Petition to Free Jailed League of Legends Player Reaches 100,000 Sigs

[fletch_talon]

Nup, the police should have looked at the comment. Investigated further to discover what the context of said comment was and whether there was reason to believe it may have been made in malice rather than ignorance. Upon finding nothing they should then have given the child a warning, possibly handing down some form of fine upon the boy and his family to make up for the waste of police time. Finally they should have thanked the lady for her concern and bringing it to their attention.

Y'know, their job.

Perhaps. But I don't think their job is to harass teenagers for stupid facebook comments just to satisfy the paranoid.

Y'know.

If this kid goes, then half the country has to go.

Its not paranoia if its justified.
There are messed up individuals out there who would say things like this, and then act on it. Without context (and it certainly seems this comment was seen out of context) this woman could not know if the comment was evidence of an actual threat or simply a joke. In the face of this doubt she took the safer of 2 options. She could do nothing and one day potentially find herself feeling responsible for deaths she could have helped prevent. Or she could tell the police so they could establish if such a threat existed. She took the path which if there was a threat would have saved many lives. If there was no threat, then in theory (and no doubt to best her knowledge) the consequences would have been the inconveniencing of someone who did something stupid. It is not the whistle blower's fault that there are people trying to make an example of this boy.

I totally agree. The police should definitely look into every case involving someone saying something offensive and violent on the internet no matter the context. Now that they finally started with this case I estimate they only have 99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 cases remaining assuming we're sticking just to English language sites of course.This could easily be handled by the entire police forces throughout the world assuming they stop working on any actual criminal case. Hey, why stop at writing why not scan every candid video some idiots friend decides to post on the internet. You know without their permission. Or complete strangers. Cause legally there is no distinction on who put it up there so long as it was you who said it in a case like this. You know I think George Carlin made a joke about flying a plane into a building. We should dig him up and charge him as a terrorist post - humorously. I can guarantee you can find that written somewhere on the internet so it should be a lock.

Also why don't people wear more octopuses on their heads like hats the suction cups would make sure they wouldn't get blown off in a wind storm.

Grats man, you used the word context in their somewhere. Now its time to apply it to this situation.
A woman saw a facebook post about a kid being messed up in the head and killing people. In a world (and for that matter especially a country) where this happens, more often than it should.
That seems to be the context she had. So no, the police shouldn't investigate "no matter the context". They should certainly investigate if the context is unknown.

Context is important, you seem to acknowledge that, so next time how about you put a little more thought into how it applies to this situation.

 

[sorsa]

What he wrote was certainly in bad taste, but we can propably agree kids are dumb and say the most stupid things all-the-time (you could hear worse quotes frothing from the mouths of kids on any average middle-school yard). The moment we start locking them up for being dumb and saying insensitive things, we better get cracking cause there's plenty more where Justin came from.

And yeah as was already said before, maybe, just maybe search his house/computer for some written evil masterplans and/or weapons before going APE SH*T on him.

 

[wulfy42]

Perhaps we should all start making terrorist threats on the internet in protest. I'm not even kidding here, as this is ridiculous. What he did was wrong...but not wrong enough to deserve any prison time at all.....perhaps mandatory consoling or something like that, and/or community service at the most.

The only criminal act here was sending that kid to jail. More then likely he has been sexually assaulted there, or at least physically assaulted....and the people who put him there are directly responsible for that. His solitary knee jerk remark.....is not enough to warrant the punishment he got. If this was something he did repeatedly after being warned...then maybe a fine or something.....but even then I wouldn't say jail is appropriate for a kid making such remarks. That is seriously insane.

 

[Caiphus]

Its not paranoia if its justified.
There are messed up individuals out there who would say things like this, and then act on it. Without context (and it certainly seems this comment was seen out of context) this woman could not know if the comment was evidence of an actual threat or simply a joke. In the face of this doubt she took the safer of 2 options. She could do nothing and one day potentially find herself feeling responsible for deaths she could have helped prevent. Or she could tell the police so they could establish if such a threat existed. She took the path which if there was a threat would have saved many lives. If there was no threat, then in theory (and no doubt to best her knowledge) the consequences would have been the inconveniencing of someone who did something stupid. It is not the whistle blower's fault that there are people trying to make an example of this boy.

And it isn't justified if it's paranoid. See?

The woman can phone the police department if she wants. Then the blood is off her hands. The police should have looked at the context and realised that it was a dumb joke. That's it, there really needs to be no further discussion.

What you suggest goes far beyond reasonable powers of arrest. The police don't have a duty to rigorously investigate every claim, just because somebody is feeling a bit paranoid because of media storms or whatever. They certainly do not need to arrest people over it.

