The Scotsman - Top Stories - Briton jailed in US after joking about bombs: A BRITISH student was facing 15 years in a United States jail last night, after allegedly joking that she was taking bombs aboard an aircraft. Samantha Marson, 21, who is originally from Bridgnorth, Shropshire, was arrested before boarding a London-bound British Airways flight at Miami Airport. Police said that during a baggage security check, she told a transportation security administration official: "Hey, be careful, I have three bombs in here." Asked to repeat herself, she allegedly made the statement twice more. Ms Marson was arrested for making a false bomb report on Saturday and was taken to Miami-Dade County Jail. She is being held in jail until she can come up with a £2,700 bond, the authorities said. She is scheduled to appear before a court on 6 February, where she will be asked to enter a plea, according to the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office. A spokesman added that if convicted, Ms Marson faced a maximum of 15 years in a state prison.
sigh. Just ... sigh.
You kind of wonder where this child has been the past three years. I mean, at this point, we do rather have an international reputation for being extraordinarily hypersensitive about this sort of thing.
I expect, after a rather long time in jail, she'll be given reduced charges and set free. Unless the government is in one of its periodic "let's make an easy example of the idiots!" moods, in which case she won't get out of jail until she's a very old woman.
Posted by iain at January 21, 2004 06:01 PM
