University of Wisconsin graduate student Rajib Mitra, 25, was convicted in a federal court this month under domestic terrorism laws for jamming the 800MHz emergency frequencies with a modified radio receiver, causing a disruption of service for police, paramedics, and fire fighters. Eight years, they gave him, for a series of disruptions between January and October of last year that included a 3 hour Halloween night disruption and a November 11th episode where pornographic sound files were played over the police band, causing most officers to turn down their radios when in earshot of the public. The guy sounds like a punk, but does 8 years in prison fit the crime? Disrupting emergency service is a serious screw up, but 8 years in the big house will ruin this kid’s life.
Read [Madison]
Update: A couple of you have expressed the concern that I think this guy should go unpunished. That’s not the case at all. I think he should be punished (and no, I really don’t know what’s appropriate). If someone was killed due to his disruption of emergency services, then he should be tried for manslaughter. Otherwise, it just seemed like 8 years was too long, but what do I know?
