Posted on 03/28/2012 1:49:16 PM PDT by Colonel Kangaroo
A student who mocked Fabrice Muamba on Twitter after he collapsed during a match has been jailed for inciting racial hatred.
Liam Stacey, 21, provoked revulsion with comments made while the Bolton star still lay on the pitch.
The 23-year-old midfielder was left fighting for his life after suffering a cardiac arrest during an FA Cup tie on March 17.
Horrified fans watched live on TV as he fell to the ground during the quarter-final clash at Tottenham.
Police were inundated with complaints as members of the public reported the student's comments.
Stacey, a Swansea University biology undergraduate, was quickly tracked down and arrested.
Last week he admitted inciting racial hatred when he appeared briefly at Swansea Magistrates' Court and he was jailed for 56 days at the same court.
The first of Stacey's messages began with 'LOL (laugh out loud). **** Muamba. He's dead!!!' A number of people took him to task for his views and he responded with a further string of offensive comments aimed at other Twitter users.
Stacey was close to tears during his appearance before magistrates last week.
Muamba's recovery over the past 10 days has been described as 'miraculous'.
He remains in intensive care in hospital where his condition is described as serious but stable.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Laws like this incite far more racial hatred than a million “insensitive” Tweets ever could.
Yep, that’s the way to build goodwill. Don’t like something somebody says so you can sic the police on them. The way the prosecution sounded in the case, you’d get the feeling they wished they could reinstitute the death penalty in the UK in this instance.
“The right to offend is far more important than any right not to be offended.” - Rowan Atkinson
There once was a well named nation called Great Briton. Alas, the freedoms she offered died on the alter of political correctness.
Orwell and Huxley knew the score.
And I’m afraid we’ve got some folks in high and influential positions in the USA who are busy building the same PC altar here.
All of you Freepers who petulantly promise to stay home if the GOP nominee is not to your liking, take heed. Dictator Obama will not hesitate to start stifling free speech this way if he gets another term.
Although they are not perfect, the country would survive, and perhaps prosper, under President Romney, Gingrich, Santorum or Paul. America would not survive another 4 years of Dear Leader. Kiss your civil rights goodbye if Obama gets re-elected.
This moron was jailed not for the first comment, which was appalling but hardly jail-worthy. He has been jailed for the other tweets, where he made racist comments about all black people. That is racial hatred and illegal, as he did it in public, via a public medium. He is not being jailed for free speech, racist speech in public is illegal.
Please dont turn this dickhead into some sort of martyr. I have no sympathy. Perhaps 28-56 days being someone’s bitch will make this clown think again.
The internet hardman was crying like a little girl as he was jailed. Good. Idiots like this think they can say and do what they want with no comeback, ‘cos its all a laugh innit?......
BTW, the rioters here were being hauled into court and given large sentences very quickly last year. Funny, I dont remember any complaints from anyone here. Quite the opposite in fact.
Its Great Britain. Briton is a person who is from the nation.
BTW, as to your point, please see my reply to the others in this thread. Saves me reposting.
If the comeback comes from others, that's one thing.....when it comes from the government, that's downright scary.
“That is racial hatred and illegal,”
I don’t suppose you’ve ever stopped to ask yourself exactly why that should be illegal...
You may have called him correctly as a “dickhead” yet Government throwing his worthless ass in jail is entirely another matter.
Yes, he “tweeted” some “racist” stuff. Big deal. If it offends you, unsubscribe to the dickhead. Problem solved.
By bringing Government into the realm of speech, you effectively kill it. Not all at once, but gradually the tyranny of force that is Government will snuff out everything that is “offensive” to one group or another. “Racist” speech is only the camel’s nose under the tent.
Government is force. It is a frightening servant and a terrible master. Inviting it into such a realm as speech is like it is in any other realm, once there it will kill it.
But when the state gets involved in policing and criminalizing speech, no matter how offensive he speech may be, freedom is threatened.
Offensive speech or hate speech has been criminalized in the EU and most everywhere else in the developed world in moves supported by the UN. Obama and his DOJ would criminalize it here if they could. The Internet with its trolls make it increasingly hard to justify allowing offensive speech but we must. Is there any doubt a prohibition here would be used politically? Just look at the Hush Rush movement.
I have to say, the level of discussion went up several notches as a result of the scotsman’s post. Thanks for providing an opportunity for so many to explain why free speech, devoid of gubmint interference, is important.
Who defines "racist" speech?
What speech is next?
Political speech that fascists find offensive?
Shouldn't you be divining peoples' thoughts, too, in case they are thinking racist thoughts.
I can tell what people are thinking. I can tell that you have racist thoughts. You need to be in jail.
In the United States the government cannot restrict any speech because of content, no matter how racist it is.
There is no such thing as “hate speech”. There is just speech. And neither the United States nor the several states can penalize a person or group because of the content of their speech.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Socialist_Party_of_America_v._Village_of_Skokie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skokie_%28Movie%29
Let me put it this way, had this occurred in the US and he actually have been jailed over those comments, then the following would have happened:
The conviction would have been thrown out on appeal.
The law ruled unconstitutional.
The Judge would be roundly criticized and pressured to resign.
Ditto for the prosecutor.
The student would have very strong grounds for a lawsuit against the prosecutor, municipality, police department, and arresting officers, for civil rights violations under color of law and false imprisonment. So strong, the defendants would settle quickly to avoid losing badly in court.
And another lawsuit against the public university for violating his civil rights.
Being a jerk online is not a criminal offence.
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