Topic: Student, 17, gets 8 years in prison for phone threat

Student, 17, gets 8 years in prison for phone threat

Wow.

quote:

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Police found no weapons belonging to Taylor after he made the call in January. Davidson said another student initiated the call on the bus and that his client was "gullible" in taking part.

Angela Jenkins, a spokeswoman for the Tyler school district, said that while the sentence was "severe in this circumstance," the school takes threats very seriously. She said "we now live in a time where safety is of paramount concern."

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I am having a hard time getting my brain around this one.

WTF?

8 YEARS in prison for a prank (yes, a very stupid one, no doubt about it, but still...a prank)?

Well, his life is screwed now.

WebShaman | The keenest sorrow (and greatest truth) is to recognize ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities.
- Sophocles

That's pretty retarded, but so is substituting 'sentenced to' with 'gets'.

"We now live in a time where safety is of paramount concern." = "We have been so shell shocked by the violence that surrounds us that we don't know which way is up anymore."

I wonder if we'll ever regain our balance.


___________________________
Suho: www.liminality.org | Cell 270 | Sig Rotator | the Fellowship of Sup

That assumes we ever lost it.

I was reading Latin text from the first century AD the other day, and someone was complaining about "the times".

Or, "That assumes we ever had it," right?

True, every generation complains about "the times." But there was a time when the words "school shooting" did not inspire the same fear and dread that they do now. When I was growing up, our big fear was that the Russians--a vague, amorphous threat from across the ocean--would blow us all to oblivion. We didn't have to worry about our fellow pupils doing the job for them.


___________________________
Suho: www.liminality.org | Cell 270 | Sig Rotator | the Fellowship of Sup

two dumb things happened here.

1.) Student makes stupid mistake.
2.) Judge gives stupid sentence.

now it may sound harsh but without the first the second wouldnt have happened, granted 8 years is a shitty break in fact unbelievable, BUT, the judge wasnt the one to make the call the kid did ...

Tom, I think if the kid knew that he would get an 8 year prison sentence, that he probably would have at least had second thoughts...

Well, maybe.

Ok, probably not.

WebShaman | The keenest sorrow (and greatest truth) is to recognize ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities.
- Sophocles

Yeah Mike i agree, but sadly in today's world where school shootings seem to be becoming more and more regular, i think this kid was made an example of. Unfortunately they seem to have come down on him like a ton of bricks. What really screwed him i guess was the "terroristic threat" charge. Thats a very heavy weight charge and carries heavy weight sentences.

moral of the story:

Don't make stupid prank calls, if you do prepare for some heavyweight sentencing.

I hope the kid get's a break on appeal, but we gotta remember this guy wasn't an angel so i guess that figured into the judges sentence. But 8 years is way off base.

quote:

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I think if the kid knew that he would get an 8 year prison sentence, that he probably would have at least had second thoughts...

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Haha - well, he won't be doing it again, will he?

My opinion coincides with Tomeaglecz - the kid was made an example of- for doing something incredibly stupid, more so 'in these times'. Chances are that he'll have his sentence reduced on appeal, and the judge is most likely aware that this is the case. Doesn't hurt to apply a sentence that will put the wind up him, and up anyone else who feels that prank calls are harmless.

As far as I know, 'threats to kill' are considered a serious crime both here and in the US, so he commited a crime that is punishable by imprisonment even without throwing terrorism-related charges at him.

I find it difficult to feel sympathy, though the sentence seems harsh.

Guys, I understand where you all are coming from here.

But keep in mind that it became obvious that this was just a prank before the Judge. I can understand such a sentence if the guy really had meaned it, and had the means to carry it through.

That would be a preventative sentence, and I would support that without problem.

But for a prank? And especially one into which he was goaded into by another.

Stupid? Hell yes! But who among us did not do incredibly stupid things at that age?

I could understand having to pay money (fine) and perhaps a suspended sentence in this case, but 8 years is just insane.

I do not think it is about sympathy here, WH, but more a "WTF?" at the harshness of the sentence handed down.

WebShaman | The keenest sorrow (and greatest truth) is to recognize ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities.
- Sophocles

News like these are getting just plain ridiculous. If I lived in the US I'd consider moving to Europe or Australia. All this fearmongering and stupidity ... I just remembered all the fuss about the blinking lights viral adverts crisis ... get half a brain ffs. Is this how 'the media' is trying to portray the US or is it really that bad around there?


edit: Yes the kid was stupid. But in the sense that didn't he know he'd get caught in 5 seconds if he uses a cellphone? Other than that prank is a prank. Kids do much worse stuff and go unpunished. He should get fined and that's it. "Setting an example" is extremely immoral in my book and not justice by long shot.

(Edited by Arthurio on 06-09-2008 17:40)

quote:

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Arthurio said:

edit: Yes the kid was stupid. But in the sense that didn't he know he'd get caught in 5 seconds if he uses a cellphone? Other than that prank is a prank. Kids do much worse stuff and go unpunished. He should get fined and that's it. "Setting an example" is extremely immoral in my book and not justice by long shot.

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Arthurio you are right as i said the sentence was harsh, BUT in cases like this every threat must be treated as real untill proven that it wasn't, that involves time resources etc. Kid's f..g around making prank calls like this divert resources away from possible real threats.

You dont have to go through with a threat and actually do something, often as not the threat itself can cause untold stress worry panic disruption etc. You guys in the states have had it quite easy reference this type of situation prior to 9/11.

Hoax bomb calls threats etc were almost part of daily life here in the UK around the time of the problems in Ireland etc. it's not fun, and hoaxers recieved harsh sentences here.

Whether it was a prank or not it was very stupid, like i said just the mere threat is enough to cause harm and worry, BUT my main point is its a pretty messed up world when a call like this gets this attention, why because too many times kids have gone into schools and have done exactly what this kid said he would do in the call, it just highlights the current situation.

Guess thats why the UK has some of the toughest gun laws anywhere in the world and some of the heaviest sentecing for firearms related crimes/threats

Thank christ that in the UK that this problem isnt this bad (kids killing others with guns etc.) BUT i guarantee you a prank like this will still get you in deep shit in the UK.

(Edited by tomeaglescz on 06-09-2008 18:01)