...put on a bridle.

Doc, the vast majority of people on this thread disagree with you. That doesn't mean that "they don't get it", it means that we feel that the cops over-reacted.

What Sam did may have been unethical, and it was certainly not right, but in terms of severity, I see it as equivalent to going into a restaurant, using the bathroom and leaving without buying anything. It is right? No. Does it merit jail time? You seem to think so. I don't.

Does it not bother you that the cops don't have the time and manpower to deal with identity theft but somehow have the resources to pull a stunt like this?

Also remember that this chap was charged under an anti-hacking law, when what he did was not hacking by any reasonable definition of the word.

Also, he was initially quizzed - rightly - about a potential stalking. He cooperated, and the cop let him go... then he "had a feeling" and went LOOKING for a law to prosecute under. That kind of police-state thinking undermines what is best about America.