• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Racist Twitter user jailed for 56 days

Status
Not open for further replies.
G

Gowans

Member
Fabrice Muamba: Racist Twitter user jailed for 56 days

A student who admitted posting racially offensive comments on Twitter about footballer Fabrice Muamba has been jailed for 56 days.

Swansea University student Liam Stacey, 21, from Pontypridd, admitted inciting racial hatred over remarks about the Bolton Wanderers player, who collapsed during a FA Cup tie at Tottenham.

A district judge in Swansea called the comments "vile and abhorrent".

Muamba, 23, who suffered a cardiac arrest, is still in intensive care.

Sentencing Stacey at Swansea Magistrates' Court, District Judge John Charles told him: "In my view, there is no alternative to an immediate prison sentence.

"It was not the football world who was praying for [Muamba].... everybody was praying for his life."

Stacey broke down in tears as he was led away to begin his jail term.

As he passed the public gallery, he was briefly embraced by friends and his parents.

A second year biology student at Swansea, Stacey was arrested after his comments on the social networking site were reported by other users.

A number of people challenged Stacey on Twitter following his first comment, and he responded with a number of offensive posts aimed at other Twitter users.

Last week the court heard how Stacey posted the offensive comments shortly after the former England Under-21 star collapsed during the FA Cup quarter-final at White Hart Lane on 17 March.

Magistrates were told police forces across Britain received complaints following the comments.

'Disciplinary'

Stacey tried to "distance himself" from the tweets by claiming his account had been hacked, the court was told.

He later tried to delete his page but was arrested the following day at his student house in Swansea.

When interviewed by police, Stacey said he had been drinking since lunchtime on Saturday and was drunk when he made the comments.

Stacey was initially released on bail pending sentence and was ordered not to use Twitter and other social networking sites.

A Swansea University spokesperson said: "The student remains suspended from the university pending the conclusion of our disciplinary proceedings."

Stacey is also registered as a player with Treorchy rugby club, where he has turned out for the second team on occasions.

A statement after his arrest said: "The club wishes to completely disassociate itself from these comments and will be carrying out a full investigation into this matter."

Muamba remains in intensive care in a London hospital where his condition is described as serious but stable.
Click to expand...

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-17515992
 
K

Kandrick

GAF's Ed McMahon
What ? If they are going to start jailing people that post stupid shit on twitter/facebook/internet, they better build a few thousand more prisons.
 
D

DY_nasty

NeoGAF's official "was this shooting justified" consultant
I'm all for the University distancing itself from this person

But jail time? I can't really agree with that.
 
J

Jackpot

Banned
Kandrick said:
What ? If they are going to start jailing people that post stupid shit on twitter/facebook/internet, they better build a few thousand more prisons.
Click to expand...

Our laws are subtle enough to distinguish between racial hatred and crushing free speech.
 
Facism

Facism

Member
wow. And the group of guys sending my bro death threats (all saved on his phone, both verbal and text) got a "well, what do you want us to do about it?" from the police.

Yeh i bet if he was a rich footballer you'd jump right on it.
 
I

inky

Member
DY_nasty said:
I'm all for the University distancing itself from this person

But jail time? I can't really agree with that.
Click to expand...

As much as this is about setting an example and that I have no sympathy for him I agree. Fines and the like are OK, but jail time...
 
D

Darklord

Banned
Jail time for that? He's a fucking moron but that's just ridiculous. If he was specifically targeting him as in actually saying it to him, then that might be cause but come on.


Tacitus_ said:
So, uhm, how bad of a word "wog" is?
Click to expand...

It's not a bad word at all.
 
S

sk3

Banned
Fuck this. Cannot believe people are ok with this. We don't have enough people in prison? Some moron spouts stupid shit on the internet. We're going to have to build a couple thousand new prisons if we start jailing people for that.

UK and Australia always seem to be doing stupid shit concerning "free" speech. Glad I don't live there.
 
W

Willkiller

Banned
I guess this is the 'sending a message' sentance. Probably didn't deserve jail time. His University Edcuation being fucked up is enough of a punishment IMO.

Can see why it was given though.
 
D

Darklord

Banned
sk3 said:
UK and Australia always seem to be doing stupid shit concerning "free" speech. Glad I don't live there.
Click to expand...

Yeah, America doesn't do that all. I mean you can't get held indefinitely without any rights or get your head beaten in because you're doing a peaceful protest and you definitely don't have presidential candidates pushing to remove the rights of everyone they don't like. Oh wait, yeah you do.
 
B

Big One

Banned
No one should ever serve jail time for making a comment on the internet, no matter how bad it is, unless there is something to suspect (like planned bombings, robberies, murders, etc. etc.). Though I do admit it's a shame we can't hit groups like Westboro Baptist Church in the US, this is going too far and is just petty.
 
C

confused

Banned
Urban dictionary says :

wog

900 up, 229 down





{ /wäg/ (n.) offensive slang. 1925-30, from 'Golliwogg': a 19th century blackface doll; or alternately, an acronym of '(W)orthy (O)riental (G)entleman' }


British English:

1. *racist* a black African or dark-skinned South Asian (usually Indian or Pakistani)

2. *Anglocentric* a non-Briton or non-Englishman: "The wogs start at Calais" (across the English Channel in France) -- British proverb


Australian English:

1. a non-Anglo-Celtic European, esp. from Southern or Eastern Europe (e.g. Greek, Italian, Balkan, Slavic, etc.)

2. an Asian, esp. a West Asian (e.g. Lebanese, Turkish, Armenian, Iranian, etc.), but now also inclusive of South Asians and Pacific Islanders
Click to expand...
 
L

LegoArmo

Member
It's okay people, you can still be racist on the internet as long as you do it anonymously.

I like seeing people like him getting punished for being a twat. It's not the death of free speech.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

The man who owes Nintendo $14m: Gary Bowser and gaming’s most infamous piracy case
2
85
4K
SHA replied
Bill Cosby Conviction Overturned
News 2 3 4
160
13K
DeepEnigma replied
US corrections officer has been jailed after having sex with inmate
News Drama 2 3
136
22K
SireSmogMurk replied
44% of American teens are now persistently sad or hopeless
2 3 4 5
227
16K
Boaty McBoatface replied
Priest gets 60 days in jail for bubble-wrapping boy
10
996
finowns replied
Top Bottom