Teenager makes stupid joke on League of Legends - May face up to 8 years in prison

[1]

His joke was in bad taste, sure, but this is completely stupid. And I think this is relevant to this forum, since its an online game. If its not, throw me into a sewer.

I'm not even sure I'd go as far to say it's in bad taste.

That's a fairly inaccurate description. That wasn't in "bad taste".

He threatened to shoot up a school as a so-called joke. Of course it should be taken seriously. That's just stupid to say, no matter who you are. It's not a chance worth taking and even if he didn't know of the schools, there's no telling if he really was joking or not. Not to mention, you need to think before speaking. Any threats aren't cool whatsoever.

8 years do seem harsh, though. On the other hand, it might teach people a lesson about using their heads first, and their mouth second.

That's rediculous. It wasn't a threat, it was a joke and he was clear about it. If anything the person who called thee cops should be arrested for calling in something so ludicrous.

I think being arrested and put in jail for eight years is a bit extreme, but saying stuff like that is a bit fucked up. Whether he's just joking like every idiot who says stuff like that to sound tough or not is irrelevant, stuff like that shouldn't be said, especially when the US is still dealing with the most recent school shootings.

What they should do instead is take him around to see the families of the victims of school shootings and scare him straight, maybe make him do some community service as well.

edited 30th Jun '13 2:15:44 AM by DamascaRamza

Adding a "I'm joking" doesn't make what he sounds less serious or threatening. That's not a chance worth taking no matter what. It's actually stupid to ignore it with the constant shootings going on. It's the same reason people are in trouble for fake hit lists.

But I agree 8 years is too much unless something like Guns were found in his house, which is ample enough proof that he would've easily done it. Without it, there isn't enough evidence to be 100% sure. But enough to give him jail time for a major threat like that.

That last idea may help.

edited 30th Jun '13 2:16:13 AM by Irene

We're not given any context and for all we know it could have just been some dumb followup to other garbage trash talk. I still think arresting a kid for something he said in a video game for months, let alone intending 8 years is completely and irresponsibly idiotic. Surely you can clear up the crap after a few days or a few weeks at most.

EDIT: The crap as to whether he really had the potential to be a threat that is.

edited 30th Jun '13 2:18:18 AM by absolclaw

Put this kid away for eight years and chances are he will shoot up a school when he gets out.

A stern talking to by the police constable is the worst punishment he deserves, maybe given a psychiatric assessment if they really think he's a risk. Eight years in fucking prison? Are you insane? Actual murderers have spent less time in jail than that.

edited 30th Jun '13 2:20:56 AM by Talby

Some things are not worth taking a chance.

I only agree the amount of time is overly harsh. I don't disagree with him being jailed as is.

It's also extremely irresponsible to make any kind of threats like that, no matter what disclaimer you make. A disclaimer does not make what you said any less threatening and never will. He dug his own grave with his own stupidity and payed for it.

Jail and Prison are entirely different things, keep in mind. Neither are pleasant, obviously.

edited 30th Jun '13 2:22:36 AM by Irene

If you want to talk about risk, let's talk about the risk of ruining a young man's life over a dumb remark. Calling it a serious threat is laughable, and any amount of jail time would be absurdly disproportionate to the "crime."

He ruined his own life by saying it entirely.

If people think they can say whatever the hell they want without consequences, they are wrong.

Free Speech does not make you immune to reactions. He should've known better than to make threats like that. There is no excuse.

Again, 8 years is too long, but he definitely deserved a major punishment for that kind of bull.

There's punishment for shitposting, and then there's griefing back.

This is ridiculous, and should be thrown out of court.

He's already been in jail for months for a stupid joke. What more do you want Irene?

Indeed. 2 days at most is as long as it should have been and to see how long it takes to see if he even has a gun or a strange fetish for eating hearts.

Show me some actual, tangible harm that's been caused by what he wrote in a damn video game, and then you can talk about harsh punishments being justified.

I'm not sure what convicting him would accomplish. Just throwing him in jail for a week while investigating would show everyone that threats are taken seriously

edited 30th Jun '13 2:47:38 AM by Hylarn

Oh, come on. That was the most obvious sarcastic joke ever. Talk about Zero Tolerance overreaction.

People will avoid doing this more easily when they know they'll get seriously punished. Hopefully. Unless they're gluttons for punishment, which do exist.

Sarcasm doesn't travel well over the internet in text, so no, that's not as obvious as one thinks. It also really doesn't make what they say better, anyway.

edited 30th Jun '13 3:03:40 AM by Irene

The sarcasm was made clear by the follow up. And it was just so overly ridiculous that I can't believe someone would take this more seriously than maybe sending him to a authority figure and scolding him. And people generally don't stop doing things when there is a punishment for it, most people just don't think they will be the ones being punished.

That kind of Skinnerian bullshit is not remotely borne out by any actual evidence. No, idiotically harsh punishments regardless of context do not solve anything, at all.

I'd argue they make things worse.

This is really freaking stupid, but it happens. Happened to a friend of mine in Middle School.

People take stuff kids say way to seriously.

Someone called him insane (for whatever reason. Since it's LOL, I'm going to assume it wasn't a friendly jest). He responds with "Yeah, I'm going to shoot up a school and eat the still-beating hearts of my victims". He then even adds "lol" and "jk".

That's pretty darn obvious. Everything we know about the context points at a sarcastic joke. There is absolutely no reasonable doubt about it.

Jailing a kid for stupid shit like this is way more likely to screw him up than fix him. Mostly because there was very little to fix in the first place.

edited 30th Jun '13 3:15:18 AM by Kayeka

Okay, this joke was obviously stupid, but being jailed for it? It's even written that he said that as a sarcastic reply to another player, who called him insane during the game.

Alpha Omega Sin gives his take. Prepare for an absolutely rage-filled stream of Cluster F Bombs (you've been warned, because this is the angriest I've ever seen him).

edited 30th Jun '13 3:36:23 AM by Alucard