Possible 8yrs in prison for video game comment

What I don't understand is how the fuck did that "canadian woman" from the article find his address?

Here's the thing; this whole scenario is ridiculous and what the dude said wasn't much of a threat even if you did think he was being serious.

However... it's still-beating not "still, beating," the latter suggests a disembodied heart which is both still and beating rather than continuing to beat after removal. Eight years isn't enough for that misplaced comma.

Edit: How disturbing is the thought that the people who can't detect sarcasm in text now wield an enormous amount of power over your liberty thanks to the US' fear of terrorism?

Odd comment from the father:

“Justin was the kind of kid who didn’t read the newspaper,” said Jack Carter. “He didn’t watch television. He wasn’t aware of current events. These kids, they don’t realize what they’re doing. They don’t understand the implications. They don’t understand.”

For a 19-year-old, he sounds like he's fucking 12, and just the type of "just for the lulz" callous internet idiot I cannot stand. Did he not know about Newtown? That said, it's unbelievable that he's been in prison for 3 months over making a joke in poor taste. That Canadian woman has her head up her ass.

Alright, a few things:

• Defending this kid's right to blurt out dumb shit is entirely valid, but a few people here are sliding into defending the competitive online culture itself, which I don't think is a great idea. The fact that he said something casually offensive is an "acceptable response" only because of the context of frequently disgusting trash-talking that goes on in games like LoL, and that's not something that should be fostered as some form of nebulous community-building. In other words, don't just shrug your shoulders, try to help and create an environment in which an 18-year-old boy wouldn't feel pressured to elevate the conversational stakes to absurdity.
• Had this been an interpersonal threat, I'd feel much more conflicted about supporting him. Because of how the negative emotional impact of death tends to be inversely proportional to the scale of the crime, making light of public violence might be easier to justify. To this guy, the idea of attacking a school probably seemed like the most blatantly ridiculous threat he could make. But insinuating an intention to physically harm another individual, especially in this day and age (I mean, how much trouble was it for this Canadian woman to find where the boy lived?), strikes me as a much more real danger. Especially given the tendency of online chat to devolve into horrible misogyny.
• I really have to wonder if the way this guy has been handled so far was affected by Joe Public's perception of video games. Every single time we hear about a massacre, one of the first things the media will dig up is the perpetrator's game collection. Obviously, we here can point to the fundamental flaws in giving that association as much import as it receives, but what was the first thing the authorities thought of when they got the tip? Would the arrest have been made if the conversation had been about, say, the latest season of American Idol? For that matter, would a judge and jury be able to separate this case from all the "ban violent video games" politicking that Texas' elected representatives are so fond of? Austin may be an easygoing, liberal city, but we've still got some hard-line sons of bitches running our justice system.

EDIT: For people who don't understand how his address was found so easily, evidently the conversation itself did not take place in LoL itself but on Facebook.

I didnt know this was what brought out peoples Anti America vibe, geez.

This is obviously pretty ridiculous but I'd like to also point out that this kid sounds like just the worst.

8 years for any kind of remark is way, way too much time. That's ridiculous.

As a highschool teacher, no, we actually don't. Context and perspective should be something all human beings are capable of. The "Zero Tolerance" policy that has been the norm for quite awhile now is a giant failure in accomplishing its original intended purpose: protecting welfare of students.

Jesus Christ this is stupid as hell. 8 Years? That's sheer nonsense!

Okay, I agree that such comments need to be taken seriously - but 8 years? 8 hours of community service is a more appropriate punishment.

Making a "threat" is not the same thing as carrying out that threat. If the police investigated and they found that the individual had not made concrete plans or assembled the means to carry out a threat (as in, starting stocking weapons and ammo), then they should do the sensible thing and just give the guy a warning.

He didn't call into the police to make the threat. He didn't make the threat against a school directly - it was a stupid, crass comment said in a video game. He doesn't deserve 8 days in jail, let alone 8 years. Hopefully a jury will see how stupid this case is and throw it out of court.

Don't say dumb shit. 8 years is a little much, but kidding or not, don't say dumb shit.

There was another case where a kid rapping was arrested and a petition was needed to start some legal process. Not sure the details but that petition got 900,000 sigs and kid was released a few days ago.

8 years is a bit excessive, but good for them for throwing him in the slammer. Accountability is a lost art that needs to be recovered.

jailing non-criminals for 8 years sounds like the best way to make someone a criminal. the kid is going to come out of jail with nothing going for him and tons of resentment.

I just wish to add ... 18 years old IS NOT A KID , and he should know better , on the other hand 8 yrs for a bad joke is nonsensical at all , thats a fucked up "fascism" style of punishment for words. Also isnt it creepy that a Canadian woman ratted him out? What the heck? I dunno what to say....

Asshole kid actually sees repercussions of his actions on the internet? I see no problem with this.

A bit excessive? Good for them? Are you insane? He was talking to his friend and some canadian woman took his sarcastic remark seriously and called the cops.

He didnt like threaten the school as a joke, he didnt insult anyone, he was joking around with his friend.

It's insane people think WORDS are a reason to send someone to PRISON.

