teenager

It's not a surprise that the judge in the case felt pressure to come down hard on Cam, since the local media has been quick to sensationalize the story and demonize a harmless teenager.

Before charges were even formally filed, local newspapers were already posting pictures from Cam's facebook and pointing to "disturbing" posts like "Fuck politics. Fuck Obama. Fuck the government!" and "satanic" imagery (like some image from a metal band's poster.) All of this is free speech that is 100% protected by the 1st Amendment.

But Fox News went so far as to say that Cam's facebook profile had images that they "couldn't show on TV." They and other media outlets frequently and intentionally printed only a small section of the lyrics that Cam was arrested for allegedly writing, and took them out of context to make rap metaphors sound like a real threat.

The media printed:

"(Expletive) a boston bominb wait till u see the (expletive) I do, I’ma be famous"

The actual line is:

"(Expletive) a boston bominb wait till u see the (expletive) I do, I’ma be famous rapping"

Notice something? The context completely changes the meaning of the line. Suddenly something that sounds like a threat of violence is clearly just bragging about how good Cammy Dee is going to be in the rap game. Last we checked, teenage dreams of grandeur were not a crime.

This is allegedly a screenshot of the full text of Cam's post:

Massachusetts Law is pretty clear about what constitutes a "terroristic threat". The statement has to claim that there is a weapon or a bomb, and/or threaten a specific place or location with the intent of causing disruption. Cam comparing his rap aspirations with the amount of media coverage tragedy in Boston got doesn't even come close.

The Methuen Chief of Police even stated: “I do want to make clear he did not make a specific threat against the school or any particular individuals...”

Cam should be released immediately unless the D.A. can produce some additional evidence as to why he is a threat to anyone.

Many of us from Center for Rights are from Boston and we understand that many will find Cam's lyrics troubling. It's imperative that we don't allow the tragedy that occurred here to be used to justify attacks on free speech. Sending a teenager to prison, away from his family and support system, for a split second decision of posting a rant online, can only lead to more violence in the world, not less.

We need real solutions to violence in our schools and our communities. But putting a kid in jail is not the answer. We can understand that many will be disturbed by Cam's lyrics. It may have been appropriate for a family member or someone from the school to check in with him about them. But sending a kid to prison who is about to graduate high school and has his whole life ahead of him is nothing less than a travesty of justice. Sign the petition to help us get Cam home with his parents, and then share this page to fight back against the notion that censorship makes us safer.