Man jailed over lyrics in a song

From a different website--

The ACLU is considering the case of a Lakeland, Florida man, who has been sentenced to two years in prison over lyrics in a rap song.

Link----
www.allhiphop.com...


Now while this man might not be of the utmost moral fiber, he still shouldn't be locked up for something he said(2 years for just saying something?). Locking people up for saying something is quite orwellian(also look at the charge"Corruption by threat of a public servant"...What the...). I feel people have the right to say anything they want until they begin to act out upon the things they say.This is a little outrageous to me. Anyway...

What do you think?

I think it's been established that you can say whatever you want, as long as it isn't threatening the life of someone esle. They don't really tell us what the lyrics were.

Does seem like a bit of a stretch though, unless he specifically mentioned an individual and what he intended to do.

I don't see how a general statement, like 'down with the fascists' could be construed as a direct threat against anyone. Any idea what the lyrics were?

You cannot say your going to kill a specific person in a song, that i believe is conspiracy to commit murder.

reply to post by KSPigpen


It says in the article that he targetted two officers, one which was killed in 2005

Originally posted by KSPigpen
I think it's been established that you can say whatever you want, as long as it isn't threatening the life of someone esle.

Then shouldn't Michael Reagan (Ronald's son) be in jail for what he said about 9/11 truthers?

Michael Reagan on his Tuesday June 10th show, during the 2nd hour, called for the murder of political activist Mark Dice and wants to pay for the bullets. Said all people who believe 9/11 attacks were aided by elements within U.S. government should be killed also.

www.banderasnews.com...

But, I guess if you're the son of an x-president, you can say what you want and nothing happens to you, but if you're a black man, god forbid you speak your mind.

yup. He should probably be in jail too. Do you really think it's a race issue?


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

another excellent job by police. lock him up for 10 as far as i'm concerned. he's on probation for some coc aine charge and he goes around writing songs about killing cops. lock him up hard and fast.

smart judge, smart cops. good job all around.

Originally posted by Moodle
another excellent job by police. lock him up for 10 as far as i'm concerned. he's on probation for some coc aine charge and he goes around writing songs about killing cops. lock him up hard and fast.

smart judge, smart cops. good job all around.

LOL! Maybe in this case, but it is a mighty slippery slope!

If its ok for this guy, and another couple here and there, then pretty soon it is ok to lock up any of us for what we say on ATS. This is a public forum, so if we mention a politician by name and call for his head (metaphorically) it may lose its metaphoric meaning and become a crime!!

some people should be locked up for what they say on ats. you have never actually had "freedom of speech". take a government class and you'll know that. the cops are not retards you know, they have brains to distinguish between a conversion on an internet board and a convicted coc aine (probably crack) dealer publicly wearing cop killing as a badge of honor.

if an iraqi (the new bad guys i guess) came to your hometown and opened up a jihad record label that threatened to kill YOU, how would you feel?

[edit on 31-7-2009 by Moodle]

reply to post by Nutter


Reagan absolutely should be in jail. I don't think it has anything to do with him being a President's son, he probably just called for the "right people" to be killed.

I agree, although the guy sounds pretty low rent and is anything but a pillar of his community, that doesn't mean that his First Amendment Rights should be trampled on.

Just because he is serving time in Prison for Felony charges doesn't mean he isn't entitled to his First Amendment Rights. It's bad enough that he has to forfeit his Second Amendment Rights (and his 14th Amendment Rights in 13 States).

Lyrics in a song do not denote Conspiracy to Commit Murder. His lyrics may be in bad taste but they aren't any more unusual than just about any other Rap Lyrics.

I would hate to think that this is racially motivated or profiling, however it is hard to consider otherwise.

There are times I disagree with the ACLU, but at times like this I'm glad we have them. We cannot allow this to become a precedent as to allow one American lose his First Amendment Rights would open the door to all of us losing our First Amendment Rights. Antavio “T.O.” Johnson might not be the kind of homey I'd like to be hangin' out wid in my crib, but I'll fight for his rights any day.

reply to post by Moodle

the cops are not retards you know, they have brains to distinguish between a conversion on an internet board and a convicted coc aine (probably crack) dealer publicly wearing cop killing as a badge of honor.

