It's bizarre to see the number of comments on places with normally great discussion (Ars Technica being a prime example) who talk about how this kid should "only" get community service or a small fine.<p>He made a joke. An obvious joke, seemingly devoid of any real malice. The idea that he should invoke <i>any</i> punishment for this is insane. His speech is protected by the First Amendment, and morally he did absolutely nothing wrong.
There needs to be a way of controlling activist judges. Why the court is even able to decide what amount the bail is, is beyond me.<p>Of course, I'm not even mentioning the part about being thrown in jail for what is tantamount to thought crime. That's a whole 'nother issue.<p>----------<p>EDIT: I'm not sure why my comment has been downvoted? Incase you were confused, I was referring to this here:<p>"In April, a grand jury in Comal County, Texas, indicted Carter on a charge of making a terroristic threat, and a judge set bail at $500,000."<p>See, even though the Jury found him guilty, the Judge set the bail enormously high. This kid did NOTHING. He exercised his first ammendment rights, and got a 500k bail for it. The real problem here was the Judge, who gets to set the bail after the fact. I wonder what the jury would have concluded if they had been allowed to decide the bail?
As if we needed another fight to defend yet another constitutional amendment in peril... Now we've got to make some noise about the 8th.<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution#Excessive_bail" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighth_Amendment_to_the_United_...</a><p>(Excessive bail: Yep, founding fathers thought of that too.)
Given recent events, what this kid said was foolish - but did it really merit imprisonment? The government would have a field day with users on services such as Xbox Live and just about any online community that reaches a wide demographic.<p>The mainstream media basically left this kid to rot, save for a few blurbs on the 'fourth page' news. Had it not been for user-generated coverage on the net and the generous person who bailed him out, he would have probably rotted in jail for who knows how long. No, instead we're more interested in hearing about celebrity babies being born or some has-been mobster in his twilight years.<p>The system is broken - well, at least it's broken for anyone who respects human rights and civil liberties. To put my hand over my heart and pledge my loyalty to the 'land of the free, and the home of the brave'. What a joke! Thinking that we have any say in the supposed 'democratic process' is laughable. What does voting even do now other than make the slicksters in Washington play musical chairs? What is it going to take to actually create reform and install a government that cares about its people - a government that <i>is</i> the common people?<p>Apathy is imprisonment.
Link to article that explains what he posted
<a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/843742/justin-carter-teen-jailed-for-terroristic-facebook-comments-out-on-bail-after-anonymous-person-posts-500000-bail/" rel="nofollow">http://www.inquisitr.com/843742/justin-carter-teen-jailed-fo...</a>
How come the US still has a bail system? It so obviously favours those who can pay their way through. Either you are under arrest or you are not. If you are, you should only be able to regain your freedom by being found not guilty.
It's crazy to think about the precedent this sets. I mean, what about public works, books, music & articles? Could this be considered a terrorist threat these days?<p><pre><code> The only way to fix it is to flush it all away.
Any fucking time. Any fucking day. Learn to swim,
I'll see you down in Arizona bay. Some say a comet
will fall from the sky. Followed by meteor showers
and tidal waves. Followed by faultlines that cannot
sit still. Followed by millions of dumbfounded
dipshits. Some say the end is near. Some say we'll
see armageddon soon. I certainly hope we will cuz I
sure could use a vacation from this Silly shit,
stupid shit...
</code></pre>
I'm sure there are better examples, more scholarly ones, but that was the first off the top of my head.
In jail he's been beaten to the point of black eyes and concussions, stripped naked and held in solitary. While we're all debating like armchair constitutional scholars, I'd say the $500,000 donor was motivated at least as much by this.<p><a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/07/03/198129617/teen-jailed-for-facebook-comment-reportedly-beat-up-behind-bars" rel="nofollow">http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/07/03/198129...</a>
Slightly off topic:<p>How does the bail system fit to "Equal justice under law" ?<p>How a justice system can call itself just when rich get a clear advantage?
Anyone wonder who might have paid this high an amount to bail this kid out? half a million is not a chump change for many millionaires or multi millionaires...but could be for someone who is a multi billionaire...
And which multi billionaire would have 'soft' side to a facebook comment by a young kid..19 yr kid...maybe someone who probably would have said brash things himself when at that age...(not implying that he would have in same context) ...so could that be Zuckerberg? 1/2 million is a chump change for him and has obviously affiliation to see people not stop commenting on FB. Just wondering
Has anybody heard from the woman who set this whole thing in motion?<p>It would be a big boost to the case, I imagine, if she comes forward and says "I never wanted this". And sticks up for the poor kid.