A Texas teen faces up to eight years in jail after making a comment on Facebook about shooting up "a school full of kids."
Deputies in Comal County, Texas, charged then-18-year-old Justin Carter with making "terroristic threats" — a 3rd degree felony — in March.
According to the Comal County Jail, he's been behind bars since March 27, unable to make his $500,000 bail.
similar facebook case that was recently dismissed (altho the teen did spend a month in jail waiting for court case)Supporters of Justin Carter, who is now 19, started a Change.org petition for his release . A call to the Comal County District Attorney hasn't been returned, but Carter's father tells NPR that a San Antonio attorney is interested in taking the case pro bono. Justin Carter has so far been represented by a court-appointed attorney.
http://www.ibtimes.com/cameron-dambrosi ... st-1296997
“The grand jury’s decision underscores what we have been saying all along: The prosecution doesn’t have a case here, and it’s a grave injustice that it has taken this long to get Cam returned to the safety of his home and family,” Evan Greer, of Boston's Center for Rights and Fight for the Future, said. “While today is a major victory for Cam, the chilling effect that this case has already had on free speech cannot be undone.”
If convicted, D’Ambrosio could have spent up to 20 years in prison.
Echoing the concerns of many who have been monitoring this case, Shirin Sinnar, an assistant professor of law at Stanford University Law School, said to Reuters, "Law enforcement wants to preempt acts of violence before they occur. ... The risk is that you sweep in people who had no intent to cause a crime."