If I see a man in a trenchcoat walk past my house, and think he's a murderer, the police would be absolutely right in politely telling me to get a life.

The police have plenty of discretion. They could have phoned up the parents and told them to keep an eye on their child. At the most they can contact the school. Arresting the poor bastard goes far beyond what any reasonable police department should do.

Edit: And no, it's not the whistle blower's fault. You're right. Her hands are clean of this mess. I can fully understand that an adult woman, who wouldn't have grown up around the internet, might get scared seeing a teenager post shit on facebook. The police are most definitely at fault for throwing the kitchen sink at this boy.

 

[Truth Cake]

Honestly this whole thing is painful. This is actually causing me physical pain to read this. This is just a sickening waste of resources that could be used to put away REAL criminals, not some dumb kid who made a dumb sarcastic comment to some other dumb person who got all offended.

He was arrested for a Facebook comment, -as serious evidence as that can be taken, apparently- then not questioned until a MONTH later!? Then his house was investigated, and nothing turned up besides his computer? Seriously, just keeping him in prison this long is punishment enough for someone who made an actual comment in support of the KKK or something.

He made a stupid decision, and he's long since paid for it. You better believe he won't be doing it again, so why give him 8 years for it!?

I guess Facebook is where liberty goes to die.

 

[Murais]

Utter horseshit. Signed and signed.

I hope the woman who reported him realizes that she has probably personally and permanently ruined a young man's life.

 

[ZforZissou]

I find myself not caring. There are some things you JUST DON'T SAY. People think that because it is the internet they can say what they want. He said what he said, someone felt threatened, and now he has to pay for it.

What you just wrote here is supremely fucked up. He gets to be punished, his life ruined, because of someone else's reaction to something he said? No, no, of course intent doesn't matter. It made ME feel uncomfortable. Fuck him, and fuck his life, I didn't like that thing he said.

Also, yes it is the internet, so he was perfectly allowed to say what he said. You are allowed to be crude, sexist, racist, ANY-ist on the internet. Even *gasp* dark, cruel, or offensive jokes!

He deserved NO jail time (and the abuse that brought), or even a slap on the wrist. His parents should probably have been contacted, so they could possibly have a talk with him about his sense of humor or the way he acts publicly, or whatever. But we are WELL beyond the pale, here. This is just the next in a long line of outrages and government overreach.

 

[fletch_talon]

And it isn't justified if it's paranoid. See?

The woman can phone the police department if she wants. Then the blood is off her hands. The police should have looked at the context and realised that it was a dumb joke. That's it, there really needs to be no further discussion.

What you suggest goes far beyond reasonable powers of arrest. The police don't have a duty to rigorously investigate every claim, just because somebody is feeling a bit paranoid because of media storms or whatever. They certainly do not need to arrest people over it.

If I see a man in a trenchcoat walk past my house, and think he's a murderer, the police would be absolutely right in politely telling me to get a life.

The police have plenty of discretion. They could have phoned up the parents and told them to keep an eye on their child. At the most they can contact the school. Arresting the poor bastard goes far beyond what any reasonable police department should do.

How do you think the police find out the context behind this comment?
Would it involve... investigating it maybe?
Rigorous investigation is your choice of words not mine. If the police were able to find out the situation in which the comment was made without investigating it I'd be very shocked (a psychic police force? But then even that would be a psychic investigation). First of all they'd require access to the facebook accounts to see exactly what was said and what it was in response to. When told that it related to a League of Legends game, assuming no reference was made to it on facebook, they would potentially need to access LoL's chat logs or at least confirm that said match had occurred.
An arrest can reasonably made simply to question the boy in order to investigate the situation, and in the meantime ensure that the threat that was allegedly made could not be put into action.

Also...

If I see a man in a trenchcoat walk past my house, and think he's a murderer, the police would be absolutely right in politely telling me to get a life.

You're almost as bad at making analogies as the guy who was raving about kidney bombs and blood bullets, you should probably stop. If, however, said man (regardless of clothing) walked by mumbling about how he was going to shoot that ***** in the head when he gets home, you'd have grounds to call the police.

It might turn out he was talking about putting his dog down because she had rabies, but you don't know that.

 

[xPixelatedx]

The fact that a child making a threat on Facebook is taken seriously is an admittance by the US government that our culture is not only fucked up, but also objectively flawed for actually making weapons available to children. Otherwise children wouldn't be seen as threats at all, regardless of what ever dumbass thing they say online.

