[deh]

WINCHESTER, Ky. — Police in Winchester, Ky., say Winston Poole would have been the nation's next school shooter, had they not intervened.

"All the bells and whistles went off on this case," said Steven Caudill, a detective with the Winchester Police Department. "Our No. 1 goal is crime prevention and law enforcement, not just here in our community. But the nation as a whole. All the warning signs were here in our community. We saw it. We acted on it."

Poole, 18, has been charged with terroristic threatening for allegedly trying to recruit fellow students he called "soldiers" to participate in a school shooting. His grandmother turned him in after finding his journal.

"He was talking about taking over the high school and when it was all done, that everybody would be laying" on the ground, said Poole's grandmother, Joyce Craft. "You have to stop and think that these things can happen. If somebody sees it coming, or has some suspicions, then they need to report it. I could not let this go by."

Police said Poole is a legitimate threat and they read excerpts from his journal to show just that at his preliminary court hearing.

"They yelled, 'kill them.' All the soldiers of Zone 2 started shooting. They are dropping all of them. Then after five minutes, all the people are laying on the ground, dead," Poole wrote in his journal.

Poole's lawyer said the journal was a school assignment, that Poole is passionate about horror films and that he was writing about zombies. But police said Poole didn't have a writing assignment for English class.

"The evidence has already shown publicly that this was far from any story," Caudill said. "All the evidence we seized in this case never indicated anything to indicate this was a story about zombies."

Supporters said it's not a crime to write about violence, as long as you don't act on it. A group of California First Amendment supporters — unwilling to be identified — freed Poole temporarily by paying his bond.

"It was just a fiction story and everybody is just blowing it out of proportion," said Poole's friend, Anthony Rudolph.

Poole's plight has become a cause celebre on the Internet for the First Amendment movement. A Google Web search for "William Poole Winchester" nets more than 160,000 results, including a "Free William Poole" petition that says famous authors would be locked away if writing about terrorism was a crime.

Poole has landed back in jail, where he's awaiting trial for showing up at an elementary school in violation of a school order. Police say the community is safer with Poole locked up. But the teen's supporters say it's dangerous to muzzle speech, regardless whether it's fact or fiction.

[Gibble]

After he's found innocent I'd be filing a lawsuit against the Police Department...

I can't believe a judge hasn't stepped in allready and dismissed this so the kid can get on with his life...

...even if he DOES go on to shoot up a school, it doesn't matter. You have to COMMIT A CRIME to go to jail. And writing about one isn't a crime.

[ChrisJones]

Hmm This is dangerous. until I get the chance to read the journal or exerpts from said journal I won't be able to make up my mind on the boy in question. However I answered no to writing about a school shooting being a crime.

How far will this crackpot war on the English language by the American Gov't stop? I mean it's illegal to say the word bomb on a plane. Why? What useful purpose can that achieve? I can say bomb as often as I like, it doesn't bring me any closer to letting one off. That's like saying you can run up to people with your fingers drawn in a gun-like fashion, shouting "bang, bang, bang", it doesn't bring me any closer to being able to actually shoot them.

[MacFromOK]

Actually I think you can go to jail for threatening to commit a crime...

No idea whether this kid was going to follow through, but apparently his grandmother seemed to think so.

Kinda spooky either way - freedom of speech vs potential mass murder.

Cheers, Mac

[Gibble]

Originally Posted by MacFromOK

Actually I think you can go to jail for threatening to commit a crime...

No idea whether this kid was going to follow through, but apparently his grandmother seemed to think so.

Kinda spooky either way - freedom of speech vs potential mass murder.

Cheers, Mac

Threatening and writing about one aren't the same!

Like I said, even if he did go on and commit the crime, he isn't guilty until he does it.

[MacFromOK]

Originally Posted by Gibble

Threatening and writing about one aren't the same!

Agreed - but who writes fiction and calls it a journal? While his lawyer claimed it was an assignment, "police said Poole didn't have a writing assignment for English class".

Reading the journal might prove an eye opener, but until we can do that - who knows?

Cheers, Mac

[deh]

If the only evidence is his journal then his 1st Amendment rights must be protected.

Freedom isn't free, sometimes sacrifices have to be made.

[MacFromOK]

"Poole, 18, has been charged with terroristic threatening for allegedly trying to recruit fellow students he called "soldiers" to participate in a school shooting."

I'm assuming the journal isn't the only evidence, maybe it just prompted the investigation?

Cheers, Mac

[deh]

Originally Posted by MacFromOK

"Poole, 18, has been charged with terroristic threatening for allegedly trying to recruit fellow students he called "soldiers" to participate in a school shooting."

I'm assuming the journal isn't the only evidence, maybe it just prompted the investigation?

Cheers, Mac

Good point. It would be interesting if they elaborated on that statement.
Do they have witnesses or was it a recruitment via the journal?

[Gibble]

Originally Posted by MacFromOK

Agreed - but who writes fiction and calls it a journal? While his lawyer claimed it was an assignment, "police said Poole didn't have a writing assignment for English class".

Reading the journal might prove an eye opener, but until we can do that - who knows?

Cheers, Mac

It doesn't matter if it's a journal, an assignment, or not...it's WRITING. And last I checked in America, you have to COMMIT a crime to be put in jail.

Writing is not a crime. Writing a threat down is not a crime. Sending the threat to someone as a threat is. Acting on it is.

[deh]

I would have to say if he personally tried to recruit people it could be conceived as a crime.

[MacFromOK]

Originally Posted by Gibble

It doesn't matter if it's a journal, an assignment, or not...it's WRITING. And last I checked in America, you have to COMMIT a crime to be put in jail.

Writing is not a crime. Writing a threat down is not a crime. Sending the threat to someone as a threat is. Acting on it is.

Allowing someone to read it as part of an active recruitment is most likely some form of conspiracy as well - that's just one possible scenario.

Problem is we just don't have enough facts on this. All I found on the net was the same article (or references to it), and it leaves out too many details.

Cheers, Mac

[Gibble]

Originally Posted by deh

I would have to say if he personally tried to recruit people it could be conceived as a crime.

If...but then again...all the militia groups in the US that 'could' be homegrown terrorists recruit people all the time. The groups speak out agains the gov't, are armed like small armies and yet don't get this kind of treatment.

So why a kid?

Well that's simple, it's an emotional and irrational response because of a the few recent events in schools.

If you want to proclaim America to be a free country, you have to give up a little security. Otherwise you're reverting to a very "unfree" and "unjust" form of law...a form of law that you as Americans condemn in other countries.

The staples of your legal system are
-innocent until proven
-that someone must commit a crime to be punished for it
-and it's often said that you'd rather set 10 guilty men free than wrongfully convict one.

So why are people turning their backs on what makes America's legal system fair and just for the majority of people. That allows people the right to live a free life.

It's hypocritical.

[deh]

Oh i agree with ya, freedom is not free but if someone came up to a person and said "Hey let's kill _________" that could very well be conisdered conspiracy which is illegal.
If someone was plotting to kill my butt i sure as heck would like it investigated.

Bottom line, I pretty much am curious as to the rest of the evidence and details they had to build a case or i would hope they have more than just a journal.
As said if just a journal his 1st amendment rights must be protected.

[MacFromOK]

I agree with deh, and I don't think wanting to see more facts on this is "turning their backs on what makes America's legal system fair".

Cheers, Mac