12 weeks in Jail for offensive web posts about poor April Jones

suicide_circus

tom.padraig wrote: »

This guy will be remembered for decades by his family, friends maybe even his own grand children for his voile comments that gave him 14 days in jail.

Like all trolls empty vessels trying to make the most noise.

You'd know sure

Blatter

The fact somebody can be given 12 weeks inside for something so stupid worries me tbh. The PC brigade and the moral highgrounders need to get a life.

Scruffles

in own view,a better punishment woud have been to give him some community service working for a support charity/organisation who support the families of murdered children.
it might have given him a beter understanding of what they go through and how his humour woud be taken,this woud have a far more lasting effect on his thinking than a prison term will.
jailing him will just make him resentful of the law and no doubt encourage him to make offensive jokes without seeing the consequence it has on other people.

her body hasnt even been found yet,she is a disabled young girl,people are naturaly p-d off that some guy has the disrespect to make light of the probable murder of a very vulnerable person which is still very raw and no doubt painful for some; in peoples minds.
he shoudnt be jailed for it but he shoud have had consequence.

Galwayguy35

Blatter wrote: »

The fact somebody can be given 12 weeks inside for something so stupid worries me tbh. The PC brigade and the moral highgrounders need to get a life.

The fact that there are people who have twisted little minds that think it's ok to make jokes about murdered children would worry me more.


I had to google this Frankie Boyle guy, Why would anyone pay a red cent to hear him make a joke about M McCann?

This thing that nothing should be off limits for comedians is bollocks IMO, who wants to hear jokes about rape and murdered kids?

Blatter

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

The fact that there are people who have twisted little minds that think it's ok to make jokes about murdered children would worry me more.


I had to google this Frankie Boyle guy, Why would anyone pay a red cent to hear him make a joke about M McCann?

This thing that nothing should be off limits for comedians is bollocks IMO, who wants to hear jokes about rape and murdered kids?

Does a stupid/distasteful joke about something that you have no personal connection to really upset you that much?

I honestly pity you if it does.

Galwayguy35

Blatter wrote: »

Does a stupid/distasteful joke about something that you have no personal connection to really upset you that much?

I honestly pity you if it does.

I jut think it's weird that people joke about such things, I guess thats really far out thinking on my part.

Thanks for the offer of your pity but I'm grand.

starviewadams

Scary times we are living in where governments will pander to the brain dead majority in order to score brownie points with them.This nineteen year old lad wrote a joke that some people consider to be in poor taste on the internet and is sleeping in a prison cell tonight because of it.

In a world not dictated by cretins,everyone of those vigilante mouth breathers who turned up at the lads house baying for blood should have been arrested for breach of the peace.Ridiculous.We are living in the age of cynical media created hysteria and mass stupidity.

Can't wait to hear what Doug Stanhope will make of all this.

FrogMarch

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

who wants to hear jokes about rape and murdered kids?

Some people do. And you know what, they're not hurting anyone. Take a look at one of Frankie Boyle's DVD's and have a look at the number of celebrities filmed in the audience. And I"m not talking Jordan here, you're talking respected athletes, politicians, etc.

Self-righteous indignant thought police frighten me.

Optimalprimerib

If someone was put in jail over an offensive joke on Facebook, how long will it be before there is jail-time for bad spelling or txt spk.

That would be an escalation I would be willing to accept.

Fratton Fred

dj jarvis wrote: »

tails_naf wrote: »

CCTV is for your security (though they can also record sound on each street corner) you say . I'm sure 'for your own good' or a variation on them was used by every police state there ever was!

oh they can new thing they are working on in the UK is this ,
do you know the cats eyes on the motorways and a roads in the uk? well , they are mounting ANPR software to mini cams fitted into the cats eyes why you might ask ?
revenue generation and intelligence collection , revenue from speeding fines along with no tax and insurance , they will be able to time your average speed and tell if your speeding for that road - BAM - 60 quid fine they are also hooking the same system into the city mounted CCTV systems ,
along with your " smart " phone they can track you , so you are tracked in work , traveling to work , and online at home :eek:
to me it looks like the UK get a massive hard on for these kind of gadgets , thing is
it could have saved this kid possibly

They've been talking about this for the last 20 years and although the technology has been around for at least that amount of time, I have yet to see it used.

