PixlBit

They put a 9 year old in prison for a stupid message now?

Regardless of the content isn't that against your constitution?

Not even racial abuse is treated with that amount of action or contempt, as a Brit i must say everytime Texas is brought up in media it usually appears backwards crazy. 

I hope the petition goes well, because that's shameful.

He's not 9 years old but could potentially spend 8-9 years in jail,bro. And yeah, Texas is loopy with many of its' personal state laws.

Hooray for the First Amendment! Wait, what?

First amendment? Watcha talkin about,boy? I just wiped my ass with it. Yee-haw!

Personally enlight of whats going on with children getting massacred in schools i understand the seriousness of taking threats, but with that said yea were all guilty of saying something we shouldnt have said, Justin should have never said anything about blowing up schools etc this is very serious and can be Justified as a threat, but i dont know Justin nor his background but as far as them locking him away for nine years thats pretty harsh of course i dont know the young man's history or what was found at his house etc, but being that i work for a school district this is serious and can start a domino effect that could end up like this so let this be a lesson watch what you say on social media sites or just ingeneral.

My issue is he followed up his original post with "JK. lol.". Also, the way he wrote it was obviously sarcastic.

I agree it was in poor taste but 9 years for a bad joke? Kinda nuts,Lee. lol. I feel lucky I haven't gone to the slam for all the inappropriate stuff I've said. Granted, I don't go out of my way to be an asshole and I try to be nice but once in awhile I can be a jerk or go on a nerd-rage tangent.

Did you read what he wrote very questionable to say the least but i agree after investigating, they should have let himgo and say dont post things like this in bad taste but..... with that said what he wrote was pretty out of the norm and un bad taste but 9 years is a little rrediculous. 

I did read what he said in more detail but honestly, I've seen worse on youtube replies and 4chan.

I think he should have had a stern lecture by the police but should have been let off with a warning. Aka, they should have scared some common sense into him but not in a way that can potentially ruin his life.

I personally find this to be both terrifying, and bat shit insane. While I will certainly agree the joke was in poor taste, it was just that, a joke. Considering this kid is looking at doing more time than rapists or people who have actually taken a life, I think it points to the huge gaping lack of logic and due process in our judicial system.

And i can guarantee that any number of the morons that are responsible for this bitch on a regular basis about things they deem "unconstitutiminal" because they have never read the damn thing. The First Amendment is kind of hard to miss on that one.

I think at the very least a cop should have came to Justin's house, sat down with him & his parents, and gave him a stern lecture. That would have been enough to scare some common sense into the guy without ruining his life.

I also don't know why the NSA is looking for terrorists on twitter & facebook. Most professional crooks aren't going to keep us up to date on their latest capers. Certainly once in awhile a dumb bomber or kidnapper blurts out his diabolical plan in vivid detail but that's not the norm.

like Justin, I agree that bad taste is not a crime. The thing is, we all say things that are screwed up to somebody, and now with the government scanning all our transmissions for stuff who know who will be dragged away kicking and screaming. What happened to this country?  I was never perfect, but it seems like things are getting insane!

Teenagers and young 20 somethings really do say the dumbest shit. Heck, even now in my 30's I excel at putting my foot in my mouth. lol. I don't try to be deliberately hurtful and insensitive but sometimes I slip.

It seems as if we're in a police state where political correctness has been taken to the point of insanity,Matt.

"Halt,citizen!" (Palm blast)

the X-Men are never around when you need them 

Indeed,we need heroes and our government/law enforcement/judicial system can no longer fulfill that role it seems.

I'm just glad rules in NC aren't quite as ridiculous as they are in Texas. (Though I'm sure there are a few absurd laws here too if I look hard enough. lol.)

I signed the pettition a few days ago, the joke was indeed in bad taste but the jail sentence is fucking ridilcous. That poor kid shouldnt even being going to jail, grounded maybe for a few months away from the internet yes, but not jail. Shit is getting out of hand in this fucking country -_-

Exactly,Nicole. Banning his League Of Legends account for a couple of months would have been okay. Even a stern lecture from the police. But putting him in jail for 9 years with a ridiculously high bail charge? It's as if we're going after bad comedians instead of real terrorists.

That's crazy.  I bet the reports about the kids getting suspended from school for making guns out of their hands and saying, "pow. pow." are true too.  This country is full of asses.  Our constitution is for shit. 

"Our constitution is for shit." That's so true and it's a tragedy, James. Only ridiculous gun story I know of is the little girl who was banned from school for wanting to bring a bubble gun to class. But I wouldn't be surprised if the long arm of the law tried to round up kids who play Cowboys & Indians as well as Cops & Robbers.

I really think many of the corporate owned prisons are passing ridiculous laws just so they can accumulate a cheap inmate labor force.

