MIT bomb-scare student case may be futile

BOSTON, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Legal analysts say chances are slim of getting a conviction against a college student whose sweatshirt triggered a security crisis in Boston, a report says.

Star Anna Simpson, 19, of Hawaii, was arrested Friday at Logan International Airport for wearing a sweatshirt with a lit circuit board connected to a 9-volt battery, police said.

Prosecutors have said the will follow the letter of the law in charging Simpson, a sophomore at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Boston Herald reported Sunday.

The odds of obtaining a conviction are slim, said legal analysts, including Harvey Silvergate, a criminal defense lawyer.

“I don’t think you could get 12 out of 12 jurors to agree this student actually meant for people to think she had a bomb,” Silvergate said. “A suicide bomber is going to hide the bomb, not wear it on the front of their shirt.”