Video Thought Crimes: The Case of the Cannibal Cop

[wizehop]

I just watched this and it opens up an interesting debate. The doc itself isn't that amazing, but the subject matter covers some interesting things. What people are allowed to think/fantasise about, should the government have the right to step in, and if so when?

Let me know what you think, should this guy be in jail?

Brief description if the film from IMDB:

"Young, handsome and married, New York City police officer Gil Valle had a secret double life. He liked to chat online about kidnapping, raping and eating young women. A lot. When his dark side was discovered, tabloids dubbed him "The Cannibal Cop" and a scandalous criminal trial ensued. While he never physically touched any person named in his charges, he now faced a surprising life sentence. Filmmaker Erin Lee Carr began visiting Valle, who maintained that it was all just fantasy, when the unexpected happened: Valle's conviction was overturned. While awaiting news of either a re-trial or freedom, cameras enter his cloistered life and begin uncovering conflicting stories of what really happened in the wake of all those internet posts. Thought Crimes presses not only the unsettling question of whether he would have actually done any of it, but expertly maps one of the most prescient debates of the online age: when do our virtual thoughts become a crime?

 

[Wawa]

Honestly, I'd say the only thing he did wrong was get caught. Bizarre, deviant, and violent sexual fantasies are... common. As long as he didn't actually do anything, who cares what the guy jerks off to? It's all just adult make belief.

Can't actually watch the doc because of bandwidth stuff, so maybe I'm missing something important here...

 

[warlo]

lets jail most writers, movie makers, readers and movie viewers, etc then. Its just how you put it in or out that seems to freak people out.

 

[Mikael Runefoot]

I think he is a dumbass for some of the things he did and wrote, but other then that... keep him outta jail.