Texas teen faces up to 10 years in prison for Facebook comment

Just came across the case of Austin, Texas, resident Justin Carter, who while playing an online video game, made a very bad mistake and said he was going to shoot up a kindergarten on Facebook. He did it, according to his lawyer, to get a rise of the person on the other end, a Canadian who subsequently tipped off Austin police.

Since then, Carter has been arrested, his bail has been set at half a million dollars and prosecutors are trying to throw the book at him, asking for 10 years for what they call an "act of terrorism." What they don't have, though, is the evidence, and Carter, whose bail was far higher than it should have been, has already been sexually assaulted in prison.

Many moving parts to this story, but it's a good read. While I don't condone what he did, what he didn't do is kill four people while driving drunk and get, essentially, a slap on the wrist. Texas is one crazy place.

http://www.houstonpress.com/2014-02-13/news/justin-carter-facebook/

And after all this, hope it's not a d_b. Did a search and found nothing.

 

this is not a new story but if I remember correctly, it wasn't even a recent comment when it was called in

 

OK, so I was wrong on that detail. But, still, the entire situation is very, very chilling.

 

Not a new story. He was arrested early last year, but the linked story is new. This is an update.

While the story mentions global coverage after the arrest, this is the first I'm hearing about it, and I'm completely fascinated to see how it turns out.

 

Texans don't cotton to threats. If he'd said he was going to shoot up a libruhl school, though, he'd gotten off scot-free.

 

Reminds of the story I read yesterday. The headline says it all.

New Study: Internet Trolls Are Often Machiavellian Sadists

http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2014/02/internet-trolls-sadists-psychopaths-lulz

I guess in the 20s you could have yelled "Fire!" in a crowded theater just to get a rise out of someone. Also, prison rape is an awful problem that should be addressed, not something that should be applauded as added retribution, as people here seem to always enjoy imagining when someone they don't like gets sent up.

 

Ten years is too much, but six months suspended sentence and slap a felon label on him for the rest of his life seems about right.

Can you give a suspended sentence to a felon?

 

"I'm going to walk around in public with a concealed, loaded firearm!... (albeit while having a legal permit.)"

 

Yes, it is. For many reasons. The land that gave the world George W. Bush and then named a highway after him.