$500,000 Donation Frees Jailed League of Legends Player

[Andy Chalk]

$500,000 Donation Frees Jailed League of Legends Player

Justin Carter, who's spent five months in jail for making "terroristic threats" on Facebook, is out on bail thanks to an anonymous $500,000 donation.

Justin Carter, for those who haven't followed the story [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/125833-Petition-to-Free-Jailed-League-of-Legends-Player-Reaches-100-000-Sigs], was arrested and jailed in February after writing on Facebook, "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." The message was part of an exchange with a fellow League of Legends player who had called him crazy, but Carter ended up in jail after authorities got wind of it. Because his family couldn't afford his $500,000 bail, he's been there ever since, held in solitary confinement and under suicide watch after reportedly being assaulted multiple times by other inmates.

His mother launched a petition [http://www.change.org/petitions/release-my-son-justin-carter-in-jail-for-a-facebook-comment] on Change.org in June calling for his release and an overhaul of the laws defining terrorist threats that is now up to over 122,000 signatures, and has also been trying to raise $50,000 via donations in order to get a bail bond company to sign for his release. And as of today, that bail has been granted and he is free, but in a rather unexpected fashion: according to Carter's attorney, an "anonymous Good Samaritan" put up the full $500,000 to bail him out.

It's a surprising turn of events, but not the end of the road: Carter has a court hearing scheduled for July 16 and faces serious prison time if he's found guilty at trial.

Source: MSNBC [http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/07/09/texas-19-year-old-in-prison-for-sarcastic-facebook-post/]


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[Griffolion]

What he did was stupid, but he didn't deserve to just be thrown in jail. I'm glad he's out for the time being, and hats off to the good soul who put up the money.

 

[Gearhead mk2]

I don't approve of what he said, and he should have been punished for it, but just by a mod or someone giving him a warning or a ban. How did society get to the point where making a bad dark joke costs jailtime and half a million dollars?

 

[SecondPrize]

"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."

The first time I saw this story it was reported he ended the 'threat' with "LoL JK." Was that incorrect?

 

[Andy Chalk]

"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."

The first time I saw this story it was reported he ended the 'threat' with "LoL JK." Was that incorrect?

No, that's correct, he posted both immediately after. Did him no good.

 

[shadowstriker86]

I don't approve of what he said, and he should have been punished for it, but just by a mod or someone giving him a warning or a ban. How did society get to the point where making a bad dark joke costs jailtime and half a million dollars?

welcome to america? i mean it wasnt long before something like this was going to happen considering about a year or so back there was some guy who called a model a whorish idiot on his blog and was sued by said model.

 

[DragonStorm247]

"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."

The first time I saw this story it was reported he ended the 'threat' with "LoL JK." Was that incorrect?

He did. People have just been carelessly omitting it.

Even without that addition, the whole thing is just dripping with sarcasm. Who else thinks the investigator for this case should be fired on grounds of incompetency?

 

[Quellist]

Shame he's only out for a few days though hopefully that will allow him to get his head together before trial. Hoping the other donations made will hire him a decent laywer because its my feeling that a halfway good lawyer could get this thrown out with Prejudice. Failing that hopefully there will be some sane people on the Jury.

 

[SecondPrize]

"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."

The first time I saw this story it was reported he ended the 'threat' with "LoL JK." Was that incorrect?

He did. People have just been carelessly omitting it.

Even without that addition, the whole thing is just dripping with sarcasm. Who else thinks the investigator for this case should be fired on grounds of incompetency?

I'm no scientist, but I find it's always jackass District Attorneys trying to move up in the District Attorney world who wind up prosecuting stuff like this.

 

[DragonStorm247]

"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."

The first time I saw this story it was reported he ended the 'threat' with "LoL JK." Was that incorrect?

He did. People have just been carelessly omitting it.

Even without that addition, the whole thing is just dripping with sarcasm. Who else thinks the investigator for this case should be fired on grounds of incompetency?

I'm no scientist, but I find it's always jackass District Attorneys trying to move up in the District Attorney world who wind up prosecuting stuff like this.

Perhaps. But someone looked at this and made the judgement call, "Looks like teh terror to me, let's arrest his ass." That person is either incompetent or malicious, either way they should not be in the position to be able to do this.

 

[major_chaos]

Why? Just.. why? You know Mr. good Samaritan $500,000 can do a lot of things, buy you a new TV, feed the poor, make a giant fire if you get it all in singles, hell just roll it up and smoke that shit just to show how rich you are, anything is a more noble cause than getting this braindead little shit out of jail.

 

[PirateRose]

The simple fact is, people wanted to make money. Yes, someone clearly overreacted to report this, but then the system said, hey we can make some money here. Every head in the prison system is more money in people's pockets somewhere, that's why people are imprisoned for bull crap, why innocent people are so easily found guilty, and why rich jerks get out of the crap they are in when they have committed an actual crime.

Yeah he got bail, someone got paid, and they'll get paid more in the continuing case and if they convict him they'll get even more.

 

[DragonStorm247]

"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."

The first time I saw this story it was reported he ended the 'threat' with "LoL JK." Was that incorrect?

He did. People have just been carelessly omitting it.

Even without that addition, the whole thing is just dripping with sarcasm. Who else thinks the investigator for this case should be fired on grounds of incompetency?

This case went through too many people and would result in too many firings. In addition apparently the Canadian woman who reported the boy was out for money. The resultant damages suit would include so many defendants.

Do you have a source for that?

 

[Agayek]

It's good to see someone was nice enough to spring for the kid's bail, but the fact that it was necessary in the first place is just disgusting.

 

[DragonStorm247]

make a giant fire if you get it all in singles, hell just roll it up and smoke that shit just to show how rich you are, anything is a more noble cause than getting this braindead little shit out of jail.

You have no idea how utterly ... repulsive I find that notion. You're valuing a human life at less than negative. And do you honestly believe that one offhand instance of sarcasm is nearly enough to paint a picture of one's intelligence?