Man Gets 3 Years for Posting Racial Messages on Forums

Saturday, October 7, 2006 by Island Dog | Discussion: Internet

While what he did was very stupid and inexcusable, over 2 years in jail for it is ridiculous.  The sad thing is he got more time for posting hateful messages than he did for having child porn on his computer. 

"A man who posted racist messages on a website in memory of murdered black teenager Anthony Walker was jailed for more than three years today.

Neil Martin, 30, emailed at least six comments to the website - less than a week after Anthony was killed with an ice axe in a racist attack in Huyton, Merseyside, last year."

19 Reply 23 Referrals
Xythe
Reply #1 Saturday, October 7, 2006 1:50 PM
While what he did was very stupid and inexcusable, over 2 years in jail for it is ridiculous.


I hear what your saying, it does seem pretty stiff. I'm not really to sure how the law in the UK runs as compared to here in the States.

One thing I can say though, I would like to see more convictions and stiffer penalties for crimes commited over the internet.

Skin Engine
Reply #2 Saturday, October 7, 2006 2:03 PM
Oh….Sorry wrong thread…………I was looking for Skinning forums……my bad

jennifer1
Reply #3 Saturday, October 7, 2006 2:28 PM
He is a disgusting individual and should have got 2 years on top for the child porn i.e. 4 years and he should serve every day of the 4 years!

bakerstreet
Reply #4 Saturday, October 7, 2006 3:38 PM
I don't believe anyone should ever be jailed for speaking a particular idea of ethos, however disgusting. Granted, no one should be allowed to yell fire in a crowded theater, but that isn't what happened here. All this is doing is setting up a state when certain ideas are illegal to express, and that is a dangerous road to start down.

Dr Guy
Reply #5 Saturday, October 7, 2006 6:27 PM

All this is doing is setting up a state when certain ideas are illegal to express, and that is a dangerous road to start down.

Today England, tomorrow the US?  I fear it will cross the atlantic.


bakerstreet
Reply #6 Saturday, October 7, 2006 6:40 PM
It's already in Canada, and if you listen to some folks in San Fransisco it's there, too. At least expressing ideas they deem hateful makes you too unsavory to hold your conventions, etc., there.

Xythe
Reply #7 Saturday, October 7, 2006 6:41 PM
The way I read the article, and please correct me if I'm wrong, is the sentence was not so much based on the slurs, but rather this young mans intention to insite a riot?

"Martin suggested that white people should celebrate the murder, that Anthony's family should be burned and made references to slavery and a "banana boat"

"He told the officers he had intended to stir up an argument on the website but did not believe in what he had written."

Fuzzy Logic
Reply #8 Saturday, October 7, 2006 7:41 PM

Shows how back to front this country has gotten. He should have got ten years for the child porn and a telling off for his bad attitude. This is all the fault of the do-gooders and their obsession with political correctness.

Sadly the crime of 'inciting racial hatred' only goes one way here. It was perfectly ok for muslims to hold a mass demonstration, burn the national flag, and carry 'behead the white pigs' slogans. But if ever a white person says one word about someone from an ethnic group...well...

We now have a national manhunt for someone who snatched the veil off a muslim woman. A very serious crime indeed! This follows comments by politician Jack Straw who said he preferred women to remove their veils when meeting him so he could see their faces. Seems like a fair request to me. It may be their custom, but our custom is to not deliberatly try to hide your identity.

All this makes me start to wonder just whose country this is   


MasonM
Reply #9 Saturday, October 7, 2006 7:57 PM
As much as I despise racial hatred, this is absurd. Everyone, even stupid racist assholes have a right to voice their opinion.

Adam Michael
Reply #10 Saturday, October 7, 2006 9:09 PM
This is simple.......the uk loves liberalism and political correctness, The man clearly was not behaving correctly. Liberals love free speech so long as it is politically correct speech. The fact that he had child porn on his computer meant nothing to a liberal.......he was being incorrect with his hurtful speech. No matter how ignorant or crude it may have been, in a socialist environment his political incorrectness was much more criminal. The same thing has begun here in America, the retarded example set by the idiots in the uk goes on each day throughout the world and I fear it will scratch a hole deeper in America. We just won't stop voting for liberals. Socialism and politically correctness are worthless, utterly useless. I'm glad the uk put forth another fine example of just how closed minded they truly are. Stop voting for liberals, stop encouraging liberals, we'll deal with ignorant racists remarks on our own terms certainly not yours. Liberals want nicely paved roads with good intentions. Ever hear the term the road filled with good intentions leads to hell? Think about it.


