Elonis Debate

In history class, I debated one of my peers over the case of Anthony Elonis whose case is currently being heard in the Supreme Court. This case is over whether or not Anthony should have served the three years in jail that he was sentenced to after posting death threats towards his wife who had just walked out on him on Facebook. This case of cyber bullying vs. free speech is an unprecedented hearing on the part of the supreme court in the sense that they have never heard a matter of this intent.
The more I researched this topic, I realized how scary words can be and how they can affect others. If I had to decide right now, I would say that he was guilty and should have gone to jail.

My side was to argue that his jail time was not lawfully given. I argued that his intent is not known, that his comments were used as a coping mechanism, and I argued that this infringed on his free speech and that if the supreme court sees him as guilty then what does this mean for future people? Where will we draw the line between safe and threatening?

The way that I could have seen a more successful outcome was if I asked better questions.

According to one peer I lost 35-32 (out of 36). According to another peer I won 36-35. According to my teacher I tied 36-36.