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New York cop convicted in cannibalism conspiracyAP NEW YORK -- Defense lawyers say everyone using the Internet should worry that their online words can end up in federal court after a jury concluded that a New York police officer's plans to kidnap, kill and eat young women he knew was more than Internet chatter.
March 14, 2013, 11:44 am TWN At the end of one of the most unusual federal trials ever, a jury agreed Tuesday with the government that 28-year-old Gilberto Valle wasn't just fantasizing when he conversed online with others he had never met about killing and cooking his wife and others in a cannibalism plot. “Yes, they should be cautioned,” Valle defense lawyer Robert Baum said outside court of people everywhere. “It sets a dangerous precedent.” The larger principle at stake in the trial was that “people can be prosecuted for their thoughts,” Baum said, pausing before adding: “And convicted, which is even sadder to think about.” |
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