First they will remove our right to self expression until it is gone completely. Then freedom of speech, and every other right we have- or do we have? Maybe we never had any of these rights, only the illusion.
All I know is the below letter from the mother of 19 year old Justin Carter is heartbreaking. But more than that, it is a MASSIVE RED FLAG being waved in our face. Little by little they will try to steal away the rights we think we have and make it legal in their text that everything we do is illegal, and this will be the norm. We must take action against this and so many other atrocities before it is even more difficult to obtain our basic rights. Below is the letter, and a link to the petition. Please if nothing else, spread the word.
Some people tend to think if something doesn’t impact them they will ignore it and it will go away. I don’t see this as something that will ever go away unless we make it. Think about it… How often do you jokingly say things you don’t mean? If you don’t I’m pretty sure you know someone who does. And you can’t say you do not know anyone who jokes around like that because I, too, sometimes say things I’d never even dream of doing, out of sheer sarcasm.
What if this was you writing this about your loved one whom you know would harm no one, whom you know, like yourself, uses sarcasm to joke around. What if it was you in prison facing felony charges, barely 19 years old?
My son, Justin Carter, was arrested on February 14, 2013 (yes, Valentine’s Day) because of a sarcastic comment he posted on Facebook about a computer game which was then taken out of context by a complete stranger! Please sign my petition to help release my son, Justin.
My son has been in jail for months because we can’t afford to pay the half million dollar bail money. It took a month before he was even questioned and he spent his 19th birthday behind bars. To this day, Justin has not had a trial. No weapons were found during a search of his apartment, and so we’re really confused and heartbroken that our family is being violated like this.
While stuck in jail, Justin has been assaulted a number of times. He has been locked in solitary confinement for weeks. I urgently need your help.
Justin’s a good kid. He wouldn’t hurt anyone, let alone a child. What I understand happened is that he was in an argument on the League of Legends website, which continued on a Facebook page, and someone on Facebook called him crazy and messed up in the head.
So he responded in a sarcastic tone by saying something along the lines of ‘Oh yeah, I’m real messed up in the head, I’m going to go shoot up a school full of kids and eat their still, beating hearts’.
His response may have been in bad taste, but it was written in a non-threatening way that didn’t translate well online. None of his friends or family would even question his intention as anything other than a poor choice of words. Things got out of control, but my son is not a felon and terrorist as he’s currently being charged!
The authorities’ over-reaction is ruining Justin’s life. And it’s setting a dangerous example trying to punish kids who often say strange things that I believe are protected under freedom of speech. The justice system’s abuse of Justin is wasting time and money that could otherwise be spent to help people who honestly need it!
I hope you will sign this petition. I’d like Justin to be released. And I would like a more reasonable law to be put in place so this doesn’t happen to anyone else again.
July 11 update: We still need your help. Thanks to an anonymous donor, Justin is now out on bail. I’m happy to have him out right now, but my son is still facing a felony terrorism charge and years in prison if found guilty. I have said all along that his Facebook joke was made in poor taste and understand why it raised some concern, but Justin has no prior record and he was clearly not actually threatening anyone. Please sign and share to continue supporting Justin’s campaign. We need to make sure he’s not labeled as a terrorist simply for making a Facebook comment. Thank you.
To sign the petition, please click HERE.
Truth- A Right to Fight For... 