Man arrested for trolling on Facebook

[funkzillabot]

Personally I think he went beyond trolling and was in fact arrested for being a c*nt!

Wardy
PS And I use the "C" word only in very extreme circumstances...

Dude don't even stress....because that guy is a c*nt.

 

[Rayne870]

Pretty sure we've had this conversation around here before. Freedom of speech is intended to allow people to air their grievances with their government or to warn their fellow citizens of offense, trespass or danger that may be committed against them. It is not a free pass to act in any manner that amuses you and does not guarantee you the right to torment your fellow citizens. There are laws against yelling fire in a crowded theatre just as there are laws against disturbing the peace. Just as, in Mr Duffy's favor, there are laws against assault. It's hard to stand on the moral high ground when you're advocating corporal punishment.

I think you hit the nail on the head right there. Its sad that more people don't understand it.

 

[EeveeElectro]

I hate to make these posts, but I posted this just yesterday and the most recent post was posted today. Please use the search bar next time.
I don't want another few arguments to start, if I'm honest. We all said our piece and moved on.
My opinion is in there; I think it goes beyond trolling but maybe 4 months in prison is too harsh. Maybe just serve a month, get a fine and a restraining order and all the other stuff he got.

EDIT: I'm glad you posted this actually... It said a few more things my link didn't, makes him much more malicious and insane sounding. They blame alcohol at one point... not sure if Daily Fail are making it up though, they have a habit of doing that.

 

[KrayZekrow]

Hatred is merely a form of ignorance, and ignorance is slowly destroying the world. I say good riddance, but he deserved more punishment then he got, at least as an example to others who would do such things. Stupidity needs to be wrung out of this twisted world before we fall into oblivion, that's for sure.

 

[KrayZekrow]

Pretty sure we've had this conversation around here before. Freedom of speech is intended to allow people to air their grievances with their government or to warn their fellow citizens of offense, trespass or danger that may be committed against them. It is not a free pass to act in any manner that amuses you and does not guarantee you the right to torment your fellow citizens. There are laws against yelling fire in a crowded theatre just as there are laws against disturbing the peace. Just as, in Mr Duffy's favor, there are laws against assault. It's hard to stand on the moral high ground when you're advocating corporal punishment.

I think you hit the nail on the head right there. Its sad that more people don't understand it.

Seconded

 

[BloatedGuppy]

That's a ridiculous sentence. Almost half a year in prison? Most people committing actual criminal offenses don't even get that.

This is typically the type of case where you sentence with a fine and a few hours community service to get the message across that this is unacceptable, even if it's hardly a criminal offense.

I think he actually skated by with just a stern warning originally. If I had to guess, the sentencing has as much to do with him ignoring the court's warning as it did with the crimes themselves. Courts and judges just LOVE it when you disregard their instructions.

 

[omega 616]

With only reading like 6 posts I can already tell this is going to be a "freedom of speech VS anti jerks". Just 'cos you have the right to say something doesn't mean you should say it.

It gets really old listening to people (although I get the strong impression it's Americans, sorry if that's wrong) hide behind "the freedom of speech" and quoting amendments all the time. How about using the right to remain silent more!

Maybe we should kill one of his family members then start mocking him for it, he may be autistic but it's really harsh to torment grieving people!

 

[Aprilgold]

I guess freedom of speech doesn't exist any more. This reminds me of V or Vendetta. They can't throw him in jail for this. Sure he's a ****, but if you allow things like these to happen you're next. The governments are slowly taking away your rights. None of this shit was possible before you gave up your rights to the government in order to feel a little safer from the terrorists. Ah the terrorists, the bogyman for the adults.

It was harassment, he sent it, personally, to the families.
Defamation of character, even if dead, he was, in a way, defaming their image.
There is more, but those in of themselves are felonies.

Freedom of speech means I can say I don't like a religion and not be smited on sight by that religion. I can say that I think the government was stupid for doing THIS and not be killed by seal team 6. It means I can air grievances with a neighbors without the police getting me.

This man, this one guy, started a website to specifically amuse himself at making fun of dead teenagers, and then sending it to the families, which is a felony, doesn't matter, he was specifically targeting the families.

