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'Spam King' Released From Prison, Now Lives In Seattle
dmmiller2k writes "Apparently, after 'nearly four years in prison, the man dubbed the 'Spam King' by federal prosecutors, is allowed back online.' I wonder if there's some variation of Megan's Law requiring him to register with the local police department and notify all his neighbors with computers?" I sure hope any potential employers google "Robert Soloway" and find "Spam king" high on the results list.
via email no doubt
Not that I have much sympathy for the man, but he did serve his sentence, sending spam isn't a sex offense, and denying someone internet access is a pretty harsh punishment these days. How about giving him a second chance?
"Money is a sign of poverty." - Iain Banks
> I sure hope any potential employers google "Robert Soloway" and find "Spam king" high on the results list.
Why? What will this guy do when he can't find a job and needs money? This stupid sentiment that criminals should suffer forever is actually creating crime...
FTFA:
Oh how I would torture them...
__ Someday, but not this morning, I'll finally learn to use the preview button.
In general, the libertarian-leaning Slashdot population is quick to criticize the Megan's laws. But now that it is about something important... SPAM! ... well, those principles all go out the window, huh?
Those laws:
- Do not work.
- Are likely unconstitutional.
- If the likelihood of recidivism is that high, the person should not be released anyway.
You didn't read the summary did you?
"I sure hope any potential employers google "Robert Soloway" and find "Spam king" high on the results list."
Thats what a name change is for, and while I'm aware of putting other names in on applications, in many states theres a sunset on how far back they can look for name changes and for convictions.
Washington's law is 7 or 10 years I think.
I actually had a fight over a job in Washington 2 years ago. The form said "within last 7 years" and I'd had a conviction for a misdemeanor 16 years ago, so I didn't put anything in. I was offered the job, then the background check hit that and I had the offer pulled back. I was about to start fighting it, then I moved to Alaska for more money.
It seems as though there are quite a few people here who do not think the punishment decided on by our legal system is enough, and wish this "spam king" would have to keep paying, and paying, and paying for his crimes. Now, I do not hold absolute trust in our current legal system, but the alternative is mob rule and vigilante justice, which is a thing no sane citizen would wish for.
Personally, I think the punishment is sort of light. But that does not entitle me to take action against the man. The law of the land does not boil down to "What I, personally, think is fair." If I felt strongly enough that this punishment was too light, I would write to my representatives to advocate for tougher cyber-crime laws. I would not go to this criminal's new home town with a gun, as some are (jokingly? who knows in today's political climate.) advocating.
Nor do I wish that this man never finds employment again. That would mean that my tax dollars would go to support him. I'd rather he finds some useful work, due to my own self-interest, and my feeling that, once you have paid your dues to society, you deserve a second chance.
This is coming from my civilized side. My vindictive side thinks the man should die in a fire, but I am trying REALLY HARD not to give in to my vindictive side. If I did that, we'd have a lot of dead motorists here in New Mexico (land of the worst drivers in the world) and I would be in jail myself.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
With junk mail:
-- you pay for the paper
-- you pay for the printing
-- you pay for the fulfillment
-- you pay for the postage
You as the sender have a strong incentive to not be wasteful. That's not at all the same as spam.
The only way that could happen is if a bunch of people all put the words "Robert Soloway" and "Spam king" together on a major website that Google crawls.
Doesn't seem likely...
"Don't blame the log for the fire." --Andrew Ratshin
Cause someone sending out spams is equivalent to raping children.
(Actually, most people on the Megan's Law list are folks who got caught peeing behind a bar -- er, exposed themselves to children who live in ally ways.)
slashdot: where everyone yells sarcastic metaphors to themselves to understand the issue
Reading Slashdot for years, virus writers seem to be better thought of.
Protecting oneself from viruses is easy and has few side effects.
There's no protection against spam that doesn't also kill some of the utility of email. There was a time when one could put an email address everywhere and be contacted only by interesting people. I even had my email address published here in Slashdot.
Spammers killed all that. They are much worse than virus writers.
I'm a death penalty proponent and believe in harsh sentences for crimes like robbery, sexual assault and burglary, but I think the permanent punishment people experience well after they have been tried, convicted and served their time is a grave injustice and actually ends up producing more harm than it solves.
I think that it should be illegal to ask if you have been convicted of a crime in a job application or a job interview. Only under very specific circumstances should it be possible to deny someone employment or housing based upon a past conviction -- if you are still on parole for a crime of violence or if you are applying for employment in a field tied to your conviction within 2 years of the end of your sentence (ie, you did time for embezzlement and you want to be an accountant).
And even then they should be required to spell this out. Getting caught discriminating illegally should involve a fine payable to the discriminated employee equal to a minimum of 5 years salary PLUS their legal fees with a multiplier
We're "convicting" people of crimes, letting them off with no sentences because our jails are full and then punishing them FOREVER because they once had a conviction. And then we act surprised when they turn to drug dealing, robbery, burglary or other criminal enterprises because they can't get a job.
Consider how often you have been shot and consider how often you have been spammed and ponder the problem again.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.