An Ohio man – who faced jail time if he didn’t post daily apologies for statements he made on Facebook (News - Alert) about his estranged wife – won’t get locked up even though he wiggled out of the required number of continual apologies on the social media site.

The Associated Press said that Mark Byron posted apologies for 26 days – but stopped sooner than ordered by a court. Byron and free speech advocates said the order from a court magistrate allegedly violated his freedom of speech.

Judge Jon Sieve, of Hamilton County Domestic Relations Court, ruled this week Byron posted the comments for a sufficient time and won’t go to jail, The AP said.

“I was prepared to go to defend my free speech rights,” Byron was quoted by The AP.

His attorney, Becky Ford, will appeal and claimed the earlier ruling from the court violated free speech rights. “The First Amendment not only protects your right to speak, but it also protects your ability to remain silent,” she was quoted by The AP.

In November, Byron posted on his Facebook page, “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,” The AP said.

Magistrate Paul Meyers ruled Byron was in contempt of a previous protective order because of the statement on Facebook.  Byron could have spent 60 days in jail and pay a $500 fine. Or, he could post the apology. The apology was written by the magistrate.

TMCnet had reported that the protective order said Byron could not create mental abuse, harassment or annoyance for his wife. Byron also paid for legal fees for his estranged wife, Elizabeth, according to TMCnet.

In his comments on the issue, TMCnet’s Peter Bernstein said, “there is no elegant solution to the issue of speech on the Internet.”

“It seems the best advice – and the one likely to be given out by courts in the future – is if you don’t want the world to know something, don’t be foolish and put it in a place where the world will have access,” Bernstein added.