BBC News - 'Fresh proposals' planned over cyber-monitoring

[k.brown at bbk.ac.uk]

On 25 May 2013 16:42, Roland Perry <lists at internetpolicyagency.com> wrote:
> In article <519E9DB6.2080907 at liddicott.com>, Ben Liddicott
> <ben at liddicott.com> writes
>> Who knows when a judge or Magistrate will suddenly decide to ask a lot of
>> questions?


> Is threatening to kill your children a crime? If you do it twice it's
> probably harassment, and I'm not aware that men who threaten to kill their
> wives in a domestic violence situation are prosecuted for "conspiracy to
> murder", or whatever it would be.

Threatening to kill anybody is a crime, though I imagine it would have
to be a credible threat before a court woudl take notice, and not just
 "I wish you were dead" mutterings. It woudl be moew than just
harrassment. Putting someone in fear for their life would have been an
assault under the old common law I think even if you didn't physically
attack them at all. I'm sure there are plenty of fancy new statutes to
cover the same ground. (Not conspiracy though. Conspiracy needs more
than one person).


-- 
Ken Brown