Be safe.

Sea Hourse
Reply #11 Saturday, October 7, 2006 9:49 PM
Political correctiveness is a pet peeve of mine. One group can say whatever they wish while another group is slammed for saying the exact same thing. Or people are attacked for saying something that is obviously the truth. And to add insult to the situation this jerk gets off for having child porn. Talk about screwed up priorities. No wonder our societies are falling apart.

starkers
Reply #12 Sunday, October 8, 2006 7:26 AM
I dislike racial prejudice, but 3 years jail is overkill, particularly when he had child porn which should have attracted a much stiffer penalty. To have ignored the child porn while pursuing him for racial comments is totally arse-backwards and betrays the victims (and their families) of child exploitation/abuse.

Jafo
Reply #13 Sunday, October 8, 2006 7:39 AM

Granted, no one should be allowed to yell fire in a crowded theater, but that isn't what happened here.

Baker....it's called 'incitement'....and curiously, since the internet/emails come under the heading of 'Telecommunications' [phone lines] even swearing is an offence under the act...so next time you 'say' "fuck Bush" .....yer breaking a 'law'....

 

Needless to say no-one seems to care....


Fuzzy Logic
Reply #14 Sunday, October 8, 2006 7:48 AM
so next time you 'say' "fuck Bush" .....yer breaking a 'law'.


It's not that no-one cares, it's just impossible to arrest 46 billion people...

Fairyy~
Reply #15 Sunday, October 8, 2006 8:35 AM
Shows how back to front this country has gotten. He should have got ten years for the child porn and a telling off for his bad attitude. This is all the fault of the do-gooders and their obsession with political correctness.


Seems their priorities are up their tushes - Im not the type of person that would resort to racial slurs - I have found that idiocy doesn't descriminate. But the sentence is harsh for the crime - yet child porm makes me puke and he should rot.
.so next time you 'say' "fuck Bush" .....yer breaking a 'law'...


It's not that no-one cares, it's just impossible to arrest 46 billion people.


Poor Georgie Porgie - he gets no respect - good part is - noone cares.

whiterabbit007
Reply #16 Wednesday, October 11, 2006 10:07 AM
So the new definition of freedom of speech is "you can say whatever you want as long as the goverment thinks it's fine"... yeah... I'm not the paranoid type but certain trends are taking place in US and UK that if are not stopped we are seriously looking at a "big brother" situtation.

WebGizmos
Reply #17 Wednesday, October 11, 2006 1:26 PM
Be careful what you say WhiteRabbit...someone might brand you with a tinfoil hat!   

MasonM
Reply #18 Wednesday, October 11, 2006 1:33 PM
Reply #16
So the new definition of freedom of speech is "you can say whatever you want as long as the goverment thinks it's fine"... yeah... I'm not the paranoid type but certain trends are taking place in US and UK that if are not stopped we are seriously looking at a "big brother" situtation.


Sadly it isn't just those two. I've read of fairly recent cases where ministers in Canada have been charged for hate speech crimes for preaching that homosexuality is wrong.

A person has the right to say whatever they damn well please regardless of how stupid it may be.

yossell
Reply #19 Thursday, October 19, 2006 5:19 AM
Interesting.
Interesting to find so much anger directed towards 'do gooders' (yeah - damned do gooders; if people just stopped trying to do good, it'd be a much better world) and nasty nasty liberals. Interesting how a racist is dismissed as merely 'stupid', 'ignorant', his comments mere 'idiocy'. Interesting to find nobody complaining about the freedoms lost under the prevention of terrorism act 2006, you know - the one that criminalises individuals and organisations that glorify violent acts, including, well, saying certain things about them.

Please login to comment and/or vote for this skin.

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:

  • Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums and downloading skins.
  • Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
  • Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
  • It's simple, and FREE!
Login

Home | About | Privacy | Upload Guidelines | Terms of Service | Help
Copyright © Stardock Corporation. All Rights Reserved.


web-wc01