A Felony Based On Fiction?

A high school junior in Kentucky was arrested for a story he wrote about zombies that overran a high school. He was turned in by his grandparents.

"My story is based on fiction," said Poole, who faces a second-degree felony terrorist threatening charge. "It's a fake story. I made it up. I've been working on one of my short stories, (and) the short story they found was about zombies. Yes, it did say a high school. It was about a high school over ran by zombies."

Even so, police say the nature of the story makes it a felony. "Anytime you make any threat or possess matter involving a school or function it's a felony in the state of Kentucky," said Winchester Police detective Steven Caudill.

Unfortunately, there's not a lot of detail in the article so I have several unanswered questions. But I find it disturbing that the nature of the story makes it a felony. It's a story. If it's not a story then how could he possibly carry out the threat of creating these zombies that overrun a high school? Do these people think Chopper Chicks in Zombietown was a documentary?

We have gone from taking every threat seriously to taking everything as a threat. I remember not long after the September 11 attacks, Ari Fleischer, the White House press secretary, told us that Americans need to be careful what they say from now on. He wasn't kidding, huh?

What's the best way to respond to this? Every high school English teacher in Kentucky should assign each student to write a story about zombies overrunning a high school.