The world has gone crazy ! What do you think of this ?

Six men were arrested in October for playing chess in a playground in a park in New York City. Two of them decided to fight the charges. Macauley Peterson, who went to the New York City Criminal Court in lower Manhattan yesterday, reports.

By Macauley Peterson

On October 20th, at two o’clock in the afternoon in New York City, a group of seven men were playing chess at built-in chess tables in a public park in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan, as they had done numerous times before. Suddenly a NYC police patrol car rolled up to the gate of the park, and several officers approached the men and charged them with occupying the park unaccompanied by any children, in violation of a posted regulation meant to protect kids from pedophiles. The park was empty at the time.

The players were issued summonses and ordered to appear in court, and possibly to face trial. On December 28th, five of the men settled the case, with what’s known as an ACD — adjournment in contemplation of dismissal. The charges will be fully dismissed provided the men have no further run ins with the law for six months. Two of the defendants, Yacahudah Harrison and Christopher Peralta, decided to seek a dismissal without any exceptions — to fight for their right to play chess in public parks.

http://www.chessvibes.com/reports/new-york-city-vs-chess-players-case-dismissed/

I think I heard about this before.  If I'm right the crime wasn't playing chess but not following the park rules.  If it is a park for children then the chess tables are for the children.  simple

the world went crazy a long time ago

I kinda agree with Flowers. But I think something stinks  when a famous murderer can beat the rap and...it is not in the kingdom of Denmark.

does make you wonder why 7 men were hanging out in a kids park. they need better signs.

"Fine for Parking here"

I wonder what does "fine" mean here

It's a sad comment on the modern world, but many cities set aside a part of their public parks for children and the children's guardians only. They don't like the idea of a lot of unattached adults hanging around a children's play area. I don't think I do either.

In the case of New York City rartment was stupid for not moving the chess tables to the adult-friendly area of the park. The poor cops at the scene had an impossible task: they had to make stupid arrests (issue citations, actually) or ignore a clear violation of posted park rules. The would have been wrong either way. But it's a pretty gross misrepresentation to say the men were arrested for "playing chess." They would have been in violation of park rules if they'd just been discussing philosophy

I had no idea that a Hamlet reference could possibly come out that article

Apart from paranoid assumption that every adult in the park ,where children are playing is supposed to do something illegal- arrest for breaking the PARK RULES ? And why not the death penalty for ill parking? 25 years sentence for eating a candy in public place...

Political correctness will have all of us done.

I liked the Hamlet reference too. 

By the way, the charges were dismissed without any conditions and the police were clearly being overzealous and ridiculous. Some people have no business being trusted with a badge and gun. 

That law makes sense. Because pedophiles are willing to commit a felony by molesting children, but Hey! I'm not gonna risk a misdemeanor b.s. park charge!

BTW, what do you wanna bet that these were some of those "chess hustler" vagrant types who try to get people to bet them in bullet chess. I suspect the cops have dealt with these guys before. I don't see em harrassing innocent random chess players.

Pedophiles are a tremendous problem in this country and it is unfortunate that measures such as this are necessary to protect children from them as they play in a city park. Perhaps the officers involved were not given any discretion (there are statutes now like domestic violence laws) where the officer is required to make an arrest, rather than to exercise discretion and simply disperse the misplaced chessplayers. We, as a society, have an obligation to comply with laws like this to insure the safety of children. Our anger is most-properly directed at the pedophiles, whose criminal behavior injures children and destroys the community of basic areas like city parks.

I need to stop reading articles with titles like these... they make me want to stab someone (not the people posting, but in this case the legal system. That's right, I want to stab "the legal system".)

So, if there are pedophiles willing to commit a felony , which is certainly true assumption-  should there really be a law prohibiting adults and children being in the same park ,at the same time ? Next step is to prohibit people from walking on the street without special license, one easily could get raped or beaten...

That is ridiculous. That is a public park, paid for by taxpayer moneies. Any taxpayer has a right to enjoy it. Now, if you wanna ban unattached adults from places they have no reasonable right to be, like say, an elementary school playground, then fine.

You know what the solution to pedophiles in parks is? SUPERVISE YOUR DAMN KIDS!!!

it's a sad day when friends cannot sit in a park and play chess. Even if they were playing close to a "kids" area. I say the city should then put in place areas where like minded individuals would meet to excercise their brains.

Next, they'll say chess is not to be played in public areas.

Here is another solution to the pedophile problem... instead of letting them out of jail and putting them on some stupid ineffective watchlist... just kill them. Then you don't have to worry about it!

amen to that, anyone who rapes and murders kids should be put down.