Internet troll is jailed after mocking deaths of teenagers online.

[ShindoL Shill]

Jail?

Are we gonna start jailing people who call each other "fatty" or "four-eyes" next?

we could, thats technically slander.
and this is classifiable as psychological abuse.

 

[w1ndscar]

According to a wiki on aspergers syndrome, it seemed like its when someone has social problems? That just sounds like douchebaggery and the lack of self control to me...

 

[Viral_Lola]

Sorry, but I have Aspergers and even though I have problems with communication, I don't go around being a dick.

 

[oktalist]

He tries to pin the blame on his Aspergers syndrome claiming he didn't know the effect he was causing on the victims family and friends.

Defence lawyers doing what defence lawyers do, looking for any kind of mitigating circumstance they can find that might get their client some leniency.

 

[Luke Cartner]

He tries to pin the blame on his Aspergers syndrome claiming he didn't know the effect he was causing on the victims family and friends. Now, I'm not an expert on the subject, but I'm pretty damn sure Aspergers sufferers know a sense of right from wrong.
I find it frankly appalling he is trying to hide behind this; he's sick, disability or not.
I hope any trolls who are as deranged as him take this as a warning lest they follow in his footsteps and manage to sort their lives out.


Thoughts/opinions?

Not that I'm defending him, but it is worth noting that this isn't about right and wrong.
Its about empathy and understanding how his actions would make the family feel.
People with Aspergers can struggle with feeling empathy in a conventional way.
Which could explain his behavior in this case...

 

[O maestre]

and yet the westboro baptist church is allowed to harass dead soldiers families.... i dont like douchbags like sean duffy, but he does not deserve jail time, if he does then so do a lot of other people who abuse free speech to defame and slander people

 

[Greni]

Stop the fucking presses, someone's feelings got hurt!

Seriously a dick move but the guy needs some guidance and upbringing. You know a slap on the wrist and a talk about dicks and how not to be one. Not 4 months in a 'correctional facility'.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Was what he did wrong? yes Was it unlawful? no the first moment we start regulating our opinions, and actions outside of physical harm through the law is the day we give up our power to have any opinion whatsorever except that which perscribed by those in power.

Actually it was unlawful. Read the thread. Doesn't mean he deserved 4 months, but it was unlawful.

And blah blah blah slippery fucking slopes all over the place today.

 

[Giest4life]

The guy deserved it for being a prodigious asshole, but we can't be jailing people for opinions expressed on a public forum. The guy got jailed in the UK, who have different free speech laws. But being an asshole =/= jailtime--unless you are blocking the traffic.

This makes me wonder sometimes what our culture is heading to. Why are people defending someone that obviously deserves some sort of punishment?

This douche gets punished, rather harshly, for words. Who's to say you're not next for something you say in the heat of rage?

Or if something is considered criminally offensive in some parts of the world, for example, like offering support for gay marriage or expressing legitimate (but divisive) political opinion?

Refer to my last post.

I did. And it didn't get through to me. What that guy did was neither stalking nor harassment--just dickishness. Facebook pages are public forums, unless otherwise specified by the creator of the page, and so are YouTube videos, under the same conditions. He posted vile videos on YouTube and disgusting messages on the Facebook wall. a)Delete the comment and block user and b) Don't watch video. This is not akin to showing up at your doorstep or peeking through your window because he did not show up at their doorstep or peek through their window.

Also, referring back to your original post, our culture is not heading that way. We are defending the principle of the thing and not the thing itself and there is a crucial difference between the two.

 

[Dragonpit]

Bull$#1^!! My brother has Asperger's and HE isn't even HALF the @$$ this guy is!

It doesn' matter what you have; you're still responsible for your own actions.

 

[ssgt splatter]

Now that's what I call justice!
Trolls are entitled to their opinion, just like everyone, but there is a line that shouldn't be crossed if you're a decent human being.

Damn striaght, which is why I think the WBC, the people who protest at funerals for soldiers who died in combat because they say that 'god hates fags and the soldiers were fags' should be thrown in jail for 18 weeks as well.

