X-Message-Number: 16279
Date: Mon, 14 May 2001 17:28:13 +0200 (MET DST)
From: Eugene Leitl <>
Subject: FC: Scientology critic Henson will be sentenced on Wednesday (fwd)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 14 May 2001 10:00:34 -0400
From: Declan McCullagh <>
To: 
Cc: 
Subject: FC: Scientology critic Henson will be sentenced on Wednesday

*********
Background: http://www.politechbot.com/cgi-bin/politech.cgi?name=henson
*********

From: 
Date: 14 May 2001 12:26:22 -0000
To: 
Subject: Keith Henson case sentencing Wednesday May 16

Keith Henson is being sentenced on his 422.6 conviction on
Wednesday.  He has spoken with a probation officer with some
knowledge of the case, who has told him the political pressure
placed on the judge will result in the maximum sentence, a year
in prison.

Incidentally, the posts being used in deciding his conviction
weren't even written by Henson, but by someone else.

Here we have a conviction of "hate crimes" without hate, or a crime.

Now if this stands in California, anyone who posts articles to Usenet
that someone claims, no matter how unreasonably, somehow scares
them, can apparently get a conviction and put someone away based
on nothing more substantial than dislike.

In this particular case, it appears to be, piss off the Scientologists,
go to jail, and it doesn't even apparently matter whether you wrote
the posts in question or not.

In any case there will probably be very bad news in this case on
Wednesday.


Henson's contact info
[home phone number deleted --DBM]
Email: 

Rob Clark




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