Some people need to learn what's a joke and what's not.

This was an act of incredible stupidity and recklessness.

Morons like this need to be removed from society and taught proper values.

If the bit about her friend is true (probably isn't - it wasn't me, it was my imaginary friend...), then it also a lesson about personal security and not letting anyone have access to your login details.

I'm all for people taking responsibility for their actions, and if that means a bit of prison time, then so be it.  However, the punishment should fit the crime and not go over the top for an act of stupidity in which noone was harmed.  Whether this girl or her friend tweeted this message, 10 years is an over-the-top kneejerk reaction and is just as silly as the tweet in question.

What I'd like to see is perpetrators of violent crimes, where people are hurt, tortured, raped, actually serve out their sentences and have no chance of parole after just a few years of being a 'model prisoner'  All too often rapists reoffend while on parole after serving just 5 or 6 years of a 12 - 15 year sentence, and that's just wrong.  Parole for serial sex offenders should never be an option.  In fact, it should be mandatory that all sex offenders are castrated, as well as serving the full sentence handed down by the court... and that sentence should be no less than 15 - 20 years, or more, depending on the severity of the offence.

So yes, it is fair enough to be angry regarding crime, but that anger needs to be proportionate to the crime.  Therefore, to suggest that some silly little girl gets 10 years for a stupid tweet, while a rapist gets just 5 years for violating another person physically and emotionally, is completely off balance and not proportionate to the crime.

     It isn't the joke that's the issue here, its the nature of the joke itself. A terroristic threat cannot be taken lightly under any circumstances joke or no. Social media has one major flaw, it does not allow for face to face communications where you can actually see the person you are talking to. That's how vice squads lure pedophiles and other criminals by pretending to be potential victims. Text on a screen can be typed by anyone pretending to be anything they choose. Before I posted a pic of myself no one knew what I looked like. I can say anything I want and people take that at face value. How would the airline know it was just a young girl pulling a prank, no way of knowing. Even an admission doesn't qualify. Again because they can't see who is behind the texting.

     Granted it was incredibly stupid but the answer though harsh because of her age, should send a clear message that such things cannot and will not be tolerated regardless of who is doing it. Also because she is a minor the prank will be considered based on that. Restrictions, the loss of certain privileges, community service is what's called for. Even a stint in juvenile hall for a time. It has to be taken seriously because you don't know who is on the other end. What is really needed is a re-evaluation of family values. Parents need to instill in their kids a strong sense of the differences between right and wrong. Teach them to be leaders, not followers and how not to bow down to peer pressure. Not saying that's the case here though. In the end she will learn a very hard lesson that will probably be with her the rest of her life unless of course it is expunged when she's old enough to be considered an adult. In the US a kid that age can be charged as an adult and we all know how that goes. A very long time behind bars plus a permanent blot on her record. Something that will follow her for the rest of her life. I don't see that happening here.  

My two cents. 

Really?

You see Campaigner, what Jafo, Fuzzy and I as well as others are saying is that what she did wasn't a joke and wasn't at all funny...it was an irresponsibly stupid act in a time when maniacs do actually perform acts of terror which kill and maim. 

Did I take offense? If you took it that way, then urr, nope. Appearently you are already aware of the history connection to Orange, and Oranje as a national color... so... never mind...

At any rate, I'm sure you all did nothing stupid when you were younger. Maybe not THIS stupid  (I use did not )but fourteen year olds are prone to stupidity. It comes with the age. Saying that they have to go into prison for ten years is, however, even stupider... yes, we live in a world with terrorism, no, its not funny to make "joke" threats, but ten years in prison is not a fitting response.

Yes...all things in perspective...but then when I say 10 years for terrorist-threat 'jokes' I'm also thinking summary execution for rape/murder, etc.

Every time I see a parolee kill/rape someone I see a criminal justice system that has failed.

And what do you see when an innocent person gets released from jail after 19 years in prison on some fake charges and is completely exonerated?   Someone who should have been executed before those pesky facts got out?

The Ministry of Truth approves of this relatively meaningless story of an immature child's mistake going viral, and all the public persecution helps our vision of the future. Anyone that disagrees will soon be escorted to the Ministry of Love for re-education. 

Rare as rocking horse shit...whereas repeat offenders...paedophiles, rapists, murderers are a dime a dozen....

There have been several recent cases of innocent people being released from prison after prolonged incarceration.  Had the death penalty been an option in those cases, several innocent people would now be dead.  Now, Paul, a few years ago I would have agreed with you regarding the death penalty, and that perhaps a few mistakes were acceptable collateral damage to ensure we got the guilty.  However, the justice system is supposed to protect the innocent, and a handful of 'mistakes' is not acceptable in our quest to combat crime, violent or otherwise.

That's why I proposed long prison terms without parole for murderers, rapists and paedophiles... because if it is proven later that they are in fact innocent, the penalty is not finite... irreversible.

EVERY recent murder and rape in Oz has been at the hands of repeat offenders...mostly on parole...or simply in contravention of an AVO.

REAL mistakes happen daily.

Most recent...today... sex offender slips his bracelet in Sydney an is found a day and a half later in the town where the offence took place.

Yes, shit happens....but too much is happening for the system to even pretend to be 'working'....

Which is why I advocate NO parole.  If somebody is sentenced to 25 - 30 years, then that is the term of their sentence.... no time off for time already served [prior to and during the court case], no time off for good behaviour.... NO time off at all.  Period!  And for proven sex offenders, repeat or otherwise.... chemical castration, no ifs, buts or maybes.

The system would work a lot better if there weren't too many fechen do-gooders lobbying for prisoners rights... not to mention the dipshits who are supposedly running the criminal justice system... those who turned prisons into fechen holiday camps/a home away from home.  For mine, prisons would be more like medieval dungeons with no creature comforts whatsoever... because they're there to be punished, not live a life of luxury behind bars  Oh, and hard labour would be a an extra provision for the worst of the worse.... like 10 - 12 hours a day of breaking rocks or something equally demanding.  Yup, that oughta keep 'em too tired to cause any trouble

I have no respect whatsoever for rapists, kiddiemolesters and other such monsters. The death penalty however, due to the chance of a mistake, is off... I'd much prefer lifelong imprisoment with eight hours of community service every day ( digging trenches, cutting down trees, breaking rocks, you know, the usual) and a more severe variant of the ankle-belt to keep em in check ( one around each ankle, one around each wrist, and one around the neck... if you take any of em off, the rest goes kaboom...step over the line... kaboom).

Oh, and castration. With two bricks.

This method won't work on girls