No good deed goes unpunished

October 21, 2003

CNN: Congress to review TSA after box cutter incident

"Nathaniel Heatwole, 20, of Damascus, Maryland, was charged Monday in federal court in Baltimore with taking a dangerous weapon aboard an aircraft. The case followed discovery of bags containing box cutters, bleach and other prohibited items aboard two Southwest Airlines planes."

This is not how you get the public on the side of law enforcement. It was a foolish thing to do, but put him in jail for 10 years for it? Absurd. If they lock him up, the cost of his imprisonment should come right out of the salaries of TSA and FAA directors.

Update: Seth says: "The crime he committed could get up to 10 years, but the government already stated that they're not asking for ANY jail time, and they believe that no harm was intended." Seth heard this on NPR. If you find a link to this info that I can point to please let me know.