Liam Stacey Arrested: Racist Fabrice Muamba Tweet Lands Swansea Student In Jail

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 17: William Gallas of Tottenham Hotspur reacts as Fabrice Muamba of Bolton Wanderers lies injured on the pitch.

SWANSEA, Wales -- The student who mocked Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba on Twitter after the player collapsed on the field during a match has been jailed for inciting racial hatred.

Liam Stacey, a 21-year-old student at Swansea University, admitted to the charge last week and was jailed Tuesday for 56 days.

Chief prosecutor Jim Brisbane says "we hope this case will serve as a warning to anyone who may think that comments made online are somehow beyond the law."

Muamba's heart stopped beating on its own for 78 minutes after he collapsed during an FA Cup quarterfinal match against Tottenham on March 17. He remains hospitalized in intensive care.

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Comments

[Kindoalkun]

08:19 PM on 04/12/2012

Wow! And here I thought that the UK was this bastion of Progressive Enlightenment.

Give me Liberty or give me Death!

Freedom of Speech, the Right to Bear Arms, Taxation with Representation...just to name a few...good reasons I'm glad we revolted from the Orwellian Nanny State called the UK. I also love how many in the UK used to cry that the US was so "racist", yet the UK now has significant portions of the population asking "racist" questions about the growing number of North Africans and Muslims flooding their country. Kind of easy to take potshots at a country with TRUE freedom when there is some bickering over race, religion and politics. But despite this bickering, NOBODY circles the wagons like the United States. At least people can speak their mind. Let's just put it this way: there would never be an English version of the ACLU that would fight for the rights of Neo-Nazis to have a parade in a Jewish neighborhood---YES this really happened!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Socialist_Party_of_America_v._Village_of_Skokie

And on a side note, also kind of funny also that the enlightened UK still has a church created by the government. Thank God for the Revolution.

[blackjacki2]

07:08 AM on 03/28/2012

There are so many trolls in the world that laws like this can't help but be applied arbitrarily to people that are made examples of. And that's really what you want out of your laws in a democracy - arbitrarily sending people to prison for their unpopular speech.

[saywhat923]

08:54 PM on 03/27/2012

Wow! If this was done in America a third of the population would be doing jail time.

[KarateKid]

07:21 PM on 03/27/2012

"Free" speech has never been completely free.

[tqcobb]

04:44 PM on 03/27/2012

I hate racists and call them out on a regular basis on this site and others BUT this is very surprising...tragic irony is Zimmerman is still free after committing murder

[Albert Meyer]

09:23 AM on 03/28/2012

Zimmerman will get his day in court. Rest assured.

However, recall that Abdulrahman al-Alwaki, the 16-year old son of Anwar Alwaki, a US citizen, was assassinated by Presidential decree. He deserved to live as much as Trayvon Martin, but our President assumed the role of prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner and a 16-year old's life was snuffed out. Samir Khan, of North Carolina, had the bad luck of standing next to Abdul that day in Yemen when the missile incinerated both of them, and others in the vicinity whose names we'll never know.

As we mourn the death of Trayvon and seek justice for him, let's not forget those who have been assassinated by Presidential decree on the flimsiest of CIA concocted evidence. Our President is the last one to talk about seeking justice for the untimely death of a young man. (I fully believe George Bush would have done the same if not worse, but that is besides the point.)

[Supersteel]

11:24 AM on 03/27/2012

wow. scary world where you can be jailed for words.

[Phantasmaflux]

12:28 PM on 03/27/2012

Even in the UK, they don't have freedom of speech. Enjoy it while it lasts here in the US.

[Dominic Kearney]

11:56 AM on 03/30/2012

There is a misconception about freedom of speech that it allows you to say whatever you want. It doesn't, and never has done. Like all freedoms in a society, it has boundaries. We can't slander people, we can't incite violence, we can't lie in a court of law, and in the UK at least, we can't incite racial hatred (and given the crimes against humanity that have been committed in past due to racial hatred, don't you think its something we should keep in check?). Freedom of speech is there so that you can speak your views, so you can criticise the government or any authority without fear of reprisal; it's not there so you can racially attack people.

[Sabi Kanani]

11:22 AM on 03/27/2012

What did he say?

[Albert Meyer]

12:18 PM on 03/27/2012

As per Daily Mail: "Prosecutor Lisa Jones told a court: ‘Fabrice Muamba collapsed on the pitch and was believed to have died. Shortly after, Stacey posted on Twitter: “LOL [laugh out loud], **** Muamba. He’s dead.”

Clearly insensitive, cruel and offensive, but I can't imagine living in a country where my child could be sent to prison for being immature. Freedom of speech allows people to advertise their stupidity to the world, but that is not deserving of a prison sentence. Frightening. Insane. Nanny state extreme. Supporting freedom of speech (First Amendment Right) does not mean that one always supports what people say, especially hate speech that actually just exposes the speaker's own moral impoverishment, but understandably can be very hurtful.

[Roshi98]

07:37 AM on 03/28/2012

He said a LOT more than that in tweets following reaction to his initial post. Very incendiary, very racist, very unpalatable stuff.

In England there are decency laws that limit free speech, particularly when it comes to race. John Terry, the former captain of England's national team and current captain for Chelsea FC has been indicted for using a racial slur against an opposing player last year and will be in court this summer to face trial.

The point being that it's different over there than here in the USA. Given how bigotry and racism are still so prevalent in this country, are we really in any moral position to judge how such speech is dealt with elsewhere? I don't think so.

[PirateJohn]

12:51 PM on 03/27/2012

No kidding. It seems like that would be a no-brainer piece of info for a journalist to include in the article...