They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, but in some cases, a picture might be worth several years of your life behind bars. This is particularly true if you post pictures of yourself doing something illegal to social media, but in some cases, you may not even have to be in the picture to suffer the consequences.
Recently, a man received a sentence of 12 years in prison because he posted pictures of firearms on his Facebook profile. The man already had a felony on his record, which means it is illegal for him to possess firearms or ammunition. The prosecution secured the conviction by pointing to profile updates the man posted showing handguns lying on a bed surrounded by $100 bills. These posts were enough to justify a search warrant of the man’s home, which lead the authorities to find a number of stolen items, including handguns.
If you have any doubts about the safety or legality of posting something online, it is safer to simply not post it. No profile picture is worth years of your life behind bars, after all. Still, if you face criminal charges because of a profile picture, don’t simply roll over and accept them — you deserve a strong defense to any criminal charges, at any time.
Simply receiving charges is a long way from a conviction, and you should do everything you can to protect your future if you get handed charges for any crime. With proper guidance from an experienced attorney, you can examine your circumstances and the evidence against you to build a strong defense and protect your rights.
Source: Missouri Net, “Convicted mid-Missouri felon who posted photos of guns and drugs on Facebook is heading to prison,” Brian Hauswirth, June 29, 2017
