An injustice came to an end Tuesday. After 226 days in jail, freelance videographer Josh Wolf of California walks free.

The Northern Star Editorial Board has written of Wolf’s plight before – one of our final editorials last semester dealt with the outrageous situation.

Wolf’s release came after reaching a deal with prosecutors to post the video, demanded of him by a grand jury, that depicted scenes of a riot whereat police officers were injured and police equipment was damaged.

Federal prosecutors decided they would use the rationalization that since federal money went toward California’s police, Wolf’s refusal to testify before the grand jury was therefore a breach of federal law and journalists in America enjoy the benefit of no shield law.

Jailed for acting like a professional – 24-year-old Josh Wolf has been held captive longer than any other journalist in U.S. history for refusing to testify in court.

This isn’t even the most shocking fact. What should shock Americans is that the new No. 2 journalist (who must sorely resent her record being broken), Vanessa Leggett, who was jailed for 168 days for refusing to reveal her notes regarding a murder, was jailed in 2001 during the tenure of Attorney General John Ashcroft.

The Bush administration is jailing journalists for record amounts of time. One critical difference between the United States and other countries is the freedom of our press versus the censorship and obstruction of other nations. China had 31 journalists in prison as of Dec. 1, 2006, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Some have scoffed at Wolf and said he is only an Internet video huckster. While we believe his actions mark him as something more, consider if that is all he is: Your own harmless Internet videos might one day be used to land you in jail for nearly a year.