When A Teen's 'Sarcastic' Facebook Message Goes Terribly Wrong

[FarCenter]

On February 14, just two months after the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, an 18-year-old in Texas named Justin Carter was arrested.

Carter, an avid gamer, got into a spat with a fellow League of Legends player on Facebook. After being provoked and told he was "messed up in the head," Carter fired back with a startling comment:

I think Ima shoot up a kindergarten / And watch the blood of the innocent rain down/ And eat the beating heart of one of them.

...

A jury in Texas' Comal County charged the teenager with making a terroristic threat in April, which is considered a third-degree felony. That means Carter could spend ten years in jail for the Facebook comment. The judge also gave him an unusually high bond, $500,000, which his family can't afford to pay.

Carter's trial is beginning this month but in the meantime, the teen's father says his son has fallen into a deep depression.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/teen-justin-carter-faces-trial-and-jail-for-facebook-comment-2013-7

[Jenoch]

1. I believe 'social media' has been responsible for a lot of good things.

Social media also has been the reason for a lot of bad things.

I feel sorry for this kid. After reading the story, I think this just might be a case of a too agressive prosecutor.

[kestrel91316]

2. This is a tough way for him to learn to watch his smart mouth, that's for sure.

He's an example of parental failure, though far from the most severe I've seen.

[Jenoch]

3. I don't know if

I would go so far as to blame the parents for this one, I'd need more information. I just think of how this is going to follow this kid for a very long time, even if he is acquitted or the charges somehow get dropped, let alone if he does time in prison. He's had a tough time of it in jail and the judge set the bail high enough so that his parents can't bail him out. If the kid has a history of doing violent acts or fighting or a troublemaker, then keeping him in jail and prosecuting might be justified. I just don't know.

[Aristus]

4. Words, like actions, have consequences.

Guess the creep won't do that again any time soon...