People who make death threats on the internet should go to jail?

[Naeras]

Why should death threats over the internet be any different from death threats in real life?

 

[WindKnight]

if their engaging in criminal activity - harassment, abuse, the like, then yes, they should at the very least be prosecuted and named and shamed.

 

[A Weakgeek]

If its anything like that one case where the guy who spouted stuff in League of Legends got thrown into a jail, no. Never. Just fine them, theres no need for any more drastic measures.

 

[Diddy_Mao]

I'm always wary of the idea of criminalizing speech, especially when it's unpopular and unpleasant. That being said there is a need to recognize legitimate harassment and threats to the citizens.

There's a fine line between saying, for example

"I want to kill Dave." and specifically contacting Dave to say you're going to kill him.

In terms of punishment...hard to say. Most police forces don't really have the manpower to send out hand slapping squads to every internet tough guy and our prisons hardly have room for it.

 

[McKinsey]

There's been a spate of high profile threats here in the UK, mainly against women in the public eye, based on some controversy about who should go an our banknotes. And there's a topic about a Bioware writer who apparently quit over threats to her family, so this seems topical.

Here's my position: The person being threatened should be able to press charges against the threatener, and no one else should be able to get involved. The punishment should be a big fine or a few weeks in jail. Repeat offences should have harsher punishments.

What's your opinion?

EDIT: Whoops, posted in the wrong forum. Mods, can you move it to off topic? (or wherever you think it should go.)

Why would you want to punish a person because of something he has typed on his keyboard? No, seriously. As long as we're talking strictly about Internet threats here, not phone calls, not death notes stuck to the victim's windshield, then there's no real issue to discuss. If you find yourself in the center of unwanted attention, just grow a thicker skin and learn to use such instruments as "Block", "Ignore", "Mark as spam". Bam! Problem solved.
Little shits as they are, I don't think these "deaththreateners" should be prosecuted in any way. Internet is not real life. There's no physical interaction. It's a bunch of messages scribbled on a wall, and everybody understands that the person who's written "Imma kill you an yor babiz" clearly does not intend to actually murder anyone - for him it's just a way to vent the anger.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

Nope.

Because death threats are so prevalent on the internet that it would be completely impossible to prosecute every death threat. Which means most people will get away with it. Which means people won't take it seriously.

 

[Something Amyss]

As soon as someone acts on those death threats, then something will have to be done.

It'll happen.

But only temporarily and only for the sake of peace of mind.

In six weeks we forget and go back to normal.

Why would you want to punish a person because of something he has typed on his keyboard? No, seriously. As long as we're talking strictly about Internet threats here, not phone calls, not death notes stuck to the victim's windshield, then there's no real issue to discuss.

I'm curious why a death threat magically becomes more potent because it's done over the phone. There's no "physical interaction" in a phone call, either. People often make these calls without thinking or thinking of the repercussions, like with the internet.

So....Why is it magically different?

 

[HardkorSB]

In terms of punishment...hard to say. Most police forces don't really have the manpower to send out hand slapping squads to every internet tough guy and our prisons hardly have room for it.

What about contacting the person online?
I think that sending an e-mail from the police asking the person to stop would be enough. If it happens again in the span of X days, give a small fine. Again, a bigger fine.
Maybe locking them up for 48 hours or a week until they cool down wouldn't be that tragic but if it was up to me, I would give them something to do, like 100 hours of work at a homeless shelter or something like that.
Just don't give them long term sentences that will ruin their lives.

 

[TallanKhan]

I wouldn't say jail is appropriate but i think if the person being threatened so desires they should be allowed to press charges and the person/people doing the threatening should at least be cautioned and fined.

 

[Erttheking]

I have to agree with Zhukov, just sending police over to their house and telling them to cut the shit should do the job. Maybe not even that. Funny thing happened to me once. I had serious anger issues in high school, and I opened my stupid mouth and mentioned something about a hit list. Eventually it worked its way up and three police officers came over to my house. You know what they did? They very calmly went into my living room, sat down, and had a level headed discussion with me and my parents. They just made sure that I wasn't emotionally unstable, and that I could tell the difference between reality and fantasy. Heck, one of them spotted the Xbox we had in the room and he didn't seem to think playing video games made me a threat to society like so many others do, we actually had a little chat about a part where he got stuck in a game. I eventually had to go to four sessions with a psychologist but apart from that, that was it. I actually think I came out of that situation better. It's amazing what you can do if you approach a situation carefully and don't use too much force. That's why even though in some parts of this country you can face 8 years in jail for a facebook comment, I'm glad that I live in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

...
I want to have your babies.

Ahem. I suspect that dealing with such threats like this should make a serious dent in them, and it's a hell of a lot cheaper than sending someone to prison/jail for. For repeat offenders a decent fine and mandatory psychologist sessions ought to help.

Also, just thought I'd throw this in, though I have no plans to move to the US for any length of time, Massachusetts has always been the state I would move to. It seems to have a better lid on things than most states.

Well, we take after our dear old dad. . We've gone through some tough times in the past, but that doesn't mean we both didn't want to become better people.

 

[Evonisia]

I think the Police you speak to the threatener if charges are pressed, and they should be put on some form of criminal record and possibly watched for a while.

If they repeat the offence their internet is banned and if they're caught using it on somebody else's devices said people's internets will be banned (though the 'repeat' punishment won't extend to them) until it can deemed that the person has caught off contact with the threatener.

To be honest I think that's how "real-life" death threats should be handled to.

 

[wulf3n]

It sounds good on paper, but unfortunately Real Life isn't as simple.

So many things can be misinterpreted, just ask Justin Carter.

 

[irok]

Hmmmm, the internet is a huge sewer of bad behavior and I'm not even sure its possible to track and deal with anything like a reasonable % of these people, that being said it should kind of just be expected of it by now the internet has been a bad place for a long time and yeah some sort of justice would be nice however on the last frontier of free speech Im not sure I really want the governments of the world to get used to snatching people up over what they've said online.

 

[Adeptus Aspartem]

1. Warning from a gentle policeman knockin' on your door.
2. Fine them and if the threats have to be taken seriously, jail them.

 

[Amir Kondori]

Making death threats online is covered by the same laws that make death threats illegal no matter how they are made. The real problem with enforcement is that the people making the threats can be anywhere in the world and it makes it a lot of hassle to try and track them down and prosecute them.

I don't think there is much that can be done except for tighter moderation of the places where such threats can occur.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

People who receive death threats over the internet should think less of it. The actual crime of making a death threat includes that there is a reasonable chance they'll carry it out, which is seldom the case. I realise that the fact they're death threats makes the person sending them a bit more of a dick than generally people are, but they're still harmless.

 

[nogitsune]

I think they should pay a fine, Jail time is kinda stupid for that, American prisons are over crowded and I think tax payers have more important things to pay for than jail time for idiots acting stupid. I dunno I think a fine would be enough to make people ralize that being a jerk isn't a good thing to be.

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

No. There's already enough unnecessary people in prisons, we certainly don't need fools on the internet adding to that. No, I think a good, stern talking to from the police would be enough.