Online Speech
A 19-year-old freshman from Texas named Jose Saavedra objects to California legislation relaxing hunting controls on mountain lions (May 25). Saavedra posts what is by any reasonable standard a tongue-in-cheek e-mail bulletin board message suggesting California state Sen. Tim Leslie should be “hunted down and skinned and mounted for our viewing pleasure.” The student’s sarcasm costs him 16 days in an El Paso County jail.
I would love to tell you what I think should be done to the Sacramento County district attorney who decided to prosecute Saavedra, but my ideas are not pleasant, and I am now too afraid of being imprisoned for my opinions to express them.
JAMES E. MOORE II
Assistant Dean for Computing
USC
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