Rich kid gets probation after.....

[theslam08]

Hang on. Their defence on the issue was that he was never taught about consequences, and so as a result he isn't going to deal with the consequences of his actions like anyone else would?

 

lol this is exactly what I was thinking...sooo the stupid judge/whatever is JUST like the parents (no 'big' consequences)? I would sue the state, and everything ******* person involved in the 'coverup'. This is just plain wrong. I would say to that retarded judge, can I go and drink, drive eat pills and kill your wife/kid? Please? I would love to, after this BS. Maybe it would make the stupid judge to think twice about letting a little punk that steals, does pills, drinks and drives off too easily. Is the judge his dad? I dont get it. I would sue anyone and everyone I could thats involved with this. This is illegal on all levels I would think. Ugh disgusting!

[Skwerl]

  Yikes.  Is this the sh!tty writing that gets published these days?  I don't know which crime was worse- the kid drinking and driving or the way the article was written.  Were there four people or three people helping the broken down SUV?  They were all thrown sixty yards?  I don't think a semi truck going 120 could even do that.  Sixty yards is over half a football field!  And let's repeat the facts at least three times in the article...

[jwjw1]

While the prosecution can appeal a sentence it's a long shot. The families would do better filing wrongful death civil lawsuits and (financially) skin the parents (and the kids trust account) alive there.

on top of that....its pretty damn hard to serve 10 years of probation....expecially at his young age.

[Growled Member]

This is nothing new. Money has gotten many a person out of a tight spot since time immortal.

[HawkMan]

So if he hasn't been taught the consequences of his actions is that not what the Judicial system is there to do? Let him to hard time!!

Contrary to popular American belief the justice systems isn't there as a revenge and punishment system. It's there to rehabilitate and correct bad behaviour, that's what they're doing, unusually for America. Rather then putting him in jail and releasing him as a real hardened criminal.

[xpablo]

His parents probably paid off the judge or contributed to his re-election. Well no matter what nothing is going to bring back the people he murdered back to life or reverse the injures of those who were paralyzed.

 

It will also do no good for this guy to spend the rest of his life behind bars. what would be good is the family of all the victims sue this rich kids parents for ALL of there assets and $$$$. Make them pay big time for their kid's mistake. Then once this is all said and done somebody should just whack the kid. he has no right to live in our society as a free man.

[mudslag]

I think he got off too light, but I don't think jail time should have been in the cards. He is only 16 years old, every body makes mistakes. some bigger than others, but still.

 

I think a suspended license + probation + community service should be a big enough punishment.

 

 

 

Let's not ignore that this is the second time being caught behind the wheel of a car drunk. Saying he got off too light is the under statement of the year.

[The Evil Overlord]

Contrary to popular American belief the justice systems isn't there as a revenge and punishment system. It's there to rehabilitate and correct bad behaviour, that's what they're doing, unusually for America. Rather then putting him in jail and releasing him as a real hardened criminal.

I get that, and any system that works I am all for, but some punishment within the boundaries set by the justice system would have been nice, all this kid has to do is sit on his ass and play games for the next 10 years and his sentence would be satisfied. then he'll probably go and work in daddy's company, so there's little I see here in the way of judicial punishment..

Of course I'm not an expert in the field, but this, in a nutshell, is what I see happening here

[mudslag]

Contrary to popular American belief the justice systems isn't there as a revenge and punishment system. It's there to rehabilitate and correct bad behaviour, that's what they're doing, unusually for America. Rather then putting him in jail and releasing him as a real hardened criminal.

 

 

Um punishment is part of it, it's in part to say what you did was wrong and you must pay for it and it's also part for letting others know that you do something wrong X will happen. 

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

I understand all the outrage, but if there's no precedent of putting a 16-year-old in jail for manslaughter while driving under the influence then the system has worked as intended.

 

So, is there a similar case in the U.S. judicial history that ended with a different outcome, an actual jail term?

[The Evil Overlord]

*withdrawn, just in case*

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

This is just a wild speculation, but a kid from a poor family wouldn't have the means, a car, to perpetrate the crime in the first place. And it was an accident. The motive, or lack of thereof, is very important.

 

It's hard to draw a parallel when there's no data available and the journalism in this day and age is notorious for making sensations out of nothing. It could be a common practice to put all 16 y.o on a lengthy probation for manslaughter caused by DUI.

 

We just don't know.

 

p.s. I'm not trying to defend or acquit the guy in this case at all.

[DocM]

I understand all the outrage, but if there's no precedent of putting a 16-year-old in jail for manslaughter while driving under the influence then the system has worked as intended.

So, is there a similar case in the U.S. judicial history that ended with a different outcome, an actual jail term?

