Teen with Home Chemistry Lab Arrested for Meth, Bombs
io9.com
io9.com
Its really troubling that "innocent until proven guilty" is evolving into "if you possess the means to commit a crime, this implies guilt".
You have everything it takes to make an IED in your kitchen. So does everyone else. It seems like they are beginning to use this to justify holding people at any time. Make a mistake? Arrest the wrong guy? Well, he did have all of the ingredients for making explosives in his house... (and he weighed less than a duck!)
I guess it's more a thing of safety regulations than being able to create explosives or some drug. What if one of his experiments fails, and some deadly chemical substance or gas escapes? All the labs normally have emergency plans for such cases such that nobody get's harmed. He probably didn't.
I used to find irrational fear of that "sciencey stuff" merely annoying. Its starting to do real harm. Its disturbing that the police have only ever seen chemistry equipment in reference to meth labs and therefore jump to the conclusion that wherever there are test tubes, there's meth.
All the labs normally have emergency plans for such cases such that nobody get's harmed. He probably didn't.
He very well might have. I bet no one asked him.
A cop can break the law, and do something that would land anyone else in jail...and the worst he can expect is getting fired.
There should be higher standards for police, maybe if the corrupt get to spend the rest of their life in jail, instead of just getting fired, they'd be much less likely to trump up charges just to cover their ass.
I'm still doing the DIYBio stuff, though...somehow.