There is, of course, the congestion charge cameras and anpr police vehicles (both of which are in use here as well) but other than technology companies talking about what their gadgets can do, those are the only cameras in use of this type.

HeyThereDeliah

tom.padraig wrote: »

Lets see how much of a troll he is when the screws on Cellblock H snigger and let the other inmates know why he is in prison.

He is in prison for posting a comment on the Internet. You think it's ok he gets beaten or what ever in prison ?
He did not harm anybody except the delicate public who went on a moral rampage.

the_truth12

My name is URL wrote: »

And the mob of 50 people that descended on the wrong address are guilty of a more serious crime than making a tasteless joke. Presumably they intended to dish out their own punishment.

Mob is the mother of all tyrants.

dj jarvis

Fratton Fred wrote: »

They've been talking about this for the last 20 years and although the technology has been around for at least that amount of time, I have yet to see it used.

There is, of course, the congestion charge cameras and anpr police vehicles (both of which are in use here as well) but other than technology companies talking about what their gadgets can do, those are the only cameras in use of this type.

ANPR technology is used and has been used in the uk for the last 5 years by traffic police

the Garda have started using it here in the last year - i pass a Garda car EVERY morning that sits and lets the traffic go past , as soon as a reg plate with no tax , insurance or a person of note passes by , the ANPR will alert the cop and off he goes

its used everyday - its here - they will spread its use as it saves a fortune on wages for police and Garda alike

its nothing for them to set it up in the cats eyes of motorways and national roads , they dont have to do every one , every 1km would suffice

Fratton Fred

dj jarvis wrote: »

ANPR technology is used and has been used in the uk for the last 5 years by traffic police

the Garda have started using it here in the last year - i pass a Garda car EVERY morning that sits and lets the traffic go past , as soon as a reg plate with no tax , insurance or a person of note passes by , the ANPR will alert the cop and off he goes

its used everyday - its here - they will spread its use as it saves a fortune on wages for police and Garda alike

its nothing for them to set it up in the cats eyes of motorways and national roads , they dont have to do every one , every 1km would suffice

erm, isn't that what I said?

fwiw, the blue cameras you see hanging underneath bridges and gantries on UK motorways can also do the same thing. They are there to monitor traffic volumes and congestion, but they read the number plate of a car and track it to the next checkpoint, calculating how fast the traffic is moving.

They only record the first bit of the number plate though and remove records very quickly. There was an uproar when they were introduced because they could do as you say, track a car and then give them a speeding ticket if their average speed went above the speed limit. This resulted in only the first few digits being recorded.

Madam_X

I despair when I see those pictures pop up on Facebook (that a friend has liked, usually well-intentioned in fairness) regarding child molesters and what should be done to them, and then reams and reams of THICK ***** babbling incoherently about what they'd do to them, and any person offering a less violent perspective being slated and called a paedo. Bebo closing has caused serious dregs of humanity to frequent Facebook. Yet they're not being sent to prison for their abuse/endorsement of violence.

"Why are we testing on animals when there are paedos sitting in prisons?"

"Like if you hate child abuse, scroll past if you agree with it xxxxxxxx "

Piss off you braindeads.

Allyall

Kennedi Handsome Scabby wrote: »

In fact, it's the people I know who go out of their way to be offended by everything who are actually the worst people in reality. People who live for appearances and wouldn't lift a finger to help you if you had a problem.

I would've thanked that post until the cows came home if i could.

Rant deleted.

Does anybody know if Matthew Woods will be appealing, or if he stands a chance getting out before Christmas?

I think it's disgusting that he is serving any time. Lesson is well and truly learned by now. He broke a law that he didn't know existed. He crossed lines that a lot of people agree he shouldn't have crossed. He told vile jokes.
He will be paying for the rest of his life. Nearly every newspaper has published his photograph. If he ever decides to try and get a job, he has a prison record, to add to the fact his potential employers will probably look him up on FB and Google, and his mistakes will be held in the Internet Archives for all to read for the foreseeable future.
His two biggest mistakes were Timing and Facebook. He could have posted those jokes on Sickipedia, or many other forums out there, and it would go unpunished.

