“I didn‘t think ’lol’ would put me in jail.”

This quote is from Kentucky teenager who spent two days in jail because she refused to close her Facebook account. A just had ordered her to close the account after she updated her status with the following post: “My dumba** got a DUI and hit a car LOL.”

The 18-year-old, who was charged with driving under the influence, crashed into another car, injuring four people.

At best , I think many of us would agree that she lacked common sense or compassion for the people she injured, and their families, who called her post to the attention of the judge.

But I think there is some room for debate about whether the punishment she received was warranted and whether it sets a bad precedent when it comes to free speech. It’s not clear what the judge charged her with (contempt? violating an order not to discuss the case?).

In her case, it’s hard to defend joking about a causing a drunk driving accident on Facebook. But what if you applied this judge’s actions to say, a case where someone was arrested for a peaceful protest and then posted about that on Facebook. Would we have a different reaction?

Here’s the story that go me thinking about all of this.