Op-Ed: Facebook Groups and the Alberta Microwaved Cat

The news was horrific as headlines announced that four teens broke into an Alberta house and microwaved the family's pet cat. The Internet allows for people speak out on these kind of crimes. Facebook is one such tool. Has it become a cyber lynch mob?

On Facebook alone there are at least two groups dedicated to this story. One group already has 50 members speaking out against the teens actions. As Canadian Press reports:

"I think we should start to make a better example out of these things that are happening so that other people will think twice before doing something like this," Laura Westgate, who started the group, said in a telephone interview.

The crime itself happened on December 29 and December 30 while the owners were out of town on vacation. The four teens broke into the home in Camrose two nights in a row. The killing of the family pet allegedly took place on the second night when the group put the cat in the microwave. A family friend who had been visiting to take care of the animal was the one who found it. Each of the four teens have been charged with unlawfully killing an animal, causing unnecessary pain and suffering to an animal, breaking and entering, theft, and possession of stolen property. They are scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 7. Another group on Facebook is seeking violence. As Canadian Press reports:

Another Facebook group on the issue said the teens should be shot, while individual posters threatened violence. "That's NOTHING compared to what the good people of Camrose will do to these pricks now they know their names, and hopefully soon phone numbers and addresses," one person wrote about any legal sanctions the teens could face.

With the use of these high profile social networking mediums could true justice be out the door? There is a "wild west" mentality at times with these sorts of groups. The "lynch mob" of the 21st century perhaps. Do you believe in causes that you yourself sign up for on Facebook? Do you allow yourself to get carried away with the "message"? Just checking.