Lingua Franca

Madam_X wrote: »

I despair when I see those pictures pop up on Facebook (that a friend has liked, usually well-intentioned in fairness) regarding child molesters and what should be done to them, and then reams and reams of THICK ***** babbling incoherently about what they'd do to them, and any person offering a less violent perspective being slated and called a paedo. Bebo closing has caused serious dregs of humanity to frequent Facebook. Yet they're not being sent to prison for their abuse/endorsement of violence.

"Why are we testing on animals when there are paedos sitting in prisons?"

"Like if you hate child abuse, scroll past if you agree with it xxxxxxxx "

Piss off you braindeads.

My (least) favourite posts are the ones that describe in brutal, gorey detail about what they'd do to the perp if they got their hands on him. Most involve a combination a of blowtorch, electrocution, the scrotum, flaying, anal rape and some sort of live feed for the nation.

Because nothing says loving concern for a missing child like exposing your psychotic desires to the world.

end of the road

Latchy wrote: »

Perhaps he will learn about manners and respect while locked up ...god knows he hasn't any .

exactly, shur its only wasting money and resources which could be used on more serious criminals. people over there go out of their way to look for things to be offended over anyway.

end of the road

steve9859 wrote: »

I don't really have a problem with it.

most people do, its the start of something more sinister.

steve9859 wrote: »

A few more examples are made,

then you pay for it out of your own money, and stop expecting others to have their money wasted.

steve9859 wrote: »

people might start thinking twice about posting and twittering that kind of stuff.

no they won't, unless their in la la land maybe but not in the real world, people are jailed for murder, doesn't stop people from doing it.

steve9859 wrote: »

It's about time some boundaries of behaviour were set,

not the job of the police or courts.

steve9859 wrote: »

The Internet shouldn't be some place where anything goes.

it all ready isn't, being offensive isn't against the law, and rightly so, once you make it so, next it will be criticising the government, everyone is offended by different things, and some just go out of their way to look for something offensive or be offended, i don't see anyone being offended by racist trash, or go running to the law over them, unless its a celeb.

steve9859 wrote: »

They need to track down some of the people involved in some of the tragic on-line bullying cases recently as well, and throw the book at them

they can't afford it.

hardCopy

Fratton Fred wrote: »

erm, isn't that what I said?

fwiw, the blue cameras you see hanging underneath bridges and gantries on UK motorways can also do the same thing. They are there to monitor traffic volumes and congestion, but they read the number plate of a car and track it to the next checkpoint, calculating how fast the traffic is moving.

They only record the first bit of the number plate though and remove records very quickly. There was an uproar when they were introduced because they could do as you say, track a car and then give them a speeding ticket if their average speed went above the speed limit. This resulted in only the first few digits being recorded.

Average Speed Cameras are still used regularly to issue fines, at least they were on the M1(UK) in 2010. I worked for a company that had offices at either end and staff were regularly getting nabbed by them.

Wiring them into every Cat-Eye would be expensive due to the cost of networking them all, I can't see how it would ever pay for itself.

end of the road

tan11ie wrote: »

Maybe he is being used as an example for others not to follow

yet they do and they will, deterrents or making an example of someone doesn't work, never has worked, or never will.

tan11ie wrote: »

some people need to realise that it's not acceptable to sit behind a screen and dish out whatever crap you want.

neither is jailing them for it, threatening or insitement you may have a point but not for being offensive.

Francescoli

Unbelievable that he was jailed.Yes ,he was an idiot and it was completely ignorant but he should not have got jail.PC gone mad.

end of the road

dave1982 wrote: »

Shocked to see the Mods of Boards.ie coming out to defend this clown.

they weren't, their saying like most, that people shouldn't be jailed for saying something offensive.

dave1982 wrote: »

If anyone was to stay impartial I'd think it would be ye.

why should they? and why should you care whether they do or not?

dave1982 wrote: »

A young girls has been abducted and jokes are being made about a sexual nature of a 5 year old and ye think its OK?

nobody thinks its okay, but neither is jailing people for making them, next it will be for criticising the government

dave1982 wrote: »

I'm glad this asshole paid a price excessive but tough tittie for him.

good for you, bet you and those who also agree with this man being jailed wouldn't pay for/fund all of the cost of arrest prosecution and jail time? no shur why would you when you can have everyone including those who don't agree pay tax and have it wasted on paying for it.

dave1982 wrote: »

About time people know hiding behind your keyboard don't work.

yeah and wasting money jailing them is the way to go, maybe we should round up all who criticise the government to?

