On February 22, 2005, 18 year-old William Poole was taken into custody on a "second-degree felony terrorism threatening charge." Poole lives in Clark County, Kentucky. This charge is being brought against him because one of his works of fiction was turned in to police, without his authorization. Anyone with a basic grasp of "freedom of speech" can understand that owning a private collection of fictional works is not a valid reason for legal charges to be brought upon someone, especially not by the state they reside in. Those of you who are writers should be as eager as I am to sign and spread this petition.

Poole is currently being held for trial, and a bail has been posted for him at $5,000 on February 24, 2005. There is a message that can be sent to Kentucky officials by submitting this petition on the state and national level: "Violation of constitutional rights will not be tolerated."

If writing about horror (or even terrorism) was a crime, Tom Clancy and Anne Rice would be locked away for life without the possibility of parole. Anyone who aspires to write as a career or hobby should be moved by the injustice being committed in Lexington, Kentucky. By signing this petition, you are demanding that charges be dropped against William Poole and that Clark County officials issue a public apology for violating one of our most treasured constitutional rights: Freedom of speech.