$500,000 Donation Frees Jailed League of Legends Player

[Riobux]

I can't help but wonder if he should kill himself. I mean, what are the chances that he'll be found not-guilty for a law he did technically break (even if the wording of it sucks)? Since he's also currently on suicide watch due to being assaulted constantly, he wouldn't survive the years in jail for this sentence. It occurred to Aaron Swartz, and I am getting the feeling a repeat will occur.

 

[Gali]

Glad this happened. No matter how stupid you call what he said, he certainly didn't belong in the same building like drug dealers, rapist and other real criminals. Kudos to the anonymous samaritian. I hope it lasts and he stays out of prison, maybe sees an expert to deal with the consequences.

 

[rob_simple]

People who aren't happy to see this guy go free, you do realize his life is basically fucked due to having such a massive allegation on his name which received so much negative press right? I wish him good luck finding a job, or even completing his education.

This. So much this. I remember many years ago when the Ipswich Murders took place, they took a guy in for questioning because he'd been seen talking to prostitutes (it was all prostitutes who had been murdered). Turns out, the reason he was talking to prostitutes was because he'd used their services in the past and thought they might be more forthcoming with information to him than they would be with the police.

Did that stop all major news outlets from interviewing his neighbours, who were quoted as saying, 'it's terrifying to think you could live next to such a monster' before any charges had even been brought against him? Nope. After he was released from custody, completely innocent, do you ever think anyone on his street or in his town looked at him in the same way again?

Point is, this kid's life has been completely fucking ruined by an, albeit stupid, throwaway remark and, as I said in another thread, I grew up with kids who said much, much worse shit. It's a disgusting portrait of the backwards world we live in that people are now being punished for their words rather than their intent.

OT: This thread, on the other hand, makes me feel so much better about the world we live in, knowing that there are both badass motherfuckers paying $500,000 bails on innocent people, and people on this forum who still possess the valuable qualities of rational thought and basic human decency.

Good job, Escapists.

 

[HardkorSB]

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.

I wouldn't be surprised if some aspiring "top lawyers" will offer their service to him for cheap, just so they can get known and wealthy by winning him a huge settlement (and because of all the attention this has been getting, there most likely will be a huge settlement).

 

[loa]

I can not believe there are people in here seriously upset about this.
Appalling.

He has already been in prison for half a year for crying out loud.
For a sarcastic remark.

 

[Atmos Duality]

The blackest irony in all of this is that if this is what it's come to, terrorism has already won.
Terrorism's aim isn't to kill; it's to weaken by provoking overreaction. A form of social-psychological attrition.

Seriously, this is fucking ridiculous.

 

[RA92]

1. There is a federal law, 18 USC § 875(c), a 3rd degree Felony charge. It's the requirement of the authorities to investigate (e.g. serve warrants, seize property and do a full investigation) if the complaint seems valid.

And yet they took a full month to get around to searching his house.

Some valid threat.

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.

/phones FBI, tells them a person on a forum is encouraging the destruction of currency (destruction of currency is a Federal crime under 18 USC § 333. Anyone aiding, abetting, counseling, commanding or inducing the commission of an offense, is subject to the same punishment as the principal defendant under Federal law).

Marry me?

 

[leviathanmisha]

I'm feeling a slight surge of hope for general humanity that someone donated 500,000 dollars to kid this poor kid out of jail. The people who led the investigation and decided that he needed to be put in jail for five months, where he ended up on SUICIDE WATCH, need to be canned. They are inept at best and aren't helping our already screwed up system.

Seriously though, like, the NSA probably has a complete list of every sarcastic remark I've ever made, which is a lot, because I ooze sarcasm from my very pores sometimes. I feel so bad for this kid, cause he made a ill-judged, but clearly sarcastic remark and now his life is forever fucked.

I really wouldn't be surprised that even if this gets thrown out, that he ends up killing himself. The mental stress might just be too much for him and I see few people who would blame him for not being able to deal with it.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

Yea, I would feel really stupid for having been a braindead little shit. Hell that's already how I look back on almost everything I did before I was 17. Although somehow I never did say I was going to kill anyone, or rape their mother, or beat them like a n*****, its almost like I never thought the internet gave me an excuse to stop acting like a functioning human being and turn into a howling neanderthal.

Was he being a little shit? Of course. Did he break a law? What he said could possibly be taken as a true threat under the law, but come on, its obviously a satrical response to his friend. Shit like this is the whole reason people think that the laws against true threats are unenforceable, because they don't take sarcasm or satire into consideration.

And? No I really don't give damn about this guy, just another punk kid with a "lol anonymity means I get to be a twat" outlook. And its not like he is up for the death penalty or anything, his "life" isn't on the line here, his freedom is.

And Freedom isn't important or anything right? He may be a little shit, but last time I checked, that's not fucking illegal and most certainly doesn't warrant a 2 year sentence with 500,000 dollar bail in one of the worst prison systems among 1st world countries. I don't know who the judge was or who the arresting officers were, but all they did was scar a young man (Who was a little shit. Not gonna argue that.) for life.

Honestly, if you haven't picked up on this yet, while I'm aware you don't give a crap about Justin Carter, I feel you should still feel that this story is a public outrage and an example of misuse of federal power.

 

[Strazdas]

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?

by allowing profit to be the only justifieable measure. and since people having a sense of humour is not good for profits, since people are not drones, lets punish people that show this.