Allyall

I just read this, it's written by a Barrister and Legal Blogger named Adam Wagner, who believes that the law is no longer fit for purpose.

Twelve weeks in prison for sick jokes on Facebook? Really?

But my worry is that this law was not designed for the purpose it is now being used for. In 2003, only perhaps Mark Zuckerberg knew that within the next few years literally billions of people would become mini-publishers on a public communications network. Now, the accidental combination of an old (in technology terms) law, designed it would seem primarily to stop harassment over the telephone line, with revolutionary new media may be making criminals of many of us, and that cannot be a good thing.
People post sick, offensive, horrible and stupid things on social media all of the time. People are sick, offensive, horrible and stupid. Anyone who has been to school knows that teenagers can also be sick, offensive, horrible and stupid. As a society, we should try to make people nicer, cleverer and less offensive. But is sending people to prison, along with rapists and violent thugs, the right way to do it?
Sending people to prison for being “grossly offensive” has the whiff of mob justice about it. Anyone who uses Twitter regularly will have seen the mob at work, whether attacking an individual for saying something offensive and stupid, or harassing a celebrity for crimes against taste or their political views. Sometimes this is a bit of fun, sometimes a little more sinister. There are real problems involving malicious harassment of individuals as well as abhorrent views.
But, as anyone who has used Twitter or Facebook will also know, there is a strong sense of community in that social space which is, to a very significant extent, self regulating. People are exposed, ridiculed, embarrassed, ostracised. Many of the rules of large human social spaces apply there too. Like other large social spaces, this can degenerate into mob justice. But should the criminal justice system be in the hands of that mob?

end of the road

efb wrote: »

People need to understand they don't have a carte blanche to write whatever they want on the Internet.

people also need to realise they don't have carte blanche to report everything they find offensive to the police and then to expect the police to waste their time and money dealing with such offense when their are serious criminals running around the streets, the same with the courts and the prisons which are overcrowded enough i'm sure.

Red Pepper

Lingua Franca wrote: »

Because nothing says loving concern for a missing child like exposing your psychotic desires to the world.

I am going to use this line - thanks!

Madam_X

Madam_X wrote: »

I despair when I see those pictures pop up on Facebook (that a friend has liked, usually well-intentioned in fairness) regarding child molesters and what should be done to them, and then reams and reams of THICK ***** babbling incoherently about what they'd do to them, and any person offering a less violent perspective being slated and called a paedo. Bebo closing has caused serious dregs of humanity to frequent Facebook. Yet they're not being sent to prison for their abuse/endorsement of violence.

Exactly, I don't understand why people liking such pages aren't done for inciting hatred or whatever **** laws they have on the books now. Surely the people signing the petition on the UK government website calling for capital punishment are all guilty of incitement to violence or whatever?

Allyall

I'm curious now, Can someone add a poll as to whether or not people agree or disagree if he should have been given Jail?

Probably a bit late, as most will have moved on. But i would still like to know..

end of the road

Mad_Dave wrote: »

man given community service for offensive comments about dead British soldiers in Afghanistan.

i thought it was just soldiers in general? they were talking about this on LBC last night, the host read the comment but their was no mention of "british" or "afghanistan" in the comment, so he could be talking about the cerian army for all we know. unless that particular comment was part of a post mentioning "british" or "afghanistan"?

Mad_Dave wrote: »

One guy posts jokes (not funny jokes but still) and gets 12 weeks jail, the other posts a hateful rant and get community service ?

i thought the man who commented on soldiers would have got a harsher sentence, as the british people have so much love and respect for their army, so much that a lot of them don't help those who are injoured, probably don't give 1 cent to the charitys helping them, and probably couldn't care a less but the minute their on camera or are asked questions in relation to the army they have so much respect for their (heroes) its a funny old country over there isn't it.

end of the road

steve9859 wrote: »

IMO that doesnt mean that you dont try

absolutely it does, its impossible and a waste of time and resources.

steve9859 wrote: »

just wash your hands of it.

may as well, its a waste of time trying and it will fail anyway.