I agree with the fact they questioned him. They should take these things seriously to a point. Nine years in jail is not that point.

Questioning him is fine. Heck, a cop showing up to talk to the guy would have been enough to scare common sense into him. 8-9 years jail time with a 500,000 bail though? Insane.

That is fucked up! you know I would expect a follow up on those comments he made but a quick pscyhe report must have sufficed, a background check (because we all know that the NSA now have everything you, probably with garbage cameras!)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2000566/Smile-Youre-bin-cam-The-snooping-device-record-throw-away.html   (I shit you not!)

The minority report seems to be ever closer. The real potential issue here is people will eventually be afriad to voice their opinions or frustrations through fear of persecution. Unvented anger often leads to boiling/ explosive point and thats where these kind of things happens, reminds me of Anger Management where Jack Nicholson tell Adam Sandler thats he's like the cashier who takes crap all day silently and then walks in with a gun for payback. I mentioned a gun and a public place, I just hope.......... ummpppphhhhh....... (sound of struggling)........... silence.

Now that I think about it, I would be unnerved if a cop came to my door over something gaming related. Why can't a mod simply do his or her job and ban my online account a couple of months if I'm being an asshole?

Fun time with Chris Hansen scenario!

Chris Hansen: Are you Benjamin Sprague?

Ben: Yup. Hey Chris! Love your work! What's going on,bro?

Chris Hansen: Your achievements on Xbox live said Selene is your main love interest in Dragon's Dogma right now.

Ben: Uh,that's kinda true. I wanted it to be Quina but I waited too long to do her rescue quest. I didn't realize that mission was timed.

Chris Hansen: Do you realize Selene looks "young"?

Ben: If you mean by "young" she doesn't have double D breasts or needs a C-cup sized bra? Sure. Then again I have female friends in their 30's who have lithe physiques and youthful facial features.

Chris Hansen: Can you please come with us, Ben? There's a police van outside with NSA operatives and SWAT. We'd like to ask you a few questions.

Ben: You gotta be kidding me.

PS: The trash cam is friggin creepy,mate. Don't stand for that madness!

The Honey trap stings again Ben!!

I'm a monster,Adam! (weeps) When I tell the other inmates about my relationship with a digital fictitous female NPC with small boobs from an rpg game I'll get prison raped for sure!

ha ha, you just made coffee come out of my nose!

Sorry bout that. Coffee out of the nose can burn! Glad you got a laugh out of it though despite the scorched nasal cavities.

Just how much something's not right has me worried here. Everything I've read had only his father's point on what to do. It just feels like it's being pushed in one direction, I mean, if that's literally all there is to it, I'm with you. Just feel like I don't have enough info now.

Well, the story has been covered by multiple news outlets/websites ,Cas. Feel free to snoop,dawg! Maybe another point of view will divulge Justin is a homicidal maniac but so far all I'm seeing is that he said something stupid yet sarcastic on league of legends or facebook and that was reported to the Texan police department by some crazy woman in Canada. (Much love to me peeps in Canada,btw. I'm just saying allegedly the tattletale was from the red maple leaf side of the equator.)

The multiple sources isn't the issue. I've checked them all. The problem is they all only cite the dad from what I've read. If I could see something new, I could get an opinion on it, but as of now, I can only get it from the dad as to what he typed. I mean, I know society's getting pussified, but that's too much even for us.

Well, Justin is in prison. It would kind of difficult to get him interviewed. However, the mother also started a petition. That page has more info.

Honestly the kid's actual post seemed "in poor taste" but even though I'm not the fondest of trolls and immature gamers I don't think they should be treated like real life terrorists.

From what I know a search was done in the home and no weapons or other incriminating evidence was found. Some sources claim Justin isn't even close to a school as was originally rumored.

Sorry the sources seem limited right now. Maybe we will learn more when Justin gets his actual trial.

Yeah, that's the only reason I'm not with everyone else. I get the complete full story, I can decide from there. But something about this feels too wrong.

I'll gladly admit I'm wrong in my stance if additional info runs contradictory from what I already know,Cas. But I really want "hard proof". Aka, no smoke & mirror shit. It's too easy for facts to be doctored these days. Kinda scary.

Yeah, I know that man. You've proven you're too smart to accept everything you see automatically.

I can believe strongly in something but if I'm proven wrong I'm proven wrong,Cas. lol.   From what I know so far I'm on Justin's side but I'm sure additional info will spill out somewhere. Such info may sway my opinion if it's substancial enough.

I really do not want to believe a normal guy can end up in jail for telling a badly put sarcastic joke. If so, I'm in friggin trouble!

Disproportionate Retribution at its finest folks!

