Should making a joke, no matter how offensive result in you being jailed?

Matthew Woods has been jailed for 3 months for making jokes about April Jones and Maddie McCann. Is this fair? Should making a joke about something mean you get jailed? If so then I should have been locked up, so should the full ponty (more often than kipper jackson) and many others on here.

My second question is how can the courts justify jailing someone for making a joke about Maddie McCann while Frankie Boyle has made money from doing just that and is still a free man. I've seen and heard him make jokes about Maddie but that's allowed. A nobody does it and he gets 3 months inside.

 

Correct.

 

what has he been found guilty of exactly?

 

Don't know abput the details of this case but this is the way things are at present. It's a warped justice system whereby sentences seem to be handed out more on what is percieved to be the level of offence caused rather than damage. This is a system that jails an idiot who drunkenly tweets about Muamba, then apologises straight away, but allows a gang of girls who viscously beat up a woman walking home in a racially motivated attack to go free. It's pathetic. But nowadays offending someone seems to be more of a crime than physically hurting them.

 

pussy riot

 

His charge is, I believe "Sending by means of a public electronic communications network a message or other matter that is grossly offensive"

In other words, the following is technically illegal and could get me sent down which is ludicrous really.

How do you circumcise a deedar? Kick his sister under the chin.

 

i say jail the Mcanns for child neglect.

hth

 

I agree fully.

Break into someone's car... a fine at most... but DON'T offend the 'chattering classes'

 

I have to say that I think they have suffered enough personally... but I wonder how rough a ride they would have got if they'd been a 'chavvie' couple on benefits from say moss side.

 

that law is so ludicrous and open to interpretation that it could have been written by the Russian government. They have loads of laws that state stuff like that. "Grossly offensive" is usually a euphemism for "critical of the orthodox church or the government"

 

I think I need to lay down because I fully agree with a ST post. I heard on the news about the lad being sent down and I was shocked, maybe I just don't have the imagination but I can't think of anything so offensive that you could write about the two child abductions that would necessitate a 12 week prison sentence. It's on a par with the sentences dished out during the riots of last summer.

 

Look how quickly they've locked him up as well, definitely being made an example of, good job I don't use Facebook or Twitter and never will unless free speech is re-introduced.

 

this is only the start of it once they've removed the pesky human rights laws anyone who can't afford a top lawyer will be toast for the slightest comment.
i'm grown up enough to realise that the comments that were made were not only immoral and disgusting but also from a very sad person but apparently a judge has decided that he should jail him on my behalf but let physically violent offenders off with minor non custodial penalties. but what did we expect from a ruling contingent that had their dirty fingers in the pie and just let a relatively few of their clan take the rap. our fault i expect, as we continually allow the media to dictate our feelings

 

Dave, if it had been you and your good lady wife you would have been pilloried

They are doctors do therefore almost beyond reproach

Notwithstanding the above what happened to the lass was tragic.

 

You sure it was just tasteless jokes? It sound like that's where he started and then he moved on to real malicious and vindictive stuff that were not even intended as jokes. I don't know what he wrote but from the articles I have read it sounds like it wasn't just jokes. Don't know if we can really judge if we don't know what was said.

 

suppose thats what they also think when they make comments about islam and we judge that they shouldn't be offended.

 

Jail thereev. Go straight to jail, do not pass go and do not collect £200.

 

i'm guessing this is something to do with twiter/facebook, anyone who uses them silly things deserve to be locked up. woman can never take anything like this with a smile and a pinch of salt, so anyone posting things like this are asking for trouble. and know they're about to outrage some silly tart somewhere, so its their own fault.

 

That's what he gets for trying to be funny and controversial, should keep it private instead of putting it for the whole world to see.

 

The reports I read have said it was jokes and tasteless sexually explicit comments. I fully agree with your last sentence about this case, but I still think you shouldn't be sent to prison for posting jokes on a facebook page. Inciting hate crimes on a facebook page for example is a different matter and a different thread.