I wish you were right about that, but alas, read any news outlet and you will see that the cops cannot tell the difference between a grandma hurrying home to make supper and a crackhead mugging people. They tazer each of them equally!

How about a pregnant mother at her child's baptism party? Nope still tazered!

When they do rightfully see an angry man jimmying a lock while his partner keeps look out, and the neighbors call the police, they get ridiculed by their president for making "bad decisions" and being racist!!

No wonder they can't tell the difference! I really don't want to really on their mood of the day for my life or death!

reply to post by fraterormus


he can have all the rights he wants from jail. you would change your tune in a heartbeat if someone was threatening you on a record.

i'm gonna get joe smith gonna pop his brains
goin to 1500 south st and gonna run a train

but somehow it's ok to threaten cops right? would it be ok to go to a cop's face and tell him your'e going to kill him?

ignorant bleeding heart half hippie wanna bes. i hope the NWO rules over you for the next 1000 generations.

reply to post by fraterormus

Lyrics in a song do not denote Conspiracy to Commit Murder. His lyrics may be in bad taste but they aren't any more unusual than just about any other Rap Lyrics.

Exactly. In reality those lyrics are more important than a lot of the drivle on the MSM.

Look at the effect NWA, Ice T, Ice Cube, Dre, Tupac, and Biggie had!! They were inciting "Cop Killas" and for good reason!! They drew the ire of the president's wife, and caused all kinds of new legislation, until the news shows finally got involved and proved there was truly a 20 minute difference in 911 response from one neighborhood to the next!!

Instead of discounting someones message because of the way it is delivered, maybe we should delve a little deeper and see why the message was delivered at all! Maybe this guy has a legitimate beef with the police. It is not that hard to plant a crack rock or a 'throw away' gun on a perp!

The other side of this is that the guy was on probation for coc aine.

If he had n o record, I would be outraged.

When you do something dumb and land on probation, you probably ought to be a bit smarter than saying you are going to kill a cop, at least until your probation is over.

reply to post by getreadyalready


you'd be one of the first people crying for your rights if all teh cops took a 2 week vacation.

even with some dumb cops out there your logic still doesn't make any sense and just shows your softheartedness for crack dealers. (wonder why you feel that way)

some cops doing stupid things does not make selling crack and threatening the lives of cops ok. you people sound like a bunch of 19 year old girls that just joined greenpeace or something. grow some spine and grow up.

reply to post by getreadyalready


why don't YOU delve a little deeper and find out why the message was sent. why are yo upassing responsibility over to someone else? i'll tell you why, cause you don't care any more than anyone else does and you're just taking a stance for whatever crazy reason is in your brain.

If they start jailing rappers who write about killing somebody in a song, then you are going to have a LOT of people going to jail.

Slippery slope. While I dispise rap music and the "ganster" culture, I do not think somebody should be jailed for a SONG.

Originally posted by Moodle
reply to post by getreadyalready

 

you'd be one of the first people crying for your rights if all teh cops took a 2 week vacation.

even with some dumb cops out there your logic still doesn't make any sense and just shows your softheartedness for crack dealers. (wonder why you feel that way)

some cops doing stupid things does not make selling crack and threatening the lives of cops ok. you people sound like a bunch of 19 year old girls that just joined greenpeace or something. grow some spine and grow up.

I think you have it backwards. I have no need for cops whatsoever! I have some good friends in law enforcement (local and FBI), and I don't want them losing their jobs, but I will only call them after all the work is done and I need someone to come clean up the mess!

I don't make enemies as quickly as the police seem to, but hypothetically if some idiot wanted to target me, I would welcome it. That is one less idiot on the street!

If the police wanted to end the violence they could. This one guy rapping is not their enemy. The dozens of gangs that they allow to operate unchecked are the enemy. All the abusers with restraining orders are the violent enemies. The police pick and choice their victims by order of convenience. They are not interested in ending crime or protecting their communities. That is up to us as individuals. Therefore, I don't feel the least bit threatened by this rapper, when he starts calling for the heads of rednecks, then I will address it the way we do.

Let's hope he gets a nice big settlement. Those people who even prosecute such 'offenses' should be fired.