Pretty much. lol. Disproportionate Retribution is more enjoyable in movies,games, and cartoons than it is in real life though!

Dude. I've said stuff like this. What the fuck? So much for freedom of speech america. So much for being a first world country. Welcome to China, where we censor what you say and imprison you for having a sense of humour we don't get. This is the biggest piece of bullshit I've ever heard. 9 fucking year? The kid doesn't deserve one fucking day! He told a joke! I'm angry. I'm going to go shoot up a police station and eat their still beating hearts jk lol.

DoN'T DO ITZ bLAKE! eATING hEARTZ iZ wRONG! I iZ gOING tO tELL tEH aUTHORITIEZ oN yOU!

Sadly, America has been slipping into a police state for awhile. Sure, you are "100% free" but only if you are rich and have professional lawyers on standby. And even then, if the government or the corporations want to take your shit enough,they will.

Technically Justin has already been in Jail since February or March. Hopefully his actual trial will go better,Blake. Reputedly he's given up hope and is in solitary confinement under suicide watch.

Dude. I'd commit suicide if I recently found out the supposed "Best Country in the World" is that retarded. Imagine what he thinks the rest are like then. And I signed the petition. I don't think it will do much, but oh well.

 Also, what fucking law is he breaking?

Technically Justin isn't breaking a law. But with the whole Sandyhook shooting nonsense drumming up the hysteria people are acting idiotic.

Pretty much the "Big Bad Gov" is trying to make an example of him. Though I should state for the record when it comes to laws Texas is one of the more zealous unreasonable states. (I'm not talking trash to all Texans. Just their politicians & their judicial branch.)

Wow, I'll never write on the internet again. JK, LOL. I'm pretty sure Canada doesn't have any laws like this anyway.

This reminds me how record companies would often selectively charge a downloader  to "set an example." This is obviously much worse, but it just goes to show you how loose the term "justice" is applied in court.

The scary thing is I don't think Justin has violated any laws, even by Texas's strict code of conduct. It seems as if he is being made an example just for the sake of it. Which is dumb on account it really doesn't make Texas's law enforcement seem like "the good guys". If this was meant to be some kind of "positive publicity scheme" it backfired hardcore,Kev.

Granted, Justin might be an insensitive prick who goes agro online but I don't believe he deserves 8-9 years in jail for that. Banning his League Of Legends account for a couple of months would be the most reasonable disciplinary action.

One of the many reasons that I shy away from the big social media sites...

I can see why. No news is better than bad news. lol.

I heard about this on the radio. It's nuts! It is so obviously a joke--a joke in very very bad taste, yes, but still a joke--that I can't believe the police are going forward with charges. Sure, if you wanna keep him from doing this again, then take him in for questioning and scare him real good, but jail for 9 years? That will ruin his life (try getting a job with a terrorist blotch on your record) and just make him an angry man when he gets out, much more likely to actually do something heinous.

I agree 100%. To me, this isn't even a police matter. It's more of a moderator issue. Aka, maybe a mod or admin should have stepped in and banned this guy's LOL account for a couple of months.

However, if the cops absolutely had to do something I think scaring him would have been enough. I know I'd be pretty terrified if cops approached me for something I said in a sarcastic tone "online".

See, that's what gets my goat. Just how careful do we have to be now? Could you imagine going to jail 8-9 years just for telling an inappropriate joke? Behold our tax dollars hard at work,Daft!

All this is going to do is possibly make Justin more angry at the system and make him freak out around cops. You're right about that sadly. He has a higher likelihood of becoming a criminal now than before he was punished. Hell, the poor guy is in solitary confinement and on suicide watch now. I imagine being in jail since February or March hasn't helped his mental stability much.

I read this story on yahoo games blog and it sounds like he got the raw end of the deal. He needs a better lawyer for his retrial. They completely forgot the cross border rulings of information and the use of the law that was applied to prosecute him was stretched to the point of breaking.

He had no motive, no cause, no means and no reason to perform the "threat" he spoke of. Last I checked you need two out of the three to make it a potential crime. Just because he lives near a school doesn't mean he'll perform such actions.

What's kinda off is he no longer lived by a school. Aka, he did when he was with his parents but by the time this all went down he had his own apartment in a different location.

Also, the whistle blower was Canadian. So theoretically the Texan police acted on a complaint which was not even local.

I'm not defending what Justin said (Shit was in poor taste,yo) but I don't think he should have his life ruined for something every normal law abiding citizen is guilty of at one time or another. (Who has not told a tasteless sarcastic joke?)

I've heard about this but I didn't know it would end up with the dude getting nine years for just joking around (yeah, threatening to kill people or acts of murder online is pretty bad). Texas, I don't know that place is pretty nutty.

