Woman Convicted for Posting Threat on AOL
Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2005
Woman Convicted for Posting Threat on AOL
(AP) - SAN FRANCISCO-A 32-year-old woman was convicted for posting a death threat on an Internet message board connected to the Terry Schiavo case, authorities said Wednesday.
Dera Marie Jones, of San Francisco, was convicted by a federal jury Tuesday afternoon of sending a death threat across state lines, according to U.S. Attorney Kevin V. Ryan.
The jury found that Jones intended to threaten Schiavo's husband and a Florida judge when she posted the threat on an America Online message board dedicated to the brain-damaged woman at the center of a bitter right-to-die debate.
"If she dies, I will kill Michael Schiavo and the judge," Jones wrote. "This is real!"
U.S. District Court Judge James Whittemore, the Florida judge assigned to the case, declined to issue an order to reinsert Terry Schiavo's feeding tube on March 22. She died nine days later.
After Whittemore read the Jones' posting on the AOL message board, he became concerned for his safety and the safety of his family, according to court testimony.
FBI agents determined that Jones was the source of the message, even though it was registered in another person's name.
Jones, who remains free on bond, was scheduled for sentencing in March in San Francisco. She faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
2005-12-08T05:04:05Z
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