League of Legends gamer faces 8 years in jail for a facebook post
polycounter lvl 7
Any gamers out there want to weigh-in on this?
http://kotaku.com/parents-of-jailed-league-of-legends-player-it-was-a-j-647190454
http://www.kotaku.com.au/2013/07/a-serious-somber-francis-weighs-in-on-jailed-league-of-legends-player/
http://kotaku.com/parents-of-jailed-league-of-legends-player-it-was-a-j-647190454
http://www.kotaku.com.au/2013/07/a-serious-somber-francis-weighs-in-on-jailed-league-of-legends-player/
Replies
Agreed on the 'fine' idea, definitely more of an appropriate penalty.
'murica I guess... How can you put some one in jail because of distasteful joke... ?
It's fucked up on so many levels...
and i guess this isnt about him threatening someone during smacktalk in game, but actually posting it on facebook....kind of like calling someone up after work and threatening them...or sending a letter?
"2. Any person who communicates a threat, in a writing, including an electronically transmitted communication producing a visual or electronic message, to kill or do bodily harm, (i) on the grounds or premises of any elementary, middle or secondary school property, (ii) at any elementary, middle or secondary school-sponsored event or (iii) on a school bus to any person or persons, regardless of whether the person who is the object of the threat actually receives the threat, and the threat would place the person who is the object of the threat in reasonable apprehension of death or bodily harm, is guilty of a Class 6 felony."
And this is the punishment
"(f) For Class 6 felonies, a term of imprisonment of not less than one year nor more than five years, or in the discretion of the jury or the court trying the case without a jury, confinement in jail for not more than 12 months and a fine of not more than $2,500, either or both."
Obviously it's a little different for where he lives, but he broke the law, there's no one to blame but his stupid self. Kid's don't realize the impact of things they post on Facebook.
If he broke the law they should check the situation and act accordingly. Putting kid in jail and destroying him mentally isn't accordingly.
Hes 18 years old, he made a stupid distasteful joke, and he shouldn't have said that...but really, does anybody with common sense think that what he said was "a terrorist threat?" Just sounds like a dumb teenager to me...he should definitely be in serious trouble for what he said, but hes facing 8 years in prison.
I definitely think the person that reported him did the right thing...that sort of talk should not be tolerated...but ffs, hes going to be looking at prison time that isn't that much less than what people serve for actually committing violent crimes.
Our "justice" system baffles me sometimes.
Lets imagine for a moment this had happened though. If it weren't a tasteless joke. People would go absolutely mental if he had said this on Facebook and then actually done it. Don't forget this story or this one where the shooter announced or otherwise told someone of their plan before carrying it out.
It's a joke because it didn't happen but people reading it online may not know intent. I'm not saying that what happened is right by any means, but the reason they jump on people for this shit is because they don't want another situation like what has happened in the past.
If we could read the minds of all people... 90% of the global population would be jailed lol
I completely agree that it feels excessive. But on that point, how do you know they haven't? The articles doesn't give a whole lot of information regarding the police investigation. Maybe they found evidence that he was a threat or maybe they're jumping to conclusions. I honestly, really hope that this is a huge mistake/misunderstanding and that kid could get out of a shitty situation.
he even said jk at the end
we`re talking here about 8 years of prison which will destroy the rest of his life
or at least heavily impact it
for what ? a dumb joke ?
any judge ruling this kind of shit needs to be put into a mental institution or prison for beeing an immorale asshole
this was also 5 months ago meaning it was even closer to sandy hook and BEFORE the boston bombings.
all i know is that if it was my dad - he definitely wouldnt be calling for help. I can hear him now, "keep him"
laws are laws people, he definitely broke them and texas will bring the heat
This is what he said, "Oh yeah, Im real messed up in the head, Im going to go shoot up a school full of kids and eat their still, beating hearts, followed by lol and jk. "
http://kotaku.com/league-of-legends-player-jailed-after-terrorist-threat-610691101
I mean seriously, do you people really want to see another Sandy Hook Elementary or have you forgotten about it?
