Prosecutors in the United Kingdom are seeking to clamp down on racist tweets aimed at celebrities and high-profile soccer players, with one student facing jail after posting a string of racist messages about a seriously injured athlete.
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When Bolton player Fabrice Muamba collapsed during a game and his heart stopped for more than an hour, 21-year-old soccer fan Liam Stacey started tweeting. He began with "LOL F—- Muamba he's dead!!! #Haha" and followed that with comments that got even worse and suggested that his negativity toward the player was tied up with plenty of racism. You can read them here.
The judge who sentenced him to 56 days in jail for a "racially aggravated public order offense" called the comments "vile and abhorrent," and the prosecutor said that the sentence should serve as a cautionary tale. "Racist language is inappropriate in any setting and through any media," he said. "We hope this case will serve as a warning to anyone who may think that comments made online are somehow beyond the law."
Read more at Deadspin.
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