UK Student Sent to Jail For 'Racist' Tweets

A student who posted a series of racist comments on Twitter following footballer Fabrice Muamba’s cardiac arrest has begun a prison sentence of 56 days.

Liam Stacey, 21, caused widespread revulsion by reacting to Muamba’s mid-game collapse by writing: ‘LOL [laughing out loud], **** Muamba. He’s dead!!! #haha.’ He responded to criticism of that message with vile racist tweets.

The messages were forwarded to the police by several members of the social network, including former England striker Stan Collymore, himself a victim of abuse on Twitter.

Stacey initially claimed his account had been accessed by somebody else, but later pleaded guilty to racially aggravated harassment. He was sent to prison to ‘reflect the public outrage’ at his comments.