Should You Go To Prison For Sending A Tweet?

[Gromit]

This young woman nearly did. The Tweet was an horrible thing to say. But it was her opinion no matter how ghastly. It reflects extremely badly on her. But it seems over the top to jail someone for a wicked thought. This week on here we had someone saying someone should be boiled alive. And it was also suggested on here that Abu Qatada should be dropped from a plane without a parachute. What do you think?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-22821484

Rather amusingly, it was her who complained, after she received some offensive Tweets in reply.

Oh, and her father advises the Met Police on diversity.

[shoota]

"He is also a former "associate advisor for policing diversity" to the Metropolitan Police."

[ToraToraTora]

in anger I'd like to jump on her head but if I calm down in reality the penalty she got was about right.

[woofgang]

community hours sentence? about right I would say. Your quote doesn't say she was "nearly" jailed but that she "could have been" which is different.

[jno]

the fashion police go from strength to strength; you can now be jailed for criticising someone's T-shirt slogan.

And just what did befome of those tweeters who threatened to rape and kill her?

[boxtops]

It was a tweet likely to incite responses, it was ill thought out. She said she didn't know the victim was a solder - I fail to believe that, it was the first bit of news reported.

[Buenchico]

It's ridiculous that she was charged with any offence (or, indeed, that any such offence should actually exist on the statute books). I thought that we were meant to have free speech in this country!

[jno]

not that I heard, boxy, I don't think the fact that he was a soldier came out until a bit later, at least the way it got to me.

But all tweets are likely to incite responses. This one was in bad taste - but should anyone go to jail for bad taste? And weren't the resoponses she got much worse?

[ummmm]

It didn't come out straight away that he was a soldier. Even hours later the were only speculating.

jno, yes, imo the responses were just as bad.

[boxtops]

OK maybe, the first time I heard about the incident, his soldier status was mentioned.

[anotheoldgit]

Buenchico

/// It's ridiculous that she was charged with any offence (or, indeed, that any such offence should actually exist on the statute books). I thought that we were meant to have free speech in this country! ///

Which country are you talking about, because you can't possibly mean Britain, many have ended up in jail for making racist remarks is this any less offensive?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/mar/27/student-jailed-fabrice-muamba-tweets

[chrisgel]

It's a difficult one this. I think there has to be a distinction between stating opinions say to a group of friends who you are having a drink with and stating opinions on facebook or twitter etc. simply because of the number of people who see the comments. The larger the number the more chance of offending someone I would have thought.
Not that I believe anyone has the right not to be offended.

[Ellipsis]

Taking the story at face value, I'd say she was unlucky. She was done for sending a "malicious electronic message". I assume that refers to Section 1 Malicious Communications Act, 1988:

http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/a_to_c/communications_offences/#an13
The Malicious Communications Act 1988 section 1, see Stones 8.20830, deals with the sending to another of any article which is indecent or grossly offensive, or which conveys a threat, or which is false, provided there is an intent to cause distress or anxiety to the recipient. The offence covers letters, writing of all descriptions, electronic communications, photographs and other images in a material form, tape recordings, films and video recordings. Poison-pen letters are usually covered.

Just tweeting her message generally, rather than tweeting it at or about someone in particular, would hardly seem to meet these criteria. Still, if her prosecution makes people think a bit more about what they're tweeting, it might help to make Twitter a better place.

[emmie]

personally i would get her to clean out the bogs in whatever run down lavs in central London i could find, she is a disgrace in our society. Sending her to prison, waste of time.

[emmie]

how could anyone not know he was a soldier, has she been living under a rock lately. If she complained then perhaps she now knows what it is like to receive vile, unwanted messages.

[jno]

go out and reconnoitre some dirty lavs and report back, em... Then we can have punishments ready drawn up.

[jno]

read the answers above, em. The fact that he was a soldier was NOT reported until later.

[andy-hughes]

If this foolish woman is to be charged and punished, then so should every other numpty who posts their ill-thought-out nonsense in this way - which would fill every prison cell in about fifteen seconds flat!

I trust that every abusive post she received was similarly rigourously investigated, and the culprits charged and punished?

If not, it seems you are only guilty if you message about a subject that has caught the imagination of the general public.

[emmie]

what damn difference does it make, suppose the boot was on the other foot, and some twerp tweeted that a Muslim should have been beheaded for wearing a Muslims4us t shirt, why should it make a difference if he was a soldier, he was a human being, killed in a most barbaric fashion. i would also tell her that it is people like him, that we call upon to defend the country she lives in.

[Brenden]

Live in (or on) em, I do not think she cares about the country.

[anotheoldgit]

Still no comment about this I see?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/mar/27/student-jailed-fabrice-muamba-tweets