Jail no place for prolific tweeter

[didymus]

Toronto Sun:

**Jail no place for prolific tweeter **

In the early morning hours of Nov. 21, 2012, Gregory Alan Elliott saw two members of the Toronto Police Service marching up his front walk. As any innocent father-of-four would, Elliott picked up his Twitter-equipped smart phone and called his eldest son to confirm that all of his kids were OK.

What Elliott didn’t know at that moment — what he could not have known — was that, within hours, he’d find himself locked in the bowels of the Old City Hall Courthouse accused of … tweeting. He did not expect to be handcuffed and hauled before the presiding justice of the peace and told by the prosecuting Crown attorney that she was applying to keep him in custody until the conclusion of his trial because he had … tweeted. Mr. Elliott did not envision that he would spend the next two nights sleeping on the urine-splashed floor of the notorious Don Jail and he did not anticipate that he would give up the next three years of his life, his reputation, his job as a graphic artist, and his life savings, for sending … tweets.

But that’s what happened. Thankfully — and justly — on Friday, Mr. Justice Brent Knazan acquitted Elliott on charges of criminally harassing Stephanie Guthrie and Heather Reilly on Twitter. In his reasons for judgment that beautifully combined philosophy, the law, hashtags and common sense, Knazan confirmed that Elliott never physically hurt, threatened, or sexually harassed the complainants. Knazan fairly concluded that the volume — and not the content — of Elliott’s political and self-defending tweets had the effect of troubling both complainants; he also found that — in Ms. Guthrie’s case — the sheer volume of tweets caused her to fear Mr. Elliott.
Importantly, however, the judge clearly ruled that any fear the complainants had of Elliott was unreasonable. This is the golden thread that will be woven through future social media prosecutions in Canada.

Good on Judge Knazan. Free speech in Canada is in sorry shape, maybe this ruling will help reverse that.

 

[OldArmyDog]

Toronto Sun:

Good on Judge Knazan. Free speech in Canada is in sorry shape, maybe this ruling will help reverse that.

I have read with absolute astonishment that both Canada and the birthplace of the Magna Carta have taken what appear to be steps backwards towards the type of thought control practiced by the old USSR and even Nazi Germany. I thought that the stories were misinformation, just propaganda from someone with an axe to grind against something.

However, now I am seeing a seeming avalanche of what would on the surface appear to be almost ridiculous judgments for things that could not possibly be considered injuries in an even semi-rational world.

I know the Scripture speaks of very rough times ahead that we will need all our Faith to weather; it is almost as if the very world is developing areas of darkness to prevent the light of the Way the Truth and the Life from gaining any entrance. Perhaps that might sound a bit dramatic but consider that a very short time ago, the “Caliphate” did not exist and anything Christian was not being destroyed, killed or driven underground or away.

My Faith is strong and getting stronger every hour of this new chance I’ve been given and I fear not so much for me but for my grandsons, that the world they will live in will be a shell of what was and only a distant memory of what could have been.

OAD

 

[Bonnie]

Knazan fairly concluded that the volume — and not the content — of Elliott’s political and self-defending tweets had the effect of troubling both complainants; he also found that — in Ms. Guthrie’s case — the sheer volume of tweets caused her to fear Mr. Elliott.

I think I need tweets explained to me - I’ve never read nor sent a tweet. I had thought that one had to go looking for tweets - they aren’t like phone calls. If I’m right, than how does one complain about the number of tweets that one has gone to the trouble of looking for? Why not just refuse to look for the tweets?

 

[anthonymarie]

I think I need tweets explained to me - I’ve never read nor sent a tweet. I had thought that one had to go looking for tweets - they aren’t like phone calls. If I’m right, than how does one complain about the number of tweets that one has gone to the trouble of looking for? Why not just refuse to look for the tweets?

Twitter is a mystery to me too. I’m not even that old - I just don’t get it. I preferred it when # was still an abbreviation for number

 

[Theo520]

I think I need tweets explained to me - I’ve never read nor sent a tweet. I had thought that one had to go looking for tweets - they aren’t like phone calls. If I’m right, than how does one complain about the number of tweets that one has gone to the trouble of looking for? Why not just refuse to look for the tweets?

Twitter is like an open email system. Any tweets tagged with your alias (@bonnie?) or anyone you are following will show up in your twitter feed automatically, like emails would in your inbox.

The guy was spamming them with tweets instead of emails.

 

[Bonnie]

Twitter is like an open email system. Any tweets tagged with your alias (@bonnie?) or anyone you are following will show up in your twitter feed automatically, like emails would in your inbox.

The guy was spamming them with tweets instead of emails.

OK - but then, can’t a tweeter’s tweets be blocked? Or is it really open & you can’t block people?