…and if they are texting while driving the bomb into the building maybe we can give them another ten….ooo, ooo, can we get them on tax evasion too?
Despite some concern, I doubt that a map site would be charged for providing access to publicly available information. I haven’t read the legislation though, but it would seem to open the field for extending sentences on a number of other technical “accessories” that could become a civil liberties issue. Could a defendant get additional time for using a phone to see if the person is home? Or for reading their twitter/foursquare feed?
(via Tom Lowenhaupt)
From Louisiana USA –
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/05/house_oks_bill_to_strengthen_p.html
House OKs bill to strengthen penalties for ‘virtual map’ crimes
By Ed Anderson, The Times-Picayune
May 25, 2010, 7:30AM
A Senate bill to toughen penalties for crimes committed with the aid of Internet-generated “virtual maps,” including acts of terrorism, won quick approval Monday in the House.
By an vote of 89-0, lawmakers approved Senate Bill 151 by Sen. Robert Adley, R-Benton, sending the measure back to the Senate for approval of clarifying amendments made by a House committee.
Adley’s bill defines a “virtual street-level map” as one that is available on the Internet and can generate the location or picture of a home or building by entering the address of the structure or an individual’s name on a website.
Rep. Henry Burns, R-Haughton, who handled Adley’s bill on the House floor, said that if the map is used in an act of terrorism, the legislation requires a judge to impose an additional minimum sentence of at least 10 years onto the terrorist act.