Spammer sentenced to nine years

A Loudoun County Circuit Judge has sentenced Jeremy Jaynes to nine years in prison in the nation's first criminal prosecution resulting from spam. Jaynes was convicted of sending unsolicited emails.

However, according to ABCNews, the sentence is being delayed while Jaynes appeals the court's ruling. The article goes on to say:

Judge Thomas Horne said that because the law targeting bulk e-mail distribution is new and raises constitutional questions, it was appropriate to defer the prison time until appeals courts rule.

Jaynes was convicted in November and found guilty of sending massive amounts of spam, offering bogus products. One such product was a non-existent "FedEx refund processor."

Whilst this conviction and sentence will be heralded by many as a triumph, in reality there's little reason for merriment. There are after all hundreds if not thousands that continue hardened spamming with impunity. A bit like that other “war” then… the war on drugs…