In series of strange news that seem to become perfectly in tune with the apparent plummeting of the global IQ pool, Ohio man Mark Byron escaped prison after partially ignoring court orders. Byron had made comments about his former wife, for which he was punished by Hamilton County Domestic Relations Court.

At the time he wrote: "If you are an evil, vindictive woman who wants to ruin your husband's life and take your son's father away from him completely — all you need to do is say you're scared of your husband or domestic partner and they'll take him away." His punishment consisted of posting daily apologies on Facebook for a month.

He stopped posting the apologies after 26 days, claiming that the punishment violated his freedom of speech. Judge Jon Sieve ruled on Monday that he posted it long enough, which means Byron won’t have to do time. Still, Byron claims he was prepared to go to jail to defend his free speech rights.

According to the initial ruling, several of Byron's comments were intended to generate a negative and venomous response towards his wife from his Facebook friends. The wife’s attorney said she’s disappointed Byron didn’t go to prison.

More here.