 

[Caiphus]

How do you think the police find out the context behind this comment?
Would it involve... investigating it maybe?
Rigorous investigation is your choice of words not mine. If the police were able to find out the situation in which the comment was made without investigating it I'd be very shocked (a psychic police force? But then even that would be a psychic investigation). First of all they'd require access to the facebook accounts to see exactly what was said and what it was in response to. When told that it related to a League of Legends game, assuming no reference was made to it on facebook, they would potentially need to access LoL's chat logs or at least confirm that said match had occurred.
An arrest can reasonably made simply to question the boy in order to investigate the situation, and in the meantime ensure that the threat that was allegedly made could not be put into action.

Also...

If I see a man in a trenchcoat walk past my house, and think he's a murderer, the police would be absolutely right in politely telling me to get a life.

You're almost as bad at making analogies as the guy who was raving about kidney bombs and blood bullets, you should probably stop. If, however, said man (regardless of clothing) walked by mumbling about how he was going to shoot that ***** in the head when he gets home, you'd have grounds to call the police.

It might turn out he was talking about putting his dog down because she had rabies, but you don't know that.

Rigorous investigation being what actually happened. According to the article, they searched his house, took his computer, questioned him, and then put him in prison for 5 months with bail set at $250,000. Which, realistically, means no bail.
I would expect them to look at the comment on facebook, yes. So fine, if that counts as investigation, then they do that. That's a pretty far cry from what actually happened though, isn't it?

My first analogy was not meant to compare to this situation. My analogy was meant to demonstrate that the police shouldn't investigate all complaints.

A better analogy is a group of young men talking loudly outside my house. One of them loudly says "I'll smash the cow when I get home." Before putting his hands up and saying "Just joking, of course".

So I phone the police. Now in this case, it's slightly more difficult, because the police need to search for the guy. On facebook, the kid's details are right there. But if they go to his house, and see no signs of abuse, or even find out that he's actually single then... Well then what? They just arrest him anyway because fuck it?

 

[Bullfrog1983]

I guess you shouldn't threaten to kill kids on the internet... WHO KNEW? I have to say that I have very little sympathy for this guy but the punishment is way too severe. I sympathize with his parents who have to try and fix the mistakes of their son and the system. Petition signed.

 

[A3sir]

Glad to see this news, internet petitions of the past have always resulted in change...

 

[fletch_talon]

How do you think the police find out the context behind this comment?
Would it involve... investigating it maybe?
Rigorous investigation is your choice of words not mine. If the police were able to find out the situation in which the comment was made without investigating it I'd be very shocked (a psychic police force? But then even that would be a psychic investigation). First of all they'd require access to the facebook accounts to see exactly what was said and what it was in response to. When told that it related to a League of Legends game, assuming no reference was made to it on facebook, they would potentially need to access LoL's chat logs or at least confirm that said match had occurred.
An arrest can reasonably made simply to question the boy in order to investigate the situation, and in the meantime ensure that the threat that was allegedly made could not be put into action.

Also...

If I see a man in a trenchcoat walk past my house, and think he's a murderer, the police would be absolutely right in politely telling me to get a life.

You're almost as bad at making analogies as the guy who was raving about kidney bombs and blood bullets, you should probably stop. If, however, said man (regardless of clothing) walked by mumbling about how he was going to shoot that ***** in the head when he gets home, you'd have grounds to call the police.

It might turn out he was talking about putting his dog down because she had rabies, but you don't know that.

Rigorous investigation being what actually happened. According to the article, they searched his house, took his computer, questioned him, and then put him in prison for 5 months with bail set at $250,000. Which, realistically, means no bail.
I would expect them to look at the comment on facebook, yes. So fine, if that counts as investigation, then they do that. That's a pretty far cry from what actually happened though, isn't it?

I've already said previously (though admittedly not directly to you) that I don't agree with the course that this situation has taken. I certainly don't think jail time is necessary let alone the 8 years mentioned.
The only reason I quoted you in the first place was because I disagreed with your belief that people shouldn't report these kinds of things and that the woman was in the wrong for having done so.

 

[Aramis Night]

I signed the petition. If i wasn't moving this month and had the money to, i would donate as well. I'm actually mad that i can't. This is just flat out wrong. I really don't care what the kid said, none of this should have progressed.

One thing that really gets me is how quick everyone here is to absolve the woman who started this witch hunt. She went out of her way to track this kid down which i'm sure required some degree of effort on her part. And you people actually think she could feel the slightest bit guilty about ruining this kids life. Ruining this persons life was the point. Why else would she do it. Every single person here understands that his comments were not to be taken seriously, i'm sure she was just as aware of it. Why assume that she is savvy enough to track people down online, but too stupid to get online sarcasm on facebook? Sorry, that person doesn't exist.

