Escaped Convict Continues To Update Facebook

Craig "Lazie" Lynch has been on the run from a U.K. prison since September. However, he continues to taunt police by updating his Facebook status. Now he is threatening to quit. From the article: "It seems, though, that late Sunday, Lynch began experiencing a little emotional pain. In what must have been an almost teary update, he posted: 'right I'm coming off this page as I have better things to do.' Who might have imagined that, in his mysterious hideaway, Lynch had something better to do than continue his run as a Facebook attraction?"

Comments

Re:wired has really upped the ante

[LOLLinux]

i suggest wired take it to even the next level, and just go and challenge us to find osama bin laden

not a bad idea, since the combined might of the world's governments can't seem to do the job of neutralizing that symbol

But capturing or killing him won't do anything. He'll just be a martyr and someone else will take his place.

Re:taunting?

[girlintraining]

You do know there are countries where you can run to that you cant be extradited from. Problem is 99.99785% of all criminals are too stupid to do that. Hell this specific dork cant stop posting on facebook.

*face palm* There's one of you in every discussion like this.

1. This guy did an armed robbery. Do you really think there's a lot of countries out there that are going to welcome that with open arms? Reason for citizenship application: "I luv my gun and robbin' shit." Request granted! He didn't do it for political reasons, or because he has dual nationality and the country he's fleeing to doesn't consider it a crime, etc.

He could flee to a relatively isolated area and probably rest easy knowing that the authorities have better things to worry about than him. But then, that's what bounty hunters are for -- these people can take the risks required to grab him and get him to the border because they're not agents of the government paying them for the collar. You think those "$100,000 reward for capture" posters don't look appealing? A plane ticket, a little bit of research, and a criminal's ego is all it takes to bring home the bacon.

Re:Slow news day is every day at Slashdot

[Renraku]

Truth.

As soon as you get an official paycheck (if you even make it through the hiring process because damn near everyone does background checks), they'll know where you are. As soon as you open any new accounts, they'll know where you are. As soon as you apply for a loan or line of credit, they'll know where you are. Can you really survive with no available credit, no official job (or at least, a really low-paying job), and no way to get utilities/services?

Sure, you could live in a tent in the woods, shower in gas stations, etc, but all of that is a pain in the ass. People will realize that it's easier just to leave the country or return to prison and serve out their time. A few years in jail is much better than being imprisoned by exclusion from the rest of society and most of its benefits.

Re:taunting?

[PRMan]

A low-security US prison may be preferable to most of those locations...

Re:he's a symbol

[Obfuscant]

...but he would probably kill himself if he saw his capture as imminent, well knowing himself that his status as a martyr is preferable

Preferable to whom? If "martyr" was his preferred status, HE'D be the one with a bomb tied to himself. People who want to BE martyrs do it. People who talk a good martyr status send others out to die in their place.

the point is, you shouldn't just kill the man. you should kill his name. and you can only do this with a trial.

Yeah, Charlie Manson's name is so dead. Jefferey Dahmer, too. No, the real way to "kill his name" is to find him the same way Hussein was found: hiding in a little hole in the ground. Which is how he'll probably be found.

that's way more important than killing the man: killing his ideology

The concept that "freedom of the press" will allow wide dissemination and discrediting of nutballs requires a press that is free enough to report what the nutball said and unbiased enough to report it in nutball context. While our press may meet those requirements, it is unlikely that the press in many other countries do, and highly unlikely that the people who are the prime candidates for recruitment into extremist groups will be served by a free press.

One problem with this though...

[theshowmecanuck]

This guy is ENGLISH! Come on man, "UK". That means United Kingdom. He escaped from a prison NE of London. England. What has extradition to the United States have to do with anything? Anyway, most of the places in your list look worse than being in a British prison.

Re:wired has really upped the ante

[Zero__Kelvin]

I would think you would be encouraging people to help find your MISSING SHIFT KEY!

Re:taunting?

[jollyreaper]

You do know there are countries where you can run to that you cant be extradited from. Problem is 99.99785% of all criminals are too stupid to do that. Hell this specific dork cant stop posting on facebook.

Armed robbery indicates we're not dealing with a brain trust in the first place. Any smart criminal knows you steal more with a pen an briefcase than any gun. And if you're really good your thieving is all legal. Guns are for idiots.