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A Year In Prison For a 20-Second Film Clip?
PizzaFace writes "It's Jhannet's 19th birthday, so her boyfriend borrows a camcorder to memorialize the occasion, and they head to the mall. They goof around, recording each other in the food court, then decide to catch the Transformers matinee, which started a few minutes earlier. During a big action scene, Jhannet takes the camcorder and records a 20-second clip to show her little brother. A few minutes later, cops who were called by the manager come in with flashlights, arrest Jhannet, confiscate the camcorder, and, at the behest of Regal Cinemas, charge her with film piracy. 'I was terrified,' said Jhannet. 'I was crying. I've never been in trouble before.' If convicted, she could be sentenced to a year in prison and a $2,500 fine. The police say they lack discretion because Regal Cinemas chose to prosecute: 'They were the victim in this case, and they felt strongly enough about it.' The National Association of Theater Owners supports Regal's 'zero-tolerance' prosecution standard: 'We cannot educate theater managers to be judges and juries in what is acceptable. Theater managers cannot distinguish between good and bad stealing.'"
Look at the story-twisting here. The title is "A Year In Prison For a 20-Second Film Clip?" The text, however, reads: "If convicted, she could be sentenced to a year in prison and a $2,500 fine."
Emphasys mine, of course. The law provides for up to a year here, it seems, and she is rather unlikely to get any of that, if the write-up tells the truth...
KDawson's attempts to spread the DailyKos fearmongering to /. really ought to end. I can almost see a line running through his screen: "BushNazi alert: ELEVATED".
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
Are you seriously and with all honesty equating what you did to what I suggested? How old are you? 5? You realize of course that there's a difference between not lying and letting every bit of drivel that your mind can imagine come out of your mouth right?