8 years for shit talking on the internet? Seems fine to me. I don't know why you guys are so upset about this.

that's freedom of speech for you.
the way i heard the story. (did not care to read the link) he was just talking shit to a friend, and taking out of context he mentioned doing a school shooting if he was insane but it was used as an argument to prove that he was not insane. and some canadian mother got overly concerned and apparently diddent know what sarcasm was and tracked him and his address down and reported him to the police, and since he lived near a school that ofc was enough reasons to claim that he would actually do it, even though neither he or his dad owned a gun or any other from of firearm. its retarded that he has even been held in prison for so long just to wait for his trial. i though they had to prove intent/motive for doing so. and a basic psych eval should prove him innocent. even if it had to be on his own dime.
is what he said okay, ofc not it was insensitive, inappropriate and down right stupid.
but i mean come on

The crazy thing is all these people saying it is okay because he was clearly being sarcastic. No, it is okay even if there was no indication that he was being sarcastic. People say stupid shit on the internet all the time. If he had a record of violent comments and then started talking about it, sure look into it, otherwise you are overreacting... because this IS the internet after all.

WTF Texas why is it when I hear about some dumb shit it's going down in Texas?

Freedom of speech is in place for unpopular speech even if it is in poor taste this is not minority report where you can be locked up for crimes they think you are going to comet in the future. Hope his mom and dad sue the shit out of the state.

Oh man, Canadian women have the sexiest accents. I'd love meet one of them in court as I try to explain how I don't want to eat children's hearts! Yowza.

But a Canadian woman who saw the post looked up Carter’s Austin address, determined that it was near an elementary school, and called the police. Carter was arrested one month later

evaluate all potential threats seriously lmao is that why they waited a month what a joke

I bet if he had said he was going to eat chickens' hearts, no one would even care. People are real bigots.

This is insane... guys I don't want to be on the internet anymore :(

@demoskinos: Well, it depends on the full context of the argument. We don't know the full conversation. Even if it was in poor taste, going to jail for even one day in this instance is too long as there was no indication that his comment was an actual threat.

@gamingmichael: Because all of the threats of people killing our families and raping our mother should be taken completely seriously since they aren't being sarcastic... and that is a very civil example.

People say stupid shit all the time on the internet: fact.

And Dumber.

signed, displayed signature

@thepickle: Closed it the second I saw it was on dailycaller. The audience for that site seems to be 40-60 year old white racists.

Please tell me how you know that they are in that age range and white. I would also like super powers like that.

Sarcasm, the deadliest of killers on the internet since its inception. It just might cost you your life folks.

@neato said:

Yup. Good job, they removed a internet big-mouth from the streets. Unfortunately they'll most likely be releasing a real criminal in 8 years in his place.

I think he probably learned his lesson and should be let out on time served.

Seems extreme on both sides of the coin

This must be a joke.

How do they know it was him ? what if it was his friend or brother or anyone ?

This is insanely dumb. It sounds like a silly remark made in the heat of the moment. If he is locked away, he'll probably come out of prison with actual resentment and will be more likely to commit a crime

I loled.

I think he deserved to be called out on his statement, however giving jail time to someone for something so minor and ruining their life is pretty harsh punishment. Seems like the situation could have been resolved with a firm discussion of the issue, no one needed to get a black mark on their record.

@dudeglove said:

Pretty much where I stand, too. Free to play games in general seem to be a great place to see the internet's low-points. Sigh.

(though I don't play MOBAs myself, half my friends play DOTA2 - which kinda makes me bias, I guess)

I don't know how anyone can defend the treatment of this guy or say things like "at least someone is being punished for being an asshole" and be posting on this site or listening to the Bombcast. The original source of this site's name was a joke to troll organizations like the NSA and US homeland security hawks. Go back and watch the How to Build a Bomb videos. They contain multiple comments just like this guy made. I don't know how many times I've heard Jeff or Ryan make comments like this on camera and in print, not just on an essentially private conversation on Facebook and I don't remember anyone here calling them vile or demanding they be called out or jailed for it.

This is going to sound hypocritical coming from someone posting on an online forum, but I think the real lesson to be learned here is that people need to realize that having a conversation on Facebook is broadcasting to an audience of billions, not private. There are lots of things I will say in private that I wouldn't say if someone put a live TV camera on me.

Only in America. More labor for the prison industrial complex, I guess.

Any amount of years for any kind of remark is too much time unless you're living in a Goddamn police state.

There is no shit so dumbly spoken as to justify incarceration.

ACCOUNTABILITY?! GOOD FOR THROWING HIM IN THE SLAMMER?! What country do you live in?! How on earth can you possibly think that?! Are you even aware that people in western democracies are supposed to have rights?

People say stupid shit on the internet all the time, and they're allowed to, provided they don't live in China or Pakistan. Anyone who believes that people should only be able to say things the government deems as acceptable should maybe move to those countries.

These kind of reactions, the "good, we need to protect people's feelings and punish people for saying objectionable things" make me so crazy I can hardly breathe. I understand you don't want freedom of speech, it's too much for you, the potential for people to say things that you don't like is just too much for you to bear and you wish for an authoritarian system to come eliminate anything you dislike, but the rest of us actually enjoy having rights and will not tolerate you attempting to sell them. But thank you so much for justifying informing on absolutely anyone or anything you find 'suspicious'. Inform on your neighbors, never turn off the telescreen.

Trolling is not a crime.

There is an update. Seems he posted all this on his Facebook or something.

Article from CNN http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/02/tech/social-media/facebook-threat-carter/index.html

Take a look at the time, place and manner restrictions of the first amendment.

The police want your D.

@streetninja: The restrictions on free speech or liberty are there to prevent one from infringing on the free speech or liberty of others. A sarcastic comment does not constitute this, it doesn't even constitute a credible threat.

He didn't even make a threat. It was a silly sarcastic comment. Yeah, a little tasteless maybe, but seriously, if making tasteless comments gets you locked up for months, then I don't even know what to think anymore.