Also she is Canadian where they do not have protected speech. They have a nanny state government who has a habit of locking people up for not being PC enough. She expected by reporting him that this is what would happen because that is what happens where she lives. So yes, i do hold her responsible(as well as our retarded lack of justice system) and have every reason to believe that she wanted to ruin some poor kids life. How can so many of you be this naive to believe otherwise?

 

[Caiphus]

I've already said previously (though admittedly not directly to you) that I don't agree with the course that this situation has taken. I certainly don't think jail time is necessary let alone the 8 years mentioned.
The only reason I quoted you in the first place was because I disagreed with your belief that people shouldn't report these kinds of things and that the woman was in the wrong for having done so.

Well then, we can chalk it up to a misunderstanding. I should have made myself clearer. The woman isn't at fault. She can report it to the police, and they do whatever they want with it. I think she's paranoid, still. But a lot of middle-aged (assuming her age) women are, especially when school shootings have happened recently. And possibly with good reason. When I said that paranoia is wrong, I meant the police. The police can't be paranoid, or you end up with shit like this.

My objection has always been: not only did the police cock up by investigating as far as they did, but by still continuing with the prosecution. I mean, offering the kid a guilty plea bargain of 8 years? When they didn't find weapons?

"Yeah boy, say you're guilty to plotting terrorist attacks and we'll let you off easy. 8 years, no questions asked".

I mean, rapists his age can get less than that. It's absurd.

But anyway, I've looked over my comments "Telling her where to get off" was probably harsh.

They should have calmed her down (which is sort of what I meant, but I have testosterone, so I need to act like a dick), looked at the comment, and either phoned the parents, school, or at a stretch visited him and figured out that he isn't a psychopath. Because, like I said, they'd have to do the same to a lot of people. I even think a formal caution would have been too much. But whatever. A caution isn't even in the same solar system as what they've done.

 

[Aramis Night]

If I see a man in a trenchcoat walk past my house, and think he's a murderer, the police would be absolutely right in politely telling me to get a life.

True, they would do that. Not sure why you would call murderers to come deal with people you only think might be murderers. But rest assured, as the guy in that trenchcoat, the cops will be making it a point to stop and harass me with or without your complaint. Truth is, they really are the fashion police. Wear the wrong clothes and they come after you. It has gotten so bad i have my lawyer on speed dial on my cell. Fortunately my local police seem to have gotten off my back and prefer to kill homeless men in broad daylight in front of witnesses at bus stops for the crime of dressing like they are homeless.

 

[Sarge034]

What you just wrote here is supremely fucked up. He gets to be punished, his life ruined, because of someone else's reaction to something he said? No, no, of course intent doesn't matter. It made ME feel uncomfortable. Fuck him, and fuck his life, I didn't like that thing he said.

It is not about whether or not I liked what he said. It comes down to the point that he made a threat against a school and someone felt threatened by it. "LOL, JK" isn't an excuse. HE made the threat and now HE gets to deal with the consequences of his actions. That's part of being an adult. The other part is not being stupid enough to make threats... He IS 18 by the way, so people can stop with this "dumb kid" defense.

Also, yes it is the internet, so he was perfectly allowed to say what he said. You are allowed to be crude, sexist, racist, ANY-ist on the internet. Even *gasp* dark, cruel, or offensive jokes!

Obviously not... The first amendment does not apply when, among other things, a threat of bodily harm is made. Also, this mentality is what is wrong with the internet.

He deserved NO jail time (and the abuse that brought), or even a slap on the wrist. His parents should probably have been contacted, so they could possibly have a talk with him about his sense of humor or the way he acts publicly, or whatever. But we are WELL beyond the pale, here. This is just the next in a long line of outrages and government overreach.

The law is the law. What if they let this guy off and the next guy makes a similar comment followed by "LOL, JK", they let him off and then he actually follows through? This is a "no-win" scenario. Either this guy gets a pass on equal prosecution or the next guy has legal ground to get his case dismissed.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

Freedom of speech, right?

George Orwell is probably laughing at us beyond the grave.(Yes, I know that I might be taking this too far, but restriction of personal freedoms and the like seems to be becoming a recurring theme worldwide as of late)

 

[OmniscientOstrich]

In other news, the state of Texas has outlawed sarcasm as a means of counter-terrorism. Apparently this was the only way to ensure that a misunderstanding of this magnitude would not occur in future.

 

[chikusho]

'Murica, Land of the Free my ass.

This is is rapidly turning into something reminiscent of the Salem witch trials.

There is no longer such a thing as "innocent until proven guilty".