Judge Overturns Lori Drew's Conviction

The trial was over. Lori Drew, 50, had been convicted by a jury of three misdemeanor charges of gaining unauthorized access to MySpace computers. Click here for the background story.

She had been acquitted of three felony charges of violating the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The jury had deadlocked on a remaining felony charge of conspiracy. All that remained was for U.S. District Judge George Wu, who presided over the case, to determine what her sentence would be. Lori Drew faced a maximum of 3 years in jail and a $30,000 fine.

But not so fast.....the judge decided that the jury conviction was wrong and over ruled them. Judge George Wu overturned the guilty verdicts against Lori Drew, issuing a directed acquittal on the three misdemeanor charges.  The judge reminded participants that it was only a tentative ruling until he files it in writing.

“It basically leaves it up to a website owner to determine what is a crime,” said Wu, echoing what critics of the case have been saying for months. “And therefore it criminalizes what would be a breach of contract.”

Wu told Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Krause that if Drew had been convicted of the felonies, he would have let the convictions stand, and would have already sentenced her. But the misdemeanor convictions troubled him, because of the vague wording of the statute. “I don’t see how the misdemeanor aspect would be constitutional,” he said. “That is the issue I’m wrestling with at this time.”

Because no facts are in dispute, only matters of legal interpretation, Wu had the power to override the jury's verdict in the case.

Prosecutors have the option of appealing. They had already filed to have the deadlocked fourth conspiracy charge dismissed without prejudice, but indicated they could continue to pursue that charge as well.

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Lori Drew Indicted in MySpace Suicide

Lori Drew,49, of Dardenne Prairie, Mo. has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles in connection with the suicide death of Megan Meier,13. She has been charged with one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to obtain information to inflict emotional distress. If convicted on all 4 counts, she could receive a 20-year sentence.

In a case of cyberbullying, Lori Drew is accused of helping to create a fictitious MySpace account under the name of Josh Evans. The character "Josh" was used to first befriend Megan Meier and then torment her, eventually causing the 13-year-old girl to commit suicide. Read the entire story here.

Ever since her daughter’s death, Tina Meier has been battling to have Drew charged with a crime, but local prosecutors in St. Charles County, where Meier and Drew live, determined that Missouri had no laws that could be applied to the situation. Federal prosecutors in Missouri also declined to indict Drew.

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In reacting to the indictment of Lori Drew, Tina Meier said she was very pleased that charges had finally been filed but that the maximum 20-year sentence, if found guilty on all counts, was insufficient.

“Twenty years to me is just a small piece of cake,” Meier told TODAY’s Meredith Vieira on Friday. “Lori Drew should truly be given a life sentence.”

“I’m hoping she gets the maximum penalty,” Meier told Vieira. “That’s what she deserves. Lori Drew played a ridiculous, childish game, and that’s exactly what it was. She probably didn’t know the outcome of what exactly happened with Meghan, but when you play games on the Internet — an adult playing with a child, playing with her mind — these are the things that can happen, and she needs to face the consequences.”

The indictment alleges that Lori Drew provided false information when she registered for the MySpace account and violated various aspects of the company's terms of service, including prohibitions on soliciting information from anyone under 18 and using information obtained from MySpace to "harass, abuse or harm" other people. The federal statute under which Drew is charged is more often used to prosecute defendants who have hacked into computers with the intent of causing damage or improperly accessed computers for financial gain.

In other developments, Missouri legislators gave final approval to a bill that would make cyber harassment illegal. It was approved 106-23 in the House and 34-0 in the Senate and now goes to the governor. Gov. Matt Blunt issued a statement praising lawmakers for passing the measure.

"Social networking sites and technology have opened a new door for criminals and bullies to prey on their victims," he said. "These protections ensure that our laws now have the protections and penalties needed to safeguard Missourians from Internet harassment."