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

Harrowdown

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Jan 11, 2010
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Elfgore said:
This is a very complicated case for me. He without a doubt, did something incredibly stupid but... does he really deserve eight years in jail for it? Hell after that school shooting in Newtown or whatever that school was called, some kid from a neighboring school said he could do better on facebook and was arrested. He got away with a slap on a wrist from the judge and was expelled from his school. That should be this guys punishment. Give him some community service or something because this kid will be most likely murdered in prison.

What he did is not right and he deserves to be punished, but eight years in jail is to extreme.
What punishment does he deserve? Yes, the comment was in bad taste, but since when does tasteless humour warrant punishment? It's not as if he shouted 'bomb' in an airport, and only a fool could mistake his comment as a genuine threat, given the context.
 

Norithics

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Jul 4, 2013
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This case is absolutely insane. This isn't a fight for a very normal guy who uses facebook. This is a fight for all of us who express an opinion sarcastically, and we have lost. If I were the judge on this case, I would have- if not totally thrown it out- at most ruled that he write an essay on sensitivity and poor taste. But prison time?? Good lord, how can that be described as anything but the actions of a police state?
 

dvd_72

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Jun 7, 2010
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Ok, so the kid makes some sarcastic terrorist threat, which we can all agree is stupid. This naturally warrents some kind of reaction by the government, perhaps a search of the home. That seems reasonable right? Just checking to make sure it isn't the joke he says it is?

But no, that's not good enough. Instead the police arrest him, put him into prison without a trial (what happened to innocent until proven guilty anyways?) where he has been assaulted to the point of needing protection in the form of solitary confinement. They search his home AFTER they put him in jail, and he was put in front of a judge AFTER he was put in jail. Seriously? Who in the hells thought this was a good idea?
 

Something Amyss

Aswyng and Amyss
Dec 3, 2008
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McKinsey said:
Please remind me of the last time shouting "Fire!" or "Bomb!" on the Internet led to someone being crushed under the heels of a panicked mob.
See, if not fore the "bomb joke at an airport" example, which isn't rule under the same issue, that would be an excuse.

Except, of course, the claim was that someone can say whatever they want whenever they want. Making excuses doesn't make that any truer.

Kamille Bidan said:
But if this is to be treated as an exception to the First Amendment then law enforcement has a duty to treat this as they would a threat to the President.
Funny you should mention that, since there are similar cases right now dealing with just that. I think this is the second time your ignorance of current events has undercut your statements.

Could not have said it better.
And the third.
 

Something Amyss

Aswyng and Amyss
Dec 3, 2008
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chikusho said:
And... so... what makes you think I believe this is something new?
You said "no longer." That indicates that there once was, and isn't now. Did you not notice your own words? I quoted them. They're also quoted in your response.
 

chikusho

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Jun 14, 2011
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Zachary Amaranth said:
chikusho said:
And... so... what makes you think I believe this is something new?
You said "no longer." That indicates that there once was, and isn't now. Did you not notice your own words? I quoted them. They're also quoted in your response.
Well, considering how many have gone free after guilt could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt, the presumption of innocence is a very real thing. A thing which has, over time, degraded to become meaningless.
If you deny that it has ever existed, that's one thing. But if I say that "dinosaurs are no longer roaming the earth" I'm guessing you wouldn't need to point out whether or not that was a _new thing_.
 

tardcore

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Jan 15, 2011
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The real rub here is where exactly to place the blame for what seems like a seriously over the top knee jerk reaction from authorities. My advice to those on either side of this issue is to go grab a mirror. Every time there is some catastrophe its you the public that scream cry and demand authorities be put to task for failing to prevent whatever tragedy de jour happens to be all over the front page. And then once you've screamed yourselves sick for a few weeks most of you like as not shove your collective heads back up your rectums and go back to your day to day lives, seeming to be blissfully unaware of the previous disaster, at least until the next one comes along.

