Paul Chambers

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Charge:	Menacing Electronic Message
Sentence:	Fined £385 and costs of £600
Years Imprisoned:
Year Crime:	2010
Year Convicted:	2010
Year Cleared:	2012
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	United Kingdom
County or Region of Crime:	England
City of Crime:	Doncaster
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Paul Chambers was wrongly convicted in May 2010 of using Twitter to send a "public electronic message" that was of a "menacing character contrary to the Communications Act" in May 2010. Chambers had 600 Twitter followers, and in January 2010 he tweeted, "Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed. You've got a week and a bit to get your shit together otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!!" Chambers was charged by teh Uk's Crown Prosecution Service even though airport staff and local police decided the threat wasn't serious, Chambers defense was that his tweet was a joke. Chambers was found guilty after a bench trial in the Doncaster Magistrates Court and given a sentence of a £385 fine and ordered to pay costs of £600. Chambers first appeal was denied in November 2010 by the crown court which found his tweet was "clearly menacing" and raised sufficient concern among airport staff to report it. Chambers appealed that ruling and on July 27, 2012 the High Court in London quashed his conviction on the basis that while the joke may have been in "bad taste," it didn't justify a criminal conviction. The ruling stated that, "It is difficult to see how it can sensibly be described as a message of menacing character." If the people that read the message "would brush it aside as a silly joke, or a joke in bad taste, or empty bombastic or ridiculous banter then it would be a contradiction in terms to describe it as a message of a menacing character.""
Conviction Caused By:	The trial judge erroneously found that Chamber's tweet was menacing.
Innocence Proved By:	"On July 27, 2012 the High Court in London quashed Chamber's conviction on the basis that while the joke may have been in "bad taste," it didn't justify a criminal conviction."
Defendant Aided By:
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Was Perpetrator Identified?
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Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Joke twitter conviction overturned, By Esther Han (Reporter), The Sydney Morning Herald, July 27, 2012"
Information Location 1:	http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/joke-twitter-conviction-overturned-20120727-2301h.html
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Paul Chambers

Charge:

Menacing Electronic Message

Sentence:

Fined £385 and costs of £600

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

2010

Year Convicted:

2010

Year Cleared:

2012

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

United Kingdom

County or Region of Crime:

England

City of Crime:

Doncaster

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

The trial judge erroneously found that Chamber's tweet was menacing.

Innocence Proved By:

"On July 27, 2012 the High Court in London quashed Chamber's conviction on the basis that while the joke may have been in "bad taste," it didn't justify a criminal conviction."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Joke twitter conviction overturned, By Esther Han (Reporter), The Sydney Morning Herald, July 27, 2012"

Information Location 1:

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/joke-twitter-conviction-overturned-20120727-2301h.html

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