He has not gotten 8-9 years yet,bro. However, it's a possibility if Justin's trial goes really badly. Even as a possibility it's scary in what it represents for Americans. (Well, any democracy for that matter)

Completely and absolutely ridiculous. It was a strongly worded and harsh comment to make (Especially with the recent tragedies on hand), but in all honesty, I've seen much much worse.

I agree what he said was a bit extreme and in poor taste. What with the shooting & all Justin should have known better. Still, I've heard much worse on Xbox live and have read worse at 4chan,Chris. If we're going to arrest people for "offensive language" our jails are going to overflow and spill back into the streets!

That is horrible what happened to him. Can the 'thought police" be very far behind? If they could read our thoughts we'd all be in jail right now! What the hell is this country coming to?

I think he'll get off. During his trial I mean. Assuming Justin's only offense was a violent yet sarcastic tongue in cheek facebook retort and it was reported by someone in Canada no less, there isn't anything they can do to keep him much longer.

Trying to make Justin an example of "internet justice" just makes the state government and law enforcement agents involved look like a bunch of ignorant bullies who are a hair trigger away from jumping the gun. Aka, I don't think this will become the precedent by which to handle similar cases. Instead, it'll be forever seen as a monumental goof!

Well, holy gadzooks guys! A good samaritan paid Justin's bail money! Guess we will not be getting to see that interesting trial unfold afterall!

I know I'm the black sheep in saying this Ben (nothing new for me), but I feel he did deserve punishment in the form of jail time, but not to that extent. Freedom of speech only covers so much, really. I admit I have made jokes in poor taste before too, but at the same time, it wasn't on such a sensitive subject and so easily do-able. I could say "I hate black people", and under freedom of speech, I'm protected because it is an opinion and there's no indication I would harm anyone from that statement. But, if I said "I'm going to go shoot up all the black people on the west side of my town", even if I put a "jk, lol" after it, I would expect for the law to hammer down on me. There's a difference between something in poor taste with no implications, and something in poor taste where people could get hurt if it was real. Heck, the police could have found he already had infractions on his record, or that there were guns in his home. Combined with that, the law has every right to lock him up, as it is still a threat. Just like yelling "Bomb!" in an airport can get you tackled by ten men quicker than you can blink, in this day and age nothing can be ignored.

Sure, he should have been punished, maybe even had the cops come in to give him a stern talking to. But 8 years? Dang man, kinda steep! 

 I don't like what he said either, though. If I was a moderator on League Of Legends and he said things like that in game too I probably would have suspended his account a couple of months. Aka, hit a gamer where it hurts for him being a diack.

 I don't think your a "black sheep" for wanting people to be civil to each other,JB. Yeah, we have freedom of speech but we're still responsible for what we say.

 My issue is with treating trolls and immature teens like terrorists.  We should not go that far.

What's sad though, is many "gamers" (not people on this site), would just sit through the stern talking-to, and then just turn right around and do it again thinking they're special. While the bail/bond was exuberently high, they should have done something like the 8 year jail time, but allow a way to do something else to pay for the crimes. That way he gets scared pretty badly, and learns his lesson. Think of it like a "scared straight" program, pretty much. That would be my suggestion.

Well, he did spend around 5 months in jail before he got bailed out and I think that did the trick. 5 months in jail may not sound too bad but as someone who has never been in jail myself I'd be uneasy over the possibility of being in jail even a single month.

Sorry, but 8 "years" of jail time over something said in bad taste is too steep. There are criminals who have done harsher crimes that get much lighter sentences.

Supposedly what he did, making a "terroristic threat," is actually a federal crime.  But I agree, it's really stupid that he was arrested for it.  

At the same time, I'm kind of torn on things like this.  I would assume (I actually haven't read it) that the law is written as it is so they can lock up true terrorists and not give them wiggle room.  The problem is that with such straight-forward laws, they can then be applied to people like that who just have poor taste in jokes.

It's kind of like how i feel about other laws like statutory rape.  Take an example where a teenager gets charged with sleeping with his younger teenage girlfriend, who he has been with since they were both below age of consent.  I think it's beyond dumb that he could go to jail for that.  At the same time, I understand why a line has to be drawn in order to charge the true offenders, and that line is age.  Otherwise, the true bad guys will have more loopholes to go through.

Hopefully when it comes to trial the judge will throw it out.  I seriously doubt he will serve any more jail time than he has prior to making bail, but dumber things have happened.

You're right that statutory rape can be shady. An 18 year old guy going to the slam for sleeping with his willing 16-17 year old girlfriend is beyond retarded. How can the crime in question even be labeled as "rape" in cases where both parties are consenting?

Our legal system isn't the best by any means. Especially considering it's bias in favor of people with money who can afford good lawyers.