Teen with Home Chemistry Lab Arrested for Meth, Bombs

http://io9.com/5119166/teen-with-home-chemistry-lab-arrested-for-meth-bombs

by anthonyrubin • 18 years ago

19 9 18 years ago

A few days later, police admitted that Casey's chemistry lab wasn't a meth lab - but they kept him in jail, claiming that he had some of the materials necessary to produce explosives.

Its really troubling that "innocent until proven guilty" is evolving into "if you possess the means to commit a crime, this implies guilt".

You have everything it takes to make an IED in your kitchen. So does everyone else. It seems like they are beginning to use this to justify holding people at any time. Make a mistake? Arrest the wrong guy? Well, he did have all of the ingredients for making explosives in his house... (and he weighed less than a duck!)

bluelu• 18 years ago

That guy build a chemistry lab in his garage.

I guess it's more a thing of safety regulations than being able to create explosives or some drug. What if one of his experiments fails, and some deadly chemical substance or gas escapes? All the labs normally have emergency plans for such cases such that nobody get's harmed. He probably didn't.

pmorici• 18 years ago

That's not what he is being accused of though.

noonespecial2• 18 years ago

He's got a car in his garage too. What it it fails and crashes into stuff. Someone could get harmed. He's got a lawnmower, chainsaw, weed-eater...

I used to find irrational fear of that "sciencey stuff" merely annoying. Its starting to do real harm. Its disturbing that the police have only ever seen chemistry equipment in reference to meth labs and therefore jump to the conclusion that wherever there are test tubes, there's meth.

All the labs normally have emergency plans for such cases such that nobody get's harmed. He probably didn't.

He very well might have. I bet no one asked him.

vaksel• 18 years ago

It seems like police are not being held accountable any more. Even when they screw up and get caught on tape...they still get a paid vacation while there is an "investigation".

A cop can break the law, and do something that would land anyone else in jail...and the worst he can expect is getting fired.

There should be higher standards for police, maybe if the corrupt get to spend the rest of their life in jail, instead of just getting fired, they'd be much less likely to trump up charges just to cover their ass.

nazgulnarsil• 18 years ago

nobody tell the watchdog groups that nitrogen is in the air, they'll try to ban it.

hs• 18 years ago

we all should be arrested because we are one of the ingredient in making hydrogen bomb

sown• 18 years ago

I wanna do DIY Bio stuff (mentioned here on YHN a while ago) but I have nightmares about this sort of thing. I remember reading about the treatment Mitnick got while he was initially locked up. Regardless of how you feel about Mitnick personally once in jail he got treated very poorly by officials who either didn't know or care.

I'm still doing the DIYBio stuff, though...somehow.

kragen• 18 years ago

Why are we tolerating this kind of witch-hunting? This is very little different from arresting people because they know how to read or wear glasses. They ought to be arresting the kids who don't have chemical labs in their garages for criminal lack of curiosity.

Teen with Home Chemistry Lab Arrested for Meth, Bombs

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