[WikiEN-l] Re: bombmaking information

Fri Aug 6 09:51:05 UTC 2004

Pity we don't have a [[Sherman Austin]], I think he's due to get out of 
prison on the 1st of September. From what I've read he was likely 
coerced into pleading guilty.

Christiaan

On 5 Aug 2004, at 5:46 pm, Jimmy (Jimbo) Wales wrote:

> There is the case of Sherman Austin, who was convicted in the U.S. for
> posting bombmaking information on the web.  The law in question is not
> some post-9/11 Republican thing, it's a 1997 law championed by Dianne
> Feinstein (D-Calif) and signed into law by then-President Bill
> Clinton.
>
> Mr. Austin pled guilty rather than fighting it, which may or may not
> have been a sensible thing to do under the circumstances.  (I tend to
> think that it was not a sensible thing to do, but I'm not in a
> position to judge.)
>
> It is unclear to me whether such a law would be upheld as being
> constitutional, because the law requires an element of criminal
> intent, that is, it is illegal to post information about bombmaking to
> the Internet _with the intent that readers commit a Federal crime of
> violence_.  In a recent case, the Supreme Court upheld a law against
> burning a cross _with the intent to intimidate_.
>
> In any event, such a law would clearly not apply to Wikipedia, because
> our intent would never be that people commit crimes of violence.  At
> the same time, of course, I would find it extremely unpleasant to be
> faced with a bogus prosecution for such a thing.  I have a little girl
> at home, and I don't intend _at this point in my life_ to sit in
> Federal prison to make a point about freedom of speech.  (I very much
> respect people who would, though, if their life circumstances are
> appropriate.)
>
> --Jimbo