Canadian sf writer Peter Watts was convicted Friday on a felony for failing to comply with customs officials when he was stopped leaving the US in December.

Now if you read about it in The Port Huron TimesHerald, you'd think Watts was guilty of "assault," which according to both Watts — and one of the jurors who has spoken out — was factually incorrect. I'm ashamed of a professional reporter getting something like that wrong. And the comment threads on the TimesHerald made me want to vomit, so visit at your own risk.

If you want to get the story from the principal (the future of news; as Dave Winer and Jay Rosen call it, "sources go direct") read today's post from Watts, "DVD Extras and Director Commentary," and the initial post, "Guilty."

Watts's "crime," as near as I can determine, was not dropping to the ground fast enough when ordered. Now I understand the difficult and risky job law enforcement officers have on the highways every day. Believe me. I do appreciate that. Nonetheless, I think we should find it a little frightening that, as a society, we are only one moment's hesitation away from a felony rap.

Understandably, there's been a lot of noise about this in the blogosphere. To really zoom in and get a human-scaled response, take a look at the heartfelt and personal post by sf writer Madeline Ashby.

Previous coverage here, here, and here.

Full disclosure: Peter Watts is a colleague with whom I have been workshopping every summer for years.