A prosecutor in Connecticut convinced a computer illiterate jury that a substitute female teacher was behind the porn pop-ups on her computer. She has been convicted, and now faces 40 years in prison.
Have you ever faced a pop-up that wouldn't go away? You try clicking it closed and another pops up in less than a nanosecond. You reboot the system, annoyed that your anti-spyware program let something slip through.
That's a hassle, sure--but chances are, your experience won't land you in jail.
Julie Amero, a substitute teacher in Norwich, Connecticut, has been convicted of impairing the morals of a child and risking injury to a minor by exposing as many as ten seventh-grade students to porn sites.
I can't believe this case was even brought to trial. The judge and prosecutors are obviously dimwitted idiots who know nothing about computers, which I find inexcusable in this day and age. If you are a person of importance in the judicial system and don't know what spyware means, or how it gets on your computer, you should be demoted to burger flipper, end of story.
Very sad case for this poor, pregnant woman.
UPDATE: Here is more information about the case from My Left Nutmeg, including a legal defense fund. The woman has had a miscarriage.
As noted in the comments by CTLiberal, a child rapist may get 8 years in prison while this phony computer offense can get someone 40 years.
The number and reach of laws pertaining to minors and sex are becoming more and more irrational.