Hopefully, this will teach trolls that being a dick for your own amusement is something that you should NEVER do, because if you are, you may end up in prison.

 

[ChaosReaver]

Freedom of speech =/= the right to say anything you want to. The Freedom of speech allowed in the US constitution is the right to speak out against the government without negative repercussions, with a few exceptions (like threatening violence for example). If you do the things that this guy did, you can expect negative repercussions, be it in the form of nasty emails, to legal intervention. This guy was a dick, yes, but I do not wish him physical harm, like the OP did. He is autistic, and while not being a completely legitimate excuse in my eyes, I feel that jailing him won't help him at all.

With all that being said, I do support the prosecution of people that troll maliciously (IE, memorial pages, human rights pages, etc). The internet really needs to grow up and get out of this mindset that because no one will meet them in real life, they can do what ever the hell they want here.

 

[mrdude2010]

I guess freedom of speech doesn't exist any more. This reminds me of V or Vendetta. They can't throw him in jail for this. Sure he's a ****, but if you allow things like these to happen you're next. The governments are slowly taking away your rights. None of this shit was possible before you gave up your rights to the government in order to feel a little safer from the terrorists. Ah the terrorists, the bogyman for the adults.

It's not freedom of speech, though. you don't have the "freedom" to yell "fire" in a crowded theater, and you don't have the "freedom" to deliberately harass, slander, and defame someone and their family. it's completely different. if i went up to some random person on the street and started calling them various racial and homophobic slurs without end, followed them around, and said horrible things about their family, i would be arrested for slander and libel. the internet is not free from basic laws.

also, the government is taking away your rights, but not the right to free speech. the rights most governments are taking away are things like search and seizure, right to a fair trial, right to see a lawyer, right to due process, right to habeas corpus, right to be free from surveillance without a warrant, etc.

 

[LadyDeadly]

That twats a jerk who got what he deserved.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

I guess freedom of speech doesn't exist any more. This reminds me of V or Vendetta. They can't throw him in jail for this. Sure he's a ****, but if you allow things like these to happen you're next. The governments are slowly taking away your rights. None of this shit was possible before you gave up your rights to the government in order to feel a little safer from the terrorists. Ah the terrorists, the bogyman for the adults.

You realize the first amendment doesn't work like that right?
Also this was in the UK.

I never mentioned the first amendment, or America. People are using terrorists as scare tactic all over Europe. As for that act. Just because it exists doesn't make it right. I believe everyone should be able to say whatever the fuck they want about anyone, as long as their goals aren't to incite violence, destruction and hate against a certain group of people (race, nationality, religion etc.). But if you say something about an individual, no matter how big of a dickhead you are for doing that, I think the government shouldn't intervene. Sure he deserves to have his kneecaps broken, but not everything should be government regulated. That's just my unpopular opinion.

If I sneak up to your bedroom window and shreik about your jacket being shit and tasteless, then I'm in the wrong. We clear?

We are clear. I understand what you're saying. I'm not denying what he did was wrong. I'm just stating my opinion that not every human interaction should be controlled by the long arm of the law. I think people should be more independent. In my country you could never sue people for this. A family member of the abused victim would probably beat the shit out of you for that, but we are also not the kind of people who sue for physical assault (unless it's something extreme). Wounds heal, we're not made of glass. People should sometimes be left to deal with these issues by themselves. The entire world seem to be...pussified.

 

[DjinnFor]

Don't see what the problem was here.

Assholes exist and they infest the physical world too, but I don't beat them, tie them up, throw them in a cell, then tell them they're spending then next 18 (edit weeks of their life rotting in it.

This kind of crap can be dealt with civilly by responsible adults rather than resorting to violence. Report as abuse to Facebook, and if you don't like the way they deal with it, find a networking site more responsive to your needs.