steve9859 wrote: »

Personally I think the UK authorities are doing a decent job of sending a message about what is acceptable.

really? obviously their not as this keeps happening again and again, and will keep happening until sometime a high-court judge may end up saying enough is enough when people are being sent to jail for less offensive comments. just accept it, deterrents, sending messages, making examples of people, never work, never will work, always fail.

steve9859 wrote: »

When explaining to your kids what they shouldn't be posting on-line, it's a hell of a lot easier when you're able to point to someone who is in a prison cell for what they did

no, you could apply the same logic to murder, guess what people still commit murder, so your point doesn't hold up, its just the police trying to justify their jobs as the british government plan to cut (i think 20 %) of officers, this might be a way of bringing down that number a bit. .

end of the road

TheStook wrote: »

examples have to be made.

no they don't, their pointless and fail in the majority of cases.

TheStook wrote: »

it has to be done.

no it doesn't.

TheStook wrote: »

I remember I got thrown out of the Gaeltacht because I spoke English a few times, it was harsh but an example had to be made out of me.

it worked for you, for more and probably most it won't as the same thing probably happened the next year after you went.

TheStook wrote: »

Otherwise there'd be so much more of it going on.

and how do you know that it isn't going on?

TheStook wrote: »

Anybody who hears about this is going to think twice about doing vile **** like this.

bull, anyone living in a state in america which has the death penalty who hears about someone being executed won't commit murder, oh wait they do.

Bipolar Joe

Can I ask everyone who agrees with this result, what did you think about the blasphemy law?

end of the road

TommyKnocker wrote: »

As the saying goes, if you can't do the time, don't do the crime

well then those who reported him should carry the cost for arrest prosecution and jail time and not the british tax payer.

TommyKnocker wrote: »

I don't think a fine is a big enough deterrent

neither is jail. theirs no such thing as a deterrent for this or any crime

TommyKnocker wrote: »

so jail it is.

yeah, at a cost when resources could be put to better use.

TommyKnocker wrote: »

if it makes him (and others) engage his/their brain(s) before posting such crap in the future

it won't. their will be someone before the courts in a few weeks for something similar, the death penalty is supposed to be a deterrent for murder yet it doesn't work.

TommyKnocker wrote: »

job done IMHO.

no it isn't a job done at all, it is pointless, a waste of time and resources and will fail to achieve anything.

FrogMarch

The dark cloud of utter stupidity has drifted over this thread.

end of the road

Lingua Franca wrote: »

My (least) favourite posts are the ones that describe in brutal, gorey detail about what they'd do to the perp if they got their hands on him. Most involve a combination a of blowtorch, electrocution, the scrotum, flaying, anal rape and some sort of live feed for the nation.

Because nothing says loving concern for a missing child like exposing your psychotic desires to the world.

and such people are eliterate/use text speak as well

Happyman42

end of the road wrote: »

and such people are eliterate/use text speak as well

:D:D CLASSIC!


(I quoted it before you changed the spelling.

MagicSean

end of the road wrote: »

tan11ie wrote: »

Maybe he is being used as an example for others not to follow

yet they do and they will, deterrents or making an example of someone doesn't work, never has worked, or never will.

tan11ie wrote: »

some people need to realise that it's not acceptable to sit behind a screen and dish out whatever crap you want.

neither is jailing them for it, threatening or insitement you may have a point but not for being offensive.

I think you're wrong there. Its been shown that legal deterrents do have an effect. The penalty point system and drink driving laws in Ireland are evidence of that. They have a much lower effect on serious crime or emotionally motivated crime.

Infini

Problem I've noticed is Britain is goin way overboard with the whole internet police thing nowadays. If someone makes a bad taste post you report it to the website owners and have it removed. Only time police should be involved is in cases of persistent cyberbullying or persistant harrasment. Throwing someone in the clink for 3 months for one lousy comment is excessive and disproportionate.

As for those people throwing abuse at him IRL they should Sit down and STFU because what theyre doin is MANY TIMES WORSE and completely HYPOCRITICAL. They got time to throw abuse they should put their energy into something constructive.

Then again some brits just seem to be unable to resist feeding the trolls as well....

1ZRed

One of the reasons why I'm growing to loath social media and the bullshit reasons why people find themselves in trouble over something that's on their personal page to do as they please.

