Is it really necessary to jail someone for it? I'd have thought a stern word from the police would be sufficient. As mentioned you can avoid jail for fighting on a Friday night, or putting people's lives at risk by driving dangerously.

Seems extreme to me.

It is completely extreme.



He should have got legal aid, gone not guilty, and done a human rights special on freedom of expression. All the way to the Supreme Court. At public expense, of course.

Paul Wood ?

Poor taste? Yes!



Worthy of a prison term? No!

So if he'd stood up in public and aired those views, would that have been acceptable to you?



I agree entirely with your sentiment though - have the courage of your convictions, no matter how distasteful they may be.

The sentence might be fine. It would all depend on what he tweeted. I don't know what he tweeted.



One thing I do hate is how far we have slid down the slippery slope of people feeling able to express the vilest language and abuse, largely because of a combination of one or more of the following:

a) increasingly, nothing will happen ("I can say what I like, you can't do fsck all about it you fscking " etc

b) total lack of discipline and morals when being brought up, leading to a total lack of basic respect for your fellow man

c) I know my rights



Obviously, the state society has degenerated to, you can't lock up everyone who descends to the vilest language and abuse, but still, on the rare occasions when some arrogant self-centred oaf gets his come-uppance, even if only a modest one, I find it hard to feel in any way sorry.



I also find it mildly amusing that some profess to think that tweeting is just like a private conversation with your mates. The whole point of the offence (which he admitted) was that it is sending a "grossly offensive public electronic communication". Only morons think Twitter is in any way "private".

Twitter is not private. You're right. But it is not, and never will resemble a sophisticated communique that elicits care and forethought when in use. It is a medium incapable of dealing with anything serious. Therefore I think when someone is using twitter - the consequences dished out to offensive remarks are disproportionate to remarks said in more conventional environments. Internet communication with its immediacy and with the shroud of anonymity (whether it be of yourself, or from authorities) - very often makes one say what one wouldn't necessarily say otherwise. Therefore there is a discrepancy between what effectively is "typing stuff on the internet" and abuse outside, threats and/or harassment.



But then Frankie Boyle makes jokes about Madeleine McCann - and I'm struggling to spot the difference. (neither being funny, of course)

Do we have the prison capacity to lock up all the people that are trolls on the internet?



If not, what are the government's plans to increase prison capacity?

A locked room somewhere is probably the best place for someone as thick as that.

Where do we make our complaints about how offensive all the grief tourists wallowing in someone elses misery are?

What ever happened to sticks and stones?



Seriously, 12 weeks in prison for a vile comment?



We have repeat burglers constantly avoiding prisoner, child molesters getting conditional discharges and we put someone in prison for being a tasteless, uncaring moron?

I still don't know what he tweeted, but from the very limited reports, it wasn't one tweet, he was at it over two days.