Spammer Gets Prison Time

A judge in Virginia sentenced convicted spammer Jeremy Jaynes to nine years behind bars.

Nine! Years!

However, as the AP reports, Jaynes can remain out of jail while the case is appealed.

Loudoun County Circuit 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.

A jury had recommended the nine-year prison term after convicting Jeremy Jaynes of pumping out at least 10 million e-mails a day (emphasis added) with the help of 16 high-speed lines, the kind of Internet capacity a 1,000-employee company would need.

Jaynes, of Raleigh, N.C., told the judge that regardless of how the appeal turns out, "I can guarantee the court I will not be involved in the e-mail marketing business again."

Well, I could have guessed that, unless the guy is just plain stupid. If this case serves as a deterrant to spammers who haven't been convicted yet, then we'll have something.