So as well as an ever more restricted Internet, freedom of speech is also taking yet another knock. Brilliant world.

[-0-]

Should Holocaust deniers be locked up as well? Certainly not, right? I would assert that Holocaust deniers cause more harm than Woods did copying a joke from Sickipedia and posting it on his page about two young girls who were, we assume, we murdered. Thousands, if not millions more children were killed during the Holocaust. This is just madness. The correct answer is of course, no, they should not be locked up. It's a serious waste of resources.

Rezident

HeyThereDeliah wrote: »

tigger123 wrote: »

People need to realise that the things you post online are not viewed in the same way as the jokes you crack when you're around your friends.

People also need to realise that not everyone is as interested or outraged at things that happen in the world. People have to be allowed their own opinions even if everyone does not agree with them.

What if your opinion is that you just want to post cartoons of Mohammed all day?

SunDog

qA

CRM Ireland

I feel like posting up all manner of sick jokes on facebook just to have my day in court. You wouldnt see my apologising and trying ti justify my actions by saying I was drunk. Id say "FCUK you and your bullsiht, what about my freedom of speech? Lock me up, I will get back out and be even more determined to say what I like and when".

This whole matter is a damn disgrace. I couldnt care less what he wrote. He can write all the sick pedo kids jokes on his own page if he likes. If any of my friends started writing stuff I found offensive Id simply delete them from my friends list so I dont have to read it. Ive actually deleted quite a few of my friends wives off my friends lists because I was sick to death of their games invites and repetitive hourly updates on how great their kids are and how lucky they feel to be a mum! I hate it.

This is an extremely serious case which I hope gets pursued and discussed at length. How can we stand by and watch this blatant infringement on our rights of free speech? This will not be the end of this matter. There are many more people receiving custodial sentences for posting comments on social networking sites, but I fear there will be a huge backlash at some point.

steve9859

1ZRed wrote: »

One of the reasons why I'm growing to loath social media and the bullshit reasons why people find themselves in trouble over something that's on their personal page to do as they please.

.

Someone else that thinks facebook is private and personal. Amazing how many people don't get it! Posting on your page on facebook is the same as sending a tweet.....all your friends immediately see it on their news feeds, and can re-post it to their own page so all their friends see it. Just the same as sending to followers on twitter

Only private bit on facebook is the one to one messaging.

Irish Guitarist

It's amazing the number of people that think 'free speech' means you can say whatever the hell you like. 'Freedom of speech' doesn't cover things like hate speech, harassment, libel or slander.

Happyman42

The battle for the internet deepens! I love to hear people dimissing social media, especially those who once had unannoyed access to the media or airwaves, eg: writers, journalists, broadcasters etc. To hear jounalists and writers and broadcasters lament and have hissy fits about the public having access to such platforms is hilarious. The lines have been blurred and they don't like it, 'how dare the great unwashed have opinions', 'how dare they utter witticisms without an editor and with atrocious grammar', 'that's our job'!
Vested interests want control of these platforms folks, it's up to us all to fight them, establishment media is dying, this is one of the last gasp futile efforts to regain control..... jailing a 19 year old for being immature and lippy???:eek:
Fight or otherwise consign yourself to being fed only what they want you to hear or read...power to the people always.

Allyall

CRM Ireland wrote: »

I feel like posting up all manner of sick jokes on facebook just to have my day in court. You wouldnt see my apologising and trying ti justify my actions by saying I was drunk. Id say "FCUK you and your bullsiht, what about my freedom of speech? Lock me up, I will get back out and be even more determined to say what I like and when".

This whole matter is a damn disgrace. I couldnt care less what he wrote. He can write all the sick pedo kids jokes on his own page if he likes. If any of my friends started writing stuff I found offensive Id simply delete them from my friends list so I dont have to read it. Ive actually deleted quite a few of my friends wives off my friends lists because I was sick to death of their games invites and repetitive hourly updates on how great their kids are and how lucky they feel to be a mum! I hate it.

This is an extremely serious case which I hope gets pursued and discussed at length. How can we stand by and watch this blatant infringement on our rights of free speech? This will not be the end of this matter. There are many more people receiving custodial sentences for posting comments on social networking sites, but I fear there will be a huge backlash at some point.