The difference is 90% of the world's people are not so fucking stupid that they would post a joke/threat on social media.
If this kid had acted out, the same mental midgets that are screaming for him to be released would be the same people screaming that the police didn't stop him even though they knew he was a threat.
AFAIK this is what it looks like when they nab someone BEFORE they shoot up a school and kill themselves. How 100% certain are you this was a joke? If they caught the Sandy Hook guy beforehand, I bet he'd be saying the same thing.
And then he's on SUICIDE watch now? Shouldn't that be taken as a sign of his mental stability?
In the US, I thought terrorists are always treated as 'guilty before proven innocent'.
To be honest, if it was your son that was faced with this stuff I think you'd be saying something completely different.
Its already been established that he 'broke the law' (even though the severity of the accusation is laughable,) the problem for a lot of people is the sentence is way over the top.
You could physically assault someone and your sentence would be lower then that.
Reading some of the comments in that article does have some weighting. He voiced his thoughts, but didn't act on his emotions. So you people in Texas lock up people based on empty threats?
He's on suicide watch because he's not having what you might call a "good time" in prison. He takes regular beatings, broken bones, and he's been in isolation 4 times now (for his protection, reportedly). His Dad was on the radio the other day crying and relating the story. The kid made a comment on Facebook and now this family has a gaping hole through its soul and this kid's life is effectively over because of our justice system.
And people are saying, "Good". I don't have the words.
That's it. That's apparently enough to warrant an arrest, imprisonment and a potential 8 year sentence? It's not a genuine threat, it's not any kind of hate speech, it's not libel (hell, it's not even anti-government) - it's just distasteful, nothing more, nothing less.
If you have to live in fear of accidentally making any kind of remark that may be considered like that by someone in earshot, then you should really consider the society you're living in and whether you should want to remain a part of it.
it's a get-out-of-jail-free card. oh wait...
The scariest element of this is it shatters the whole, "It won't happen to me". It can. And it can happen over something as simple as an off handed comment during an online game. That should scare you. It scares me.
This kid has getting beaten and harassed in prison where he's been since February, and faces another 8 years of that shit. He's depressed and has basically lost all hope. He's looking at being in prison until his late twenties - over a stupid, offensive joke.
Ugh.
It's only 500k. You below average big titty magic elf games get more than that on Kickstarter. George Zimmerman got millions for his defense fund.
For 8 years. 8.
All he said was
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
lol jk
No one deserves jail for a joke in bad taste. There was no planning or actual evidence that he planed to commit any act of terrorism. It was obviously a joke because of the eating hearts line, even without the lol jk. Should he get a psychological evaluation? Maybe. Jail, No.
It means don't post stupid shit on Facebook where Canadian do-gooder moms can see it and turn you into the Texas authorities.
Freedom of speech generally doesn't protect against threats. Similar to how the 1st doesn't protect you from yelling "Fire" in a crowded place. You can however say all the hate filled things you want in public (Westboro Baptist Church anyone), just don't actually threaten anyone or any action.
Did you guys read the article? They investigated him and came up with zero reasons to even slap him on the hands other then a stern PC comment, but some mental person behind the system decided to make sure the kid gets a HALF A MILLION BAILOUT price tag and goes to prison for 10 years as of the latest news.
AFTER THE BLOODY INVESTIGATION HAPPENED, THEY STILL PUT ALL THE PENALTIES THEY COULD ON HIM! Are you peeps blind, that's the entire issue, he was proven to be innocent and still is on the verge of his life being ruined.
It's the equivalent of putting a black guy in jail because he wears a hoodie at night, pale gamer in basement playing action oriented game = redneck school shooter now? C'mon now.
This isn't some case of someone stealing a piece of expensive item and camera's recording them in the act, this isn't some guy who said "I will blow up schools" on 4Chan and an investigation shows they had a garage full of guns, it's a case of a kid making a crass joke on crass game full of crass people.