Which is exactly what people are doing here. After Sandy Hook the public was demanding someone, anyone, take steps to ensure such a thing could never happen again. Even if such steps trampled the liberties of those who had not committed an actual crime. Well guess what, in this poor, though misguided and frankly rather stupid, schmuck's case that is exactly what they did. And now here you all are back again crying "How dare they do this! What a travesty of justice!".

Well tough shit I say. This is the direct result of your armchair quarterbacking and backbiting. Until you, John Q Public, are willing to get off your dead asses and get involved all the time and not just when sad events penetrate your little cocoon of self absorbed self-aggrandizement, this cycle of bullshit is just going to continue.
 

Jadak

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Nov 4, 2008
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What the fuck? This isn't even on of those things that you can kind of see where they're coming from on.

That comment is exactly the type of thing I wouldn't be surprised to see from one of my dumb-ass, certainly not terroist activty inclined, friends. Hell, he even looks like some of them, I can picture his 14 hour+ WoW days just looking at him.

I mean, okay sure, these days it's the type of thing police can't really afford to outright ignore because because it's 'probably a joke'.

But still, worst case, the outcome should have been more like:

Step 1:

Police see comment

Step 2:

Police determine comment is likely not serious.

Step 3:

Police decide to investigate to be sure

Step 4:

Police find zero evidence of intention to carry out any such action or of any inclination to do murderous things.

Step 5:

Nothing, or a small fine as recompense for the wasted investigation, which should not have been large.
 

Elfgore

Your friendly local nihilist
Legacy
Dec 6, 2010
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Harrowdown said:
Elfgore said:
This is a very complicated case for me. He without a doubt, did something incredibly stupid but... does he really deserve eight years in jail for it? Hell after that school shooting in Newtown or whatever that school was called, some kid from a neighboring school said he could do better on facebook and was arrested. He got away with a slap on a wrist from the judge and was expelled from his school. That should be this guys punishment. Give him some community service or something because this kid will be most likely murdered in prison.

What he did is not right and he deserves to be punished, but eight years in jail is to extreme.
What punishment does he deserve? Yes, the comment was in bad taste, but since when does tasteless humour warrant punishment? It's not as if he shouted 'bomb' in an airport, and only a fool could mistake his comment as a genuine threat, given the context.
If they had just arrested him for his "crime" he should have just received some community service hours to show him that every action has consequences and you need to think before you say things. But now after spending several months in jail and being attacked by other inmates he should receive no punishment and maybe even be compensated for being put through all of this. If I was in his place I would probably be suffering some pretty severe mental problems after being attacked and then locked in solitary confinement.

To be honest this whole case is fishy. A Canadian woman reporting a U.S. citizen for a crime just doesn't make any sense.
 

Something Amyss

Aswyng and Amyss
Dec 3, 2008
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Kamille Bidan said:
Oh? Because you're so knowledgeable.
Evidently I am, at least by comparison. For example, I knew that the kid here had been charged. I knew bail had been set. I knew that there were cases analogous to the ones you tried to bring up.

You didn't.

It might behoove you to not try and talk down to me when I'm the one who's taken the time to inform themself.

chikusho said:
Well, considering how many have gone free after guilt could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt, the presumption of innocence is a very real thing. A thing which has, over time, degraded to become meaningless.
If you deny that it has ever existed, that's one thing. But if I say that "dinosaurs are no longer roaming the earth" I'm guessing you wouldn't need to point out whether or not that was a _new thing_.
But dinosaurs once roamed the earth, which is the key difference. Pretending that anything has actually changed here is pretty bloody ridiculous. It's not like everyone went free and then one day they held the kid or something. People have been held for ridiculous reasons through the history of the US. Including, as Kamille inadvertently brought up, joking about shooting/killing the President.

The only real change is we now have social media, where people can say stupid things on a grander scale than ever before. The right to presumed innocence hasn't really changed, and jails have been full of people presumed innocent in the past. The fact is, historically we do not treat every case evenly so this is not so much a sign of the times, but a case that got garnered a larger response.