You can't legislate things like racism, ignorance, and disrespect away: you have to deal with it on a grassroots level. The more laws you pile on, the more you bury the issue... then it rots, ferments, grows, and comes back with a vengeance.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I never mentioned the first amendment, or America. People are using terrorists as scare tactic all over Europe. As for that act. Just because it exists doesn't make it right. I believe everyone should be able to say whatever the fuck they want about anyone, as long as their goals aren't to incite violence, destruction and hate against a certain group of people (race, nationality, religion etc.). But if you say something about an individual, no matter how big of a dickhead you are for doing that, I think the government shouldn't intervene. Sure he deserves to have his kneecaps broken, but not everything should be government regulated. That's just my unpopular opinion.

You believe one should have the right to harass others without limitation...make their lives a living hell, if you so wish...so long as you're not inciting violence and discrimination?

Assholes exist and they infest the physical world too, but I don't beat them, tie them up, throw them in a cell, then tell them they're spending then next 18 months of their life rotting in it.

A week is not the same as a month.

 

[DjinnFor]

A week is not the same as a month.

Ah, misread it then.

 

[minuialear]

I'm going by the American legal definition forgetting this was in the U.K. and in the U.S. stating an opinion can never be slander.

In this case, I'm not sure it is an opinion. Being a whore is something verifiable. Yes, the word is used in other contexts (having numerous or undesirable sexual partners etc.) but I'm not sure that meaning has enough cultural currency to say that was an opinion.

Actually I'd be willing to bet that IS the more common usage of the term (at least in the US), in which case it wouldn't be verifiable. The word is certainly, at the very least, ambiguous to the point where if you were to try and take someone to court because they said this to you, you'd lose. Whore can mean everything from being a prostitute to being a tease to sleeping with a lot of people, or it can just be a generic female slur (kind of like the b/c-word). There is no quota involved in how many people a girl has to sleep with to be a whore, nor is there a standardized scale that people can use to measure how much of a tease a girl's behavior "actually" is. And if the person you're taking to court meant it as #2, your lawyer can't just say "Welp, this dictionary that I've chosen for the sake of proving my point says that's not an official definition, so you lose." Because that's not how language works, and the judge will be cognicent of that. (And also because there are also dictionaries that do list some of the other commonly-used connotations as definitions, and the defendant could easily point to those to cancel out the claim.)

Not making a point about the article as a whole by pointing this out. Just saying.

 

[duncants]

Wtf? seriously he has been arrested for being a dick? I actually think the Natasha wasn't bullied, she was just a whore pretty funny, I lol'd.... a lot, should I go to jail as well?

Bottom line is, writing things does not harm anyone. Yes it probably made the family feel like shit and the guy is a huge ****, that is why he doesn't have any friends. Society has another way of punishing him. Pussies.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Ah, misread it then.

It's cool. But you know the way the internet goes. The next guy would be in here boggling that he got 18 years.

 

[Davichu]

Countless people write slanderous things on memorial pages to try and cause distress, this is the internet.

I wonder why this guy is being singled out.

the fact he's the son of a well established writer in the bbc would make him high profile enough to single out.

what i dont get is how the report then calls him a loner

"In one of the first cases of its kind, the autistic loner"

com'n your trying to say how bullying on the web is bad then pretty much go against it... fail

 

[Sovvolf]

But if you say something about an individual, no matter how big of a dickhead you are for doing that, I think the government shouldn't intervene. Sure he deserves to have his kneecaps broken, but not everything should be government regulated. That's just my unpopular opinion.

Okay, so I'm going to go to the news papers, police, every message board and forum and social networking site and tell them your a rapist. Tell them that you did horrid acts to little girls. Hey, I don't have any proof but who needs it hey? I imagine most won't care about proof anyway just happy to moan about how horrid a person you are.*

And I can do that freely under your logic. Screw that its a big fat lie, screw the fact that its libel and slander. I'm pretty sure that act will ruin your life regardless. Even if the papers retract it, most wont care (and it would probably be retracted somewhere in the back in small text). You still have people pointing fingers at you, being in utter disgust of you and I imagine some would even take it one step further.

That is one of the reasons we have such laws. Because otherwise I could just randomly start making stuff up about you and probably ruining your life. News papers could just print what ever they liked regardless of truth (though I don't know how that would be much different from how it is).

Do you see what I mean here.

*This is an extreme example and I'm not going to be going over the internet and the papers condemning you.