Father of teen jailed for Facebook terroristic threat talks to CNN

Justin Carter, the 19-year old teen charged with terroristic threat on Facebook, is on suicide watch after being jailed since February 14th. His father, Jack Carter, joined New Day to defend his son against the charges, while acknowledging that he understood why law enforcement had to investigate. Justin posted violent messages on Facebook, which his family described as sarcastic.

CNN Anchor Kate Bolduan pointed out that after every school shooting, people say that someone must have known something before the tragedy happened and asked Jack if this line of thinking applied to his son. “I definitely see the need to investigate such claims, absolutely,” Jack Carter said. “But, at some point during the investigation, there has to be some common sense.”

Later in the interview, he added, “He’s a good kid. He didn’t mean it. It was a joke. And he would never hurt anyone. He’s got younger siblings. And he’s good with children.”

The Carter family secured a law firm that will be working for Justin pro bono, and an online petition seeking his release has received over 33,000 signatures and counting.

As a criminal defense attorney in Ohio, I see evidence being used against clients that come from posts they have made on social media platforms.  You read about it all the time – an accused person tweets about killing someone, then does it days later. The guy who posted his murdered wife on facebook and the college boys who sexually assaulted girls then posted the video on youtube.  It goes on and on. All of this can be argued to be used as evidence in court. There are people, like Justin Carter, who post something controversial, not meaning anything, and end up in jail. A message that went horribly wrong.

There are several problems with using “posts” in court.  There needs to be proof that it was indeed the accused that made the posts because everyone knows that if you leave your iPhone, Blackberry or any other smartphone on, the apps to the social media platforms are automatically signed in and anyone can pick up your phone and post “for you”.

The Bottom Line:  Not only kids are impulsive when it comes to social media.  Adults type before thinking all the time. If you find yourself in a situation like this, it is critical that you get in touch with a good criminal defense attorney in Ohio to help you. Posts made by you may be innocent as well as posts others have made for you or about you.  Put my number in your mobile, I can be reached at any time:  513-260-2099