Off Topic: Captcha: potatoes bmiler

I in no way shape or form condone the actions of the WBC and completely agree with your statement; however, we can't throw the church in jail or stop their protests no matter how much we despise them because of some loophole in the legal system they are currently exploiting. I don't remember the exact terms of it though, but they have their legal right to protest and my memory just surged. They are protected because they are protesting gays in the military and not the funeral or the person itself.

Yeah, that's true but the WBC are still insesitive assholes for doing this shit in the first place and I don't think anyone would bat an eyelash if someone on the internet started trolling about one of their own being dead.

 

[Sarah Frazier]

There are limitations to what you can say at any given time and under various articles there are situations where you aren't allowed to open your mouth and say what you want to. When it causes harm to another person or is known to cause, then it is no longer protected under our rights as humans. It is like shouting fire in a crowded location or shark on a crowded beach;

There. Someone else understands what the heck free speech is.

In total agreement with you Muffalopadus, it seriously makes me wonder how many people just opt'ed out of that section of American Government, which is a required class in High School. Free Speech is limited and it is sickening to see people like this troll who think that their constitutional rights give them the ability to be a total asshole; still, I'm glad he got this time and hope he gets more. I just look forward to the day when the anonymous status of the internet will stop empowering people to be assholes.

My history may be a bit rusty, but wasn't Freedom of Speech made to allow people to criticize authority figures (politicians, namely) without fear of being executed? Either way, different countries will have different degrees of freedom for their people so that makes it harder to say, from an outsider's perspective, whether it's outside their judicial system.

What this person did was not criticizing anything, but putting a family through excessive emotional distress in ways they were likely to see it whether they want to or not. It wasn't even a case of having low impulse control. Things didn't just slip onto his computer and mysteriously appeared on the internet. He looked for pictures, photoshopped them, and placed them where they'd likely reach the family. That was no Aspergers slip; that was intentional.

I'm not sure whether 18 months, even if he was forced to serve the full term, is too much or too little, but it's good to hear that he won't be completely excused for a mental/emotional dysfunction. Hopefully he gets officially diagnosed and either learns to moderate his actions better or goes through treatment so he doesn't make a fool of himself like this for a while.

 

[ninjapenguin981]

Obviously it's wrong for people to say things like this, but damn you should not be jailed for saying something. You start with this, and pretty soon it'll spread to other things.

 

[Draconalis]

The guy deserved it for being a prodigious asshole, but we can't be jailing people for opinions expressed on a public forum. The guy got jailed in the UK, who have different free speech laws. But being an asshole =/= jailtime--unless you are blocking the traffic.

This makes me wonder sometimes what our culture is heading to. Why are people defending someone that obviously deserves some sort of punishment?

This douche gets punished, rather harshly, for words. Who's to say you're not next for something you say in the heat of rage?

Or if something is considered criminally offensive in some parts of the world, for example, like offering support for gay marriage or expressing legitimate (but divisive) political opinion?

Refer to my last post.

I did. And it didn't get through to me. What that guy did was neither stalking nor harassment--just dickishness. Facebook pages are public forums, unless otherwise specified by the creator of the page, and so are YouTube videos, under the same conditions. He posted vile videos on YouTube and disgusting messages on the Facebook wall. a)Delete the comment and block user and b) Don't watch video. This is not akin to showing up at your doorstep or peeking through your window because he did not show up at their doorstep or peek through their window.

Also, referring back to your original post, our culture is not heading that way. We are defending the principle of the thing and not the thing itself and there is a crucial difference between the two.

And then my resolve solidifies again. They are public forums. Valid counter point.

 

[-Dragmire-]

I think he should have been given a large amount of community service overseen by a parole officer rather than jail time. Granted, this is my opinion for all non violent(physical) crimes.

 

[The-Epicly-Named-Man]

I blame the gay jews from Iraq who come to our country and take our jobs.

Thumbs so he can see!

(SARCASM!!!!!)

 

[franconbean]

The punishment was a little harsh. But at least people who bully on the internet without fear of repercussion might think twice...
You know what, ignore that. They won't... >.>

Anyway, the whole argument of "where does Freedom of Speech end?" is one with a very blurred line.