 

[kael013]

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.

Let's go on a ride shall we? Let's say you made a stupid comment that out of context could be taken as a major threat, but the context in which you said it makes it clear it's sarcasm. You go on with your life until out of nowhere you're arrested by the police because they have reason to suspect you're a terrorist. They tell you this then throw you in jail with actual criminals. They leave you there for a month, during which time the actual criminals beat you. They then pull you out for questioning and search your residence. You tell them the truth and their search comes up with no weapons. They throw you back into jail (let me reiterate: they are now holding a terrorist whose most dangerous weapon is a [i/]kitchen knife[/i]). Your fellow inmates beat you so many times the guards put you in solitary confinement for your own protection. They also put you on the suicide watch because you've gotten that depressed. Finally 4 months after your questioning, the police come to you with a deal: plead guilty to being a terrorist and you'll only get 8 years. All this started because you made one stupid comment somewhere. And the person who snitched on you? There's reason to suspect it was to get some quick cash. That's what this kid has gone through, what he's still going through.

Even overlooking the fact the kid's a moron, the police have handled this case unprofessionally at best (seriously a month before you get around to dealing with the possible terrorist? Can you be any slower?), taking it up to a miscarriage of justice at worst. Then there's the psychological damage the kid will endure from his time in jail (remember, suicide watch) plus the fact this will follow him the rest of his life. So there are plenty of reasons why our Good Samaritan bailed him out; take your pick.

 

[fractal_butterfly]

Is there anyone else, who is reminded of "Minority Report", when he hears of someone facing up to 10 years of prison for facebook post stating the intent of a crime?

On another note, I am shocked to learn that there are such things as "bailout companies". That says much about the state of the legal system in the US

 

[KefkaCultist]

This whole case just makes me sick (some of the comments on here not helping that either). That kid's life has been practically ruined all because of a Facebook comment (albeit a dumb one).
I can understand a form of punishment for this in the way of house arrest or a fine or something like that, but prison? Complete. Utter. Bullshit. I hope the government pays reparations for the trauma that our justice system has put him and his family through. Seriously, he's more than likely going to need severe therapy for depression/PTSD after this is all done with.

And props to the anonymous good samaritan for the bail donation.

 

[major_chaos]

If you were to make a stupid petty mistake and thrown in jail sentenced to nearly a decade of time, I hope people broadcasts your post to the rest of the public over and over to prevent donations.

I would hope that's how it would work. I certainly wouldn't want the donations.

Except for on the eleventh of July, 2013. I suggest reigning in your own toxicity if you want to be taken seriously.

Disagreeing with you =/= "toxic". If you believe my behavior is an issue, report me and move on. Making Ad hominem statements at me adds nothing to the conversation.

Snip

Let me make it clear: the possible sentence for the is absurd, I agree he doesn't deserve to spend years in jail, I just don't feel any sympathy for him now. As I have said in this very thread, I don't claim I have never said anything offensive, but when I do, I make sure its in the company of people I know will understand me, not on the internet where sarcasm is hard to convey and any random person can read it. This seems like common sense, especially with how jumpy people are right now. And as for "abuse of power" I don't see it. As far as I can tell, what everyone involved is doing is simply what they are told to do: follow procedure. Now if you want to say that the procedure is flawed or that our system moves at an awful grinding pace I won't disagree with you, but I wouldn't call it abuse of power.

 

[Ushiromiya Battler]

500000USD? That's the price of a fancy house here in Norway. That's got to be one hell of a rich bastard.

Now I know, from the way people react, that if I ever want to shoot up a school in the US I'll just have to make a sarcastic comment on Facebook about shooting up a school and the people will flock to my side if the feds decide to take it seriously.

Either way I win?

On the more serious note: A bail the price of a house and 4-6months of jail time before he's even been to court seems a bit much. A normal investigation and maybe a few days in containment should have been enough.

EDIT:

He has done nothing wrong, the stupidity of some people is breathtaking, you think a guy should go to jail because of a sarcastic comment on the internet that HURT NOBODY. What a fucking joke. Get a grip.

There was the possibility he was serious, still, they should have released him when they found absolutely no evidence of him being a potential school shooter.

 

[llafnwod]

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."

That is not what he said. It's OK to paraphrase, but do not put that paraphrasing in quotation marks, especially if the actual quote appears nowhere in the body of the article.

 

[Jamieson 90]

But in the last decade I'm realizing that we lost the War on Terror.

It's looking that way isn't it? Terrorism is all about causing fear and disrupting people's lives, so when you've got highly advanced technical systems spying on people's email, internet and phone usage, CCTV everywhere, x-ray scanners in airports, the TSA patting down kids, and a huge mass hysteria where everyone's paranoid about terrorism, with kids getting sent to prison for five months without even being convicted, then yes you have to say that the terrorists have won.

I'll say it plainly and clearly, sacrificing all your social liberties and freedoms to be safe is actually more dangerous than what any terrorist could do, because as bad as terrorist attacks are more people die from cancer, smoking, car accidents, shootings both accidental and deliberate and drink/drug related incidents every year than those who are killed by terrorists, yet the response is grossly disproportional.

 

[Kenmoo]

Some of the comments in this thread are disturbing beyound comprehension. There are actually people who think putting him in jail and asking any kind of bail is justice?

I'm never going to set foot in America. If they check my facebook logs, they'll think I'm going to blow up the whole east coast. JK LOL !!!!