Jake Baker
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jake Baker (born Abraham Jacob Alkhabaz) was a student at the University of Michigan College for Literature, Science, and Arts. He is most famous for his involvement in US v. Baker, a case brought against him for his violations of 18 U.S.C. s 875(c), communicating via interstate or foreign commerce threats to kidnap or injure another person.
In October 1994, Jake Baker started submitting pornographic stories depicting fantasies of rape, torture, and murder to the alt.sex.stories usenet group. On January 9, 1995, Baker submitted a story to alt.sex.stories detailing a fantasy about the rape, torture, and murder of one of his classmates, Erin Grandstaff. Baker's story was brought to the attention of University of Michigan authorities and he was arrested, determined to be a threat to the subject of his story as well as the rest of the student population.
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[edit] The Case
During the serving of a search warrant upon Baker's computer, University of Michigan police found several stories depicting rape, torture, and murder genre favored by Baker. They also found emails to a Canadian by the name of Arthur Gonda, depicting rape, torture, and murder. Their communications also began detailing a plan for the two men to meet and engage in a real-life depiction of their fantasies to rape, torture, and murder.
This was the basis for Baker's arrest by the FBI and charging him with six counts of communicating via interstate or foreign commerce threats to kidnap or injure another person. Five of the counts were determined by emails between Baker and Gonda. The sixth count was determined from the story about Erin Grandstaff.
[edit] Bail Hearing
Initially, Baker was refused bail, being determined to be a threat to society, and to Erin Grandstaff. Finally, Baker was released on a $10,000 bond on March 9, 1995.
[edit] Case Resolution
One of the counts - communicating a threat by publishing the story about Erin Grandstaff on the Internet - was dropped against Baker. Finally, on June 21, 1995, the case against Baker was dismissed by Judge Avern Cohn due to lack of evidence that Baker would actually act out his fantasies. The Government appealed this decision, and on January 29, 1997, the 6th U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the decision of the lower court. Jake Baker remains free to this day.
[edit] Controversy
Free speech advocates state that the Government violated Jake Baker's First Amendment right to free speech by charging him with a crime for writing stories. Others defended the Government's case by stating that Baker's stories were filth, snuff, and that Baker was intending to act on them.
Baker stated that his stories were created as a form of therapy - so that he could act out his anger in a "harmless", legal way. Baker also stated that he was role playing within his emails to Gonda, and that he did not intend on acting on his fantasies.
This case was not only about obscenity and threats, but it was being watched by Internet advocates, namely that his stories were published over a wide medium, and that since the Internet is a medium beyond borders, that state even federal level laws were not able to be applied to it. Baker was charged with communicating a threat over interstate lines - a charge that may have not been able to hold, other than the fact that Baker published his stories and corresponded over the Internet.
It has also been said that the case of US v. Baker set a precedent for free speech on the Internet.