I hear what you are saying, but you wouldn't risk it... EIther would i, and on that level, the idiots have already won.

I've said this before, and at the risk of repeating myself, i honestly think the only real crime that Matthew Woods is guilty of, is Using FaceBook.

Sickipedia is still going strong, currently joking about Matthew Woods.

Had he posted anywhere else on the Internet, he probably wouldn't have been noticed. FaceBook is great for all the people you hate. You wouldn't be friends with them in Real life, yet they are everybody's best friends on FB. The Peopl that went out of their way to get a mob together, to call to his house, had him brought to court and applauded when he was handed a 3 month sentence, are the idiots i'd be after.

I would actively seek each one of them, and press charges on all of them for perverting Justice, or Inciting Violence and Hatred, or attempted assault or whatever i could. I would point out to the Courts, that this is ridiculous i demand they get equal treatment, and I would point out that the Court does not seem to understand the Internet. FB is the only place that this idiocy exists.

I would love to see those 50 get done..

CRM Ireland

Allyall wrote: »

I hear what you are saying, but you wouldn't risk it... EIther would i, and on that level, the idiots have already won.

I've said this before, and at the risk of repeating myself, i honestly think the only real crime that Matthew Woods is guilty of, is Using FaceBook.

Sickipedia is still going strong, currently joking about Matthew Woods.

Had he posted anywhere else on the Internet, he probably wouldn't have been noticed. FaceBook is great for all the people you hate. You wouldn't be friends with them in Real life, yet they are everybody's best friends on FB. The Peopl that went out of their way to get a mob together, to call to his house, had him brought to court and applauded when he was handed a 3 month sentence, are the idiots i'd be after.

I would actively seek each one of them, and press charges on all of them for perverting Justice, or Inciting Violence and Hatred, or attempted assault or whatever i could. I would point out to the Courts, that this is ridiculous i demand they get equal treatment, and I would point out that the Court does not seem to understand the Internet. FB is the only place that this idiocy exists.

I would love to see those 50 get done..

The entire affair is just so disproportionate. From the baying crowd, to the sentence handed down to him.

A lot of the time, crowds form and people get caught up in the emotion of it. Pack behaviour almost seems like a primeval thing, where generally placid, law abiding folks can act completely out of character as they get swept along. I could imagine that some of that crowd outside his home were people passing by who came over to see what was going on, heard all the anti-pedo comments that would most certainly have been shouted, and joined in. I bet a few of them didnt even know exactly what he had done.

The sentence itself seems unlawful. How can the sentence be justified due to the amount of public outrage (more like jumping on the bandwagon) caused by a few comments, which were clearly jokes.

Someone posted above stating that we think our freedom of speech should allow us to spout about hate etc, but thats not what is being said at all. I dont expect I can walk down the high street, get on a platform and start shouting "I hate ****, send immigrants home" or any other such vile crap as that. Its clear that we are judging this based exclusively on the actions of this young man. He posted some jokes on his facebook page. That was it.

Its amazing how people are trying to warp things and start twisting the truth to suit their end.

My name is URL

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

It's amazing the number of people that think 'free speech' means you can say whatever the hell you like. 'Freedom of speech' doesn't cover things like hate speech, harassment, libel or slander.

It's amazing that some people see what he done as being like any of the things you've mentioned.

It's already been stated a number of times in this thread, but freedom of expression does extend to causing others to feel offended. You can't hold someone criminally liable every time a group of people feel offended.

Lingua Franca

[-0-] wrote: »

Should Holocaust deniers be locked up as well? Certainly not, right? I would assert that Holocaust deniers cause more harm than Woods did copying a joke from Sickipedia and posting it on his page about two young girls who were, we assume, we murdered. Thousands, if not millions more children were killed during the Holocaust. This is just madness. The correct answer is of course, no, they should not be locked up. It's a serious waste of resources.

Holocaust denial is illegal in several countries and people have gone to jail for it.


I wholeheartedly believe in freedom of speech. Not because of my rights to be as offensive as I like, but because I like my crazies spouting out in public where I can keep an eye on them. I want to hear what they have to say so I can contradict them. I want to know what they are thinking and planning. Knowledge is power, and driving people underground is dangerous.