Poor little kooky "artist" Star Simpson.
She's a victim of the paranoia of authorities responsible for protecting the public from terrorists.
Simpson's lawyer Ross Schreiber argues that the fake bomb charge is an overreaction.
She's a victim of the paranoia of authorities responsible for protecting the public from terrorists.
Simpson's lawyer Ross Schreiber argues that the fake bomb charge is an overreaction.
BOSTON -- The MIT student who walked into Logan International Airport wearing a computer circuit board and wiring on her sweat shirt claimed it was harmless artwork. But to troopers who arrested her at gunpoint, it was a fake bomb.
Nineteen-year-old Star Simpson was charged Friday with possessing a hoax device. Her attorney described the charge as offbase and "almost paranoid," arguing at a court hearing that she did not act in a suspicious manner and had told an airport worker that the device was art.
...Simpson is the secretary of MIT's Electrical Research Society, according to her lawyer. She is a graduate of the Hawaii Preparatory Academy, a private boarding school, has won school prizes for chemistry and leadership and had received a Congressional citation for her work in robotics, said Ross Schreiber, who was appointed to represent Simpson.
He said she was not a risk to flee, cooperated with authorities and was a good student with no prior convictions. He said they would fight the charges.
"I would characterize it as almost being paranoid at this point," Schreiber said of authorities' response.
He said Simpson had gone to the airport to meet her boyfriend. "She was there for legitimate purposes," Schreiber said.
What an absolute crock!
Simpson was at the airport for a legitimate purpose, but this certainly isn't "legitimate" behavior:
She wore the white circuit board on her chest over a black hooded sweat shirt.... The battery-powered rectangular device had nine flashing lights, and Simpson had Play-Doh in her hands....
When an airport employee questioned her about the board she didn't answer. Instead, she just walked away.
Right.
Nothing suspicious about that.
It's very normal to see people in airports with that sort of stuff strapped to themselves and gripping Play-Doh. Sure. It happens all the time.
Authorities didn't overreact. This isn't a matter of paranoia.
It's about protecting the public from harm.
The suggestion that it's an overreaction to take suspicious behavior seriously is an insult to authorities who work tirelessly to keep us safe.
No doubt, terrorists are applauding Ross Schreiber.
Of course, his job is to defend Simpson; but employing the "paranoia" angle is dangerous.
If Simpson didn't want to be treated like a threat to public safety, then she shouldn't have acted like one.
It's very simple.
No doubt, terrorists are applauding Ross Schreiber.
Of course, his job is to defend Simpson; but employing the "paranoia" angle is dangerous.
If Simpson didn't want to be treated like a threat to public safety, then she shouldn't have acted like one.
It's very simple.
6 comments:
MIT---Brightest of the bright, yea right. By rights that bunch should be in grief counseling now. Look at the crap last winter when those 2 jackasses put up the electronic signs for that screwy cartoon show. When she gets out of jail in 10 years she'll be able to sell all the baskets she learned to make
It just occured to me, maybe her father is Homer Simpson...no wait that would mean Marge would be the mother and she has more brains than that
What a crock, indeed. The police were right to stop Star Simpson and determine her blinkie device was harmless. But arresting her was a ridiculous CYA move, and it would not be at all surprising if the judge laughs the prosecutor right out of his court.
Get a grip, people.
So if I walked into her class with fake guns and pointed them at people how many laughs do you think I would get?
kk: The judge will laugh it right out of court. Just like the judge laughed the Mooninite hoax device charge right out or court. The key question is: Does the device look, to a reasonable person, like an "infernal machine" that will cause loss of property or life, and if so, did it's creator intend it to be that way? If the intent is lacking, there is no hoax.
Anon #3: Apples to oranges comparison. She had no intent to cause panic. You would.
You almost have to wonder, if the police did kill her, what would we all be saying now? I wonder how many airport screening devices (of all kinds) could have been purchased with the money we used on a daily basis in Iraq. KK why don't you dig yourself a hole and live in there safe and sound..in the dark and alone....we wouldn't miss you a bit. People like you promote hysteria and squelch all the tenets of freedom. Including individualism and creativity. USA is no longer the home of the free..and we have people like you to thank for it.
I'm sure that she is capable of making a much more realistic bomb, if that had been her intention.
Bombs are very-very rare here, I think there have been 5 airline bombings in the U.S. in 75 years and none in the last 30 years. (others happened overseas) Most happened in the 50's and 60's probably because dynamite was much more easily available than it is now.
Now days, your chance of dying because of a bomb is virtually 0.0. You are much more likely to die, because of equipment failure or pilot error, but that doesn't pay for million dollar scanners, police overtime, the TSA and the department of homeland security
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