Facebook Sends Student To Jail

So we’ve told you about employers using networking sites like Facebook to uncover information about their potential employees, but have you heard about prosecutors using Facebook as a way to win a case? We swear! We’re telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth...

Joshua Lipton, a 20-year-old college junior, was recently charged in a drunk driving accident. Two weeks after his charge, a picture of him at a Halloween party emerged on Facebook. He was dressed as a “jail bird” holding a can of Red Bull and had his arm around a young female. Underneath the photo the caption read, “Remorseful?”

The prosecutor used these photos and many others posted on Facebook to paint a poor picture of Lipton. The judge in his case couldn’t agree more. He states, “"I did feel that gave me some indication of how that young man was feeling a short time after a near-fatal accident, that he thought it was appropriate to joke and mock about the possibility of going to prison.”

 It looks like Lipton might be heading to jail, but we’ll have to wait and see. The lesson learned here is to watch the way you use Facebook! The pictures you post of yourself may speak more about your character than your “about me.”

Not knowing Lipton personally (and given the fact that he's so young) perhaps the poor kid was just trying to be cavalier in front of his friends, or forget his troubles for one night. And, at least he was drinking Red Bull and not something stronger after a drunk driving incident. Do you think these photos show poor character, or is he just a kid who made a mistake?

[MSNBC]