And, since people seem to need to be reminded, I am not defending that response. They went waaaay overboard and should have dropped it when there turned out to be, you know, no evidence of any wrongdoings or plans to do such.

What I am doing is pointing out that this is not a new response, or a different response. It's a very American response.
 

Harrowdown

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Jan 11, 2010
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Elfgore said:
Harrowdown said:
Elfgore said:
This is a very complicated case for me. He without a doubt, did something incredibly stupid but... does he really deserve eight years in jail for it? Hell after that school shooting in Newtown or whatever that school was called, some kid from a neighboring school said he could do better on facebook and was arrested. He got away with a slap on a wrist from the judge and was expelled from his school. That should be this guys punishment. Give him some community service or something because this kid will be most likely murdered in prison.

What he did is not right and he deserves to be punished, but eight years in jail is to extreme.
What punishment does he deserve? Yes, the comment was in bad taste, but since when does tasteless humour warrant punishment? It's not as if he shouted 'bomb' in an airport, and only a fool could mistake his comment as a genuine threat, given the context.
If they had just arrested him for his "crime" he should have just received some community service hours to show him that every action has consequences and you need to think before you say things. But now after spending several months in jail and being attacked by other inmates he should receive no punishment and maybe even be compensated for being put through all of this. If I was in his place I would probably be suffering some pretty severe mental problems after being attacked and then locked in solitary confinement.

To be honest this whole case is fishy. A Canadian woman reporting a U.S. citizen for a crime just doesn't make any sense.
Mate, I agree that it was a dumb thing to say. My point though, is that it isn't a legal issue; the US government has no right to punish people, with jail time or community service, for saying dumb things. If it did, then the prisons would be full of comedians, and venting after a bad day at work would be a crime. Yes, it was a dumb, immature thing to say. It was not however, even remotely harmful or dangerous to anyone.
 

chikusho

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Jun 14, 2011
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Zachary Amaranth said:
But dinosaurs once roamed the earth, which is the key difference. Pretending that anything has actually changed here is pretty bloody ridiculous. It's not like everyone went free and then one day they held the kid or something. People have been held for ridiculous reasons through the history of the US. Including, as Kamille inadvertently brought up, joking about shooting/killing the President.

The only real change is we now have social media, where people can say stupid things on a grander scale than ever before. The right to presumed innocence hasn't really changed, and jails have been full of people presumed innocent in the past. The fact is, historically we do not treat every case evenly so this is not so much a sign of the times, but a case that got garnered a larger response.

And, since people seem to need to be reminded, I am not defending that response. They went waaaay overboard and should have dropped it when there turned out to be, you know, no evidence of any wrongdoings or plans to do such.

What I am doing is pointing out that this is not a new response, or a different response. It's a very American response.
I guess you have a good point. The overabundance of information is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, people should know what injustices are being committed on a daily basis. On the other, once you see them stack up mile high it's easy to become apathetic and bitter.
 

soes757

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Jan 24, 2011
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First off, kid needs to watch what he says. I don't know how he thought that was an okay thing to say, but he doesn't deserve eight years in prison for it. The kid's learned his lesson.
 

MasterSplinter

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Jul 8, 2009
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Maybe i'm a bit late. But what does this have to do with league of legends. Fukin everybody is a LoL player (includin myself).
 

Vladimir Stamenov

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Nov 8, 2011
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Here's an Indiegogo campaign to get money to free him. http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-free-justin-carter-from-his-unfair-10-yr-sentence
 

Griffolion

Elite Member
Aug 18, 2009
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The guy's actions were idiotic to the extreme, but it doesn't deserve this. Real criminals who do horrible things get less time than this.
 

MammothBlade

It's not that I LIKE you b-baka!
Oct 12, 2011
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Elfgore said:
What he did is not right and he deserves to be punished, but eight years in jail is to extreme.
No, what he did was fine, this is a MASSIVE overreaction on the part of authorities who have not a bone of sarcasm in their bodies.

He was not making a serious threat. He wasn't even making a threat at all. It was a bit stupid but not something worth punishment.