If you guys honestly think for a moment, that this case making all the way to prison time, court time, tax time, etc, even had the right to reach there on this level, then I have to question the sanity of some people, let alone the fact that 10 years is plenty of time to turn this kid into hardened monster when he gets out, at that point, what is the debate here?
If disgruntled people in France, when they get fired, take their bosses hostage, how do you think a person losing half of this life should feel or do once they get out? Don't forget the US system is hardly fair to people to get out of jail, at that point, he might as well sue them for a life worth of money, which comes out of peoples Taxes, hence more burden on the state from there on.
It's a stupid lose lose situation for everyone, all because of a joke, that even after a investigation proved this guy only had a loud mouth.
Also, for all the nice straw man arguments some of you made, I need to remind you every person who did any kind of killing never claimed it openly with anyone, those people remain silent for a reason, it's psychology 101.
It wasn't a threat, and it wasn't on facebook, it was on League Of Legends.
Then you don't know very much. Which makes you quite dangerous to hold an an ignorant position on this. The types you mention in comparison don't usually make public comments about their intent. Let alone make stupid jokes.
I want to move to Canada.
Better put me in the slammer, because I already said this before but now I really want to say it again: Better nuke it from orbit, only way to be sure...There, terrorist thread....
The Canadians turned this kid in. Try another country.
Your source?
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2013/07/01/was-a-league-of-legends-player-arrested-for-trolling-not-exactly.aspx
"Normally this wouldn't be the kind of story we run, but given the misconception that Carter's comments were made within a game and that League of Legends had anything to do with this, we felt compelled to dispel the inaccurate information. According to lieutenant Wells, the comments were left on the Facebook page of someone unknown to Carter. Especially following the recent school tragedies, authorities are taking these matters very seriously."
If the only reaction you can make against TEENAGER who talks shit in the internet is to put him in jail you are stupid and you have fucked up values. His family and him are being destroyed by people too stupid to use their brains. Too afraid to think for yourself.
If you really think he deserves this you suck, you really really suck.
Texas Penal Code as applied to this case:
Terroristic Threat:
(a) A person commits an offense if he threatens to commit any offense involving violence to any person or property with intent to
(5) place the public or a substantial group of the public in fear of serious bodily injury
(e) An offense under Subsection (a)(4), (a)(5), or (a)(6) is a felony of the third degree.
(a) An individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the third degree shall be punished by imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for any term of not more than 10 years or less than 2 years.
(b) In addition to imprisonment, an individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the third degree may be punished by a fine not to exceed $10,000.
Assault:
(a) A person commits an offense if the person:
(2) intentionally or knowingly threatens another with imminent bodily injury
(c) An offense under Subsection (a)(2) or (3) is a Class C misdemeanor
An individual adjudged guilty of a Class C misdemeanor shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $500.
Harassment:
(a) A person commits an offense if, with intent to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass another, he:
(1) initiates communication by telephone, in writing, or by electronic communication and in the course of the communication makes a comment, request, suggestion, or proposal that is obscene;
(2) threatens, by telephone, in writing, or by electronic communication, in a manner reasonably likely to alarm the person receiving the threat, to inflict bodily injury on the person or to commit a felony against the person, a member of his family or household, or his property;
(c) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.
An individual adjudged guilty of a Class B misdemeanor shall be punished by:
(1) a fine not to exceed $2,000;
(2) confinement in jail for a term not to exceed 180 days; or
(3) both such fine and confinement.
That is the law, and the law abides. Ignorance of the law does not grant immunity to it.
Okay, Australia?
oh wait, nevermind.
I guess we do have it pretty good here, but I'll try to avoid moving to TX.
Also, intent doesn't matter. It's a threat and threats don't require actual intent. There's nothing within those sections of the law about jokingly committing mass murder, sorry.
Intent does matter, it's in the penal code.
"with intent to place the public or a substantial group of the public in fear"