14 DAY TRIAL // The United States Supreme Court has overturned the conviction of Anthony Elonis, a man who was supposed to execute a 44-month prison sentence for posting violent rants on his Facebook profile.
The threats made by Mr. Elonis were directed at his ex-wife, children, co-workers, and police enforcement, and led to his arrest and subsequent conviction. During his trial, Anthony Elonis explained his rants as therapeutic and inspired by the songs of rap artists, the most commonly cited being Eminem.
Following his prison sentencing, the defendant entered the complicated procedures of the US legal system, which led him in the end to the Supreme Court, where his case was picked up in 2014.
The case was argued by the judges, and a final decision was reached with a 7 to 2 majority towards dismissing the original conviction.
Online threats need to be credible to be deemed illegal
Explaining their recent decision, the US Supreme Court argued that any online threat must be intentional to be illegal, and above all, credible.
This decision won't surprise anyone who ever saw a Hollywood movie about the inner workings of the US legal system, and comes to show the fine balance the country's institutions have to maintain between the right of free speech and the right to protect yourself from harm.
Since the Supreme Court ruling didn't specify what type of intent or actions are supposed to be considered illegal or threatening, this basically leaves the decision to law enforcement and lower court judges.
These institutions are now responsible and have the obligation to put any threat into context and determine if they are to be credible or not, something you'd expect they have been doing by now.
Mr. Elonis is not a free man though, his case being thrown back to the lower courts, where prosecutors must prove that his threats were truly intentional and not some "therapeutic" rap lyrics for him to go to jail.