The state legislature in the U.S. state of Louisiana has passed a law adding extra time for committing a crime with an online map. Senate Bill 151 adds at least one year to the sentence of any criminal found guilty of using an “Internet, virtual, street-level map” like Google Maps with Street View to commit a crime.
“‘Internet, virtual, street-level map’ means any map or image that contains the picture or pictures of homes, buildings, or people that are taken and dispensed, electronically, over the Internet or by a computer network, where the picture can be accessed by entering the address of the home, building, or person.”
Nola, a New Orleans-based online news site attached to the Times-Picayune, reports that a burglar is liable to get a lot less extra time than a terrorist.
“Rep. Henry Burns, R-Haughton, who handled Adley’s bill on the House floor, said that if the map is used in an act of terrorism, the legislation requires a judge to impose an additional minimum sentence of at least 10 years onto the terrorist act.”
Worries about terrorist use of the Internet, including maps, has never been far from the headlines since the attacks on 9/11.
The additional penalty, according to the bill’s wording, is to be served consecutively, not concurrently, with “the sentence imposed for the underlying offense.”
Top photo by Byron Gosline
Bottom photo by Ken Lund
