A woman made a vague threat to a healthcare company – does she really deserve up to 15 years in prison?

‘What did Boston do, exactly? She was rude to a customer service representative.’ Photograph: YAY Media AS/Alamy

Delay, deny, depose ... detained

Sit yourself down and let out a big sigh of relief: thanks to the tireless work of the Florida police force, everyone in the US can now feel a little bit safer. On Tuesday, Florida’s Lakeland police department charged Briana Boston, a 42-year-old mother of three, with threats to conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism.