Connecticut law would impose 20-year prison sentence for crimes committed with drones

[unhappycamper]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/24/connecticut-law-would-impose-20-year-prison-sentence-for-crimes-committed-with-drones/



Connecticut law would impose 20-year prison sentence for crimes committed with drones
By John Byrne
Monday, February 24, 2014 9:00 EST

Connecticut lawmakers will hold hearings today about proposed legislation that would impose twenty-year prison sentences on people who commit crimes with drones.

The bill, which comes up for Judiciary Committee review today in Hartford, also requires Connecticut’s state department of transportation to develop unmanned aircraft regulations. Individuals that use drones equipped with a deadly weapon could face up to 20 years in prison, and those who commit lesser crimes up to ten.

Under the legislation, police could utilize drones, but only for law enforcement use. They’d be required to get warrants except in the case of an emergency.

Connecticut’s bill comes days after police spotted a drone hovering over the scene of a fatal car crash in Hartford. Police reported the drone buzzed above the scene of the crash while bodies were still in the car. Though police interviewed the man who operated the drone — a freelance journalist — no arrests were made.