Lyrics punished with jail time?

LAKELAND - Antavio Johnson got a bad rap -- so say some lawyers who specialize in First Amendment law.

Johnson is doing two years in prison after pleading no contest to two counts of threatening a public servant. The threats came in a rap Johnson's lawyer said was recorded two to three years ago.

"He was a kid who was frustrated with police, he was being harassed and it was a way for him to vent his frustration," said Gil Colon, Johnson's attorney.

The problem is that frustration came out in lyrics saying, in part "...I'ma going to kill me a cop one day..."

The threats were directed at two Lakeland police officers.

"To outright say you're going to kill a law enforcement officer is a very stupid thing to do," said the Lakeland Police Department's Jack Gillen. According to assistant state attorney Chip Thullbery, it was more than stupid, it was a crime.

"These were specific threats made to specific people for all the world to hear," Thullbery told Fox 13.

"He wrote a song, the song is an expression, the First Amendment protects it," said attorney Joe Registrato. "There have been horrible things that have been put into songs, books and novels," but Registrato insists those things should not be a crime.

In fact, there are serious questions about not only the timing of the charges, but ability of Johnson to carry out the threats. Colon points out the rap containing the lyrics were not published by Johnson, but a third party. What's more, the rap was recorded two to three years ago, yet Johnson never acted on the threats.

And there is the fact that the lyrics were discovered when Johnson was in jail on a unrelated probation charge, making it difficult for him to harm any Lakeland Police officer. So the question is: why did Johnson plead no contest?

Colon maintains he could have tried the case and probably won. The problem is Johnson was still facing the probation violation charge, which carries a prison term of up to five years.

"We were in front of a judge known for harsh sentences," Colon said. "The state was offering two years, I hated to do it, but under the circumstances it was the best we could do."

The American Civil Liberties Union has expressed interest in taking up Johnson's case. Johnson's lawyer said he does not believe the no contest plea bars him from appealing his sentence as would a guilty plea.

In the meantime the web site that initially published Johnson's song, Hood Certified Entertainment, is now appealing to the public to push for his release.