who is nuts.

 

[Noomi]

I think he is an idiot and has no clue on what a man is, to make a joke about something like that. Does he need to be in jail? No. I think he needs a shrink and so do his parents for doing a damn bad job of parenting.

^^^this

 

[R.C. Christian]

Children should be given a break. When I was twelve I brought a switch blade to class, and the teacher confiscated it. No big deal.

I used to take disarmed mortar shells from WWII to school for show and tell for fuck sake.

This is complete overkill and it's indicative of the police state we live in.

 

[bodecea]

Children should be given a break. When I was twelve I brought a switch blade to class, and the teacher confiscated it. No big deal.

I used to take disarmed mortar shells from WWII to school for show and tell for fuck sake.

This is complete overkill and it's indicative of the police state we live in.

And why do you think those things are not allowed today?

 

[R.C. Christian]

Children should be given a break. When I was twelve I brought a switch blade to class, and the teacher confiscated it. No big deal.

I used to take disarmed mortar shells from WWII to school for show and tell for fuck sake.

This is complete overkill and it's indicative of the police state we live in.

And why do you think those things are not allowed today?

Because you people live in a state of fear that was not present when I was growing up.