"My story is based on fiction," said Poole, who faces a second-degree felony terrorist threatening charge. "It's a fake story. I made it up. I've been working on one of my short stories, (and) the short story they found was about zombies. Yes, it did say a high school. It was about a high school over ran by zombies."Gee, detective, I possess all kinds of matter pertaining to schools and their functions, and I even recommend that people ignore the damn law and carry weapons on campuses when their mature judgment as responsible and sovereign citizens tells them doing so would be prudent. Anybody wants to make a felony rap out of that, let's dance.
Even so, police say the nature of the story makes it a felony. "Anytime you make any threat or possess matter involving a school or function it's a felony in the state of Kentucky," said Winchester Police detective Steven Caudill.
Here's the thing--I simply don't know enough about this story to judge the merits of whether or not young Poole posed a credible threat. Grandparents calling the cops suggests they were at the end of their tether, but who knows those family dynamics? And who knows if he singled out individuals by name and outlined specific intent?
What should concern us all is the level of evidence--as presented in this news account--arising to the level of a felony prosecution. If they have the kid on a genuine threat against real people, that's one thing. But we need to make sure we're not so paranoid that we overreact and infringe on genuine freedom. And it's up to us to keep tabs on those who might do so in our name.
[Via Cigar Rollers]