[WikiEN-l] Re: bombmaking information

Fri Aug 6 11:59:04 UTC 2004

I tell a lie, we so have a [[Sherman Austin]]
Christiaan

On 6 Aug 2004, at 10:51 am, Christiaan Briggs wrote:

> 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
>
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