i think i read that she is dutch........what would even posses you to do such a thing?

Well, she is Dutch.

she's 14, she was bored and has twitter. nuff said.

How do they know she's 14 and bored until they knock on her door?

cause only bored people do this crap

Or Dutch people...

Draug, I don't see a comedy cube next to your name.

I'm a triple secret probationary comedian.

No, you're not.

How would you know, bo_sux?

http://i.imgur.com/7pAE4cy.png

Yeah, I think arresting her was a bit much. But maybe not. I have no problem with her being made an example of so long as her punishment doesn't exceed a firm slap on the wrist. I'd say they could sentence her to prostitution for, saaaaay... 6-9 months?

You don't get it. The publicity from the arrest scares other bored idiots from doing the same stupid thing. In a couple of weeks or months they can drop or reduce charges when the story dies down.

Draconian punishments aren't justifiable as deterrent measures in a civilized society.

We can talk about whether or not this is draconian, but if it's acknowledged to be over the top then an intentionally overdone punishment to "scare" people should not ever be in the cards.

^Why not?

Deterrence punishment is effectively punishing someone now for someone else's actions later in the hopes that this someone else's future actions are curtailed. That's not justifiable at all if you believe that people should be punished for the crimes they actually commit.

Punishments that fit the crime are okay. Punishments that expressly go beyond fitting the crime committed to "make an example" of someone are gratuitous and unethical.

She's only been arrested and charged, not found guilty. And of she is found guilty, the punishment is fitting the crime. The fact that it also acts as a deterrent from others is just a side effect of the punishment fitting the crime. If it doesn't discourage repeat offenses and others who commit the same act, then it was too lenient.

What punishment befits being a dumb and inconsiderate teenager? I think her parents should make her apologize publicly and then not allow her on Twitter anymore.

She wasted police resources. Just as prank calling 911 slaps you with a fine and a violation (or maybe misdemeanor?) this should be the same.

And Draug, there have been dozens of people copycatting her.

Deterrence punishment is indeed not ethical, and I seriously doubt it's even effective. There is a reason that 'copycats' are a recurring phenomenon. Setting an unjust "example" may well inspire as much copycatting as it deters.
(I'd love to see research on this btw)

Knowing the Dutch law, I'm not surprised they take her into custody for research. After all, her boyfriend or even an unknown hacker may have had access to her twitter, or something. Worth checking out. But Id be very surprised if she is detained for more that 24 hours (after that, the DA needs to sign for 'reasonable suspicion', which I doubt they'll find).

She's from Rotterdam, they're all fake Dutch there.

##vote Sarah

I say we lynch her

So she's obviously wrong, but for the fun of it, I'll play Devil's Advocate. Here we go:

Freedom of speech!

Your turn, freedom-haters!

She doesn't deserve to have her life ruined over a tweet, but the older generation doesn't know that and they love to ruin our lives over a tweet, so she'll probably have no chance now, regardless of the punishment.

"Deterrence punishment is indeed not ethical, and I seriously doubt it's even effective." I agree with the first part but tell me how many people will commit petty crime in Singapore when they seen public canings in the town square.

Only the people who NEED to, and those will be the ones who are caned. Those who have a choice will escape punishment, you therefore punish the most desperate and hard-trodden members of society.

You are probably too young to remember the American kid they caned in Singapore for spray painting cars. It was a huge deal. He was not a desperate or hard-trodden [sic] person. He was a bored pre-Twitter teen.

yep, threatening other people should be taken seriously

This teen deserves a punishment, @steephie, freedom of speech extends to just about the point where it harms other people. You're not allowed shout fire in a crowded theatre (or gun in a crowded US theatre) unless there really is one.

Be careful, ora, or Draug and his Marine buddies will get you for that remark...

there have now been dozens of copy cat cases of people posting similar joke tweets

You're probably allowed to shout fire in the swimming pool though. That's more like what this 14yo girl did...