Michigan and most other states can charge minors 17 and under as adults with the permission of the juvenile court, which is done in a formal hearing. Michigan and others have convicted 11 year olds of murder and other violent crimes.

This year in California a 13 year old was convicted of murdering his father when he was 10. He could be incarcerated 10 more years; in the juvenile system until he's 18, then in an adult prison for the rest.

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

Michigan and most other states can charge minors 17 and under as adults with the permission of the juvenile court, which is done in a formal hearing. Michigan and others have convicted 11 year olds of murder and other violent crimes.

This year in California a 13 year old was convicted of murdering his father when he was 10. He could be incarcerated 10 more years; in the juvenile system until he's 18, then in an adult prison for the rest.

 

I agree, thank you for your answer. However, a murder isn't the same as a manslaughter. The former is intentional, the latter is not. The motive decides everything.

 

I've seen cases when adults were put on probation for manslaughter.

[DocM]

What kind of manslaughter? There is a wide range of charges with sentences from 1 year to life.

Some states have a separate charge on the books called vehicular homicide, with extra points for being drunk.

Then there are states like Michigan that will charge a vehicular homicide + DUI as second degree murder, which can carry a life sentence. More than 1 death is almost a guarantee they'll charge the max.

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

Yes, DUI is an aggravating factor.

 

Still, we are just guessing unless someone finds an identical case (the only difference being defendant's background) with a different outcome.

 

p.s. involuntary manslaughter.

[mudslag]

I understand all the outrage, but if there's no precedent of putting a 16-year-old in jail for manslaughter while driving under the influence then the system has worked as intended.

 

So, is there a similar case in the U.S. judicial history that ended with a different outcome, an actual jail term?

 

 

 

Im willing to bet there is more then a few cases of teenagers put in jail for manslaughter. 

[mudslag]

This is just a wild speculation, but a kid from a poor family wouldn't have the means, a car, to perpetrate the crime in the first place. And it was an accident. The motive, or lack of thereof, is very important.

 

It's hard to draw a parallel when there's no data available and the journalism in this day and age is notorious for making sensations out of nothing. It could be a common practice to put all 16 y.o on a lengthy probation for manslaughter caused by DUI.

 

We just don't know.

 

p.s. I'm not trying to defend or acquit the guy in this case at all.

 

 

 

My first car at 16 cost $500 bucks, my second car, a Pontiac T1000, less then a year later was just over a hundred bucks. Cheap cars are a dime a dozen and at that age, it's really not uncommon for poor 16 yr olds to have them. My parents bought me tires for a present that cost more then my second car.

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

Im willing to bet there is more then a few cases of teenagers put in jail for manslaughter. 

 

That's great as I have no problem with being proven one way or another.

 

The criteria is quite specific: it's a DUI accident which resulted in a multiple manslaughter. The convict is 16 y.o. who can't be from a wealthy family and who ended up in jail.

[HawkMan]

Um punishment is part of it, it's in part to say what you did was wrong and you must pay for it and it's also part for letting others know that you do something wrong X will happen. 

 

And the only thing you would accomplish by revenge punishing him is to put him in the american jail system and release him as a hardened criminal instead of putting him in a rehabilitation program. punishment does nothing for him, it only makes the victims feel better, and only superficially so. 

 

That said, had America had a proper justice/correctional system where people got proper rehab in jail/prison instead of just being locked away as punishment, then I'm sure he would and should have gotten jail time. But as long as America don't want to create a modern justice system it's not going to work, as long as you focus more on revenge than on helping and correcting, then judges who want to help people and reduce the amount of criminals and especially repeat offenders and not create more and new hardened criminals, they will have to resort to these kind of outside the box solutions. 

 

change your system and he would have had jail time. 

[The Evil Overlord]

And the only thing you would accomplish by revenge punishing him is to put him in the american jail system and release him as a hardened criminal instead of putting him in a rehabilitation program. punishment does nothing for him, it only makes the victims feel better, and only superficially so. 

Your post does make sense, but it also appears sympathetic towards the kid, normally I would agree that rehabilitation is the better option, but in this case, I don't think it'll work, hell I would very much LOVE to be, and would be happy to be proven wrong, but I just see this as an injustice has taken place, and his parents bought him out of any form of punishment, if I remember correctly, he didn't even get community service, just a 10 year suspended sentence

[mudslag]

And the only thing you would accomplish by revenge punishing him is to put him in the american jail system and release him as a hardened criminal instead of putting him in a rehabilitation program. punishment does nothing for him, it only makes the victims feel better, and only superficially so. 

 

That said, had America had a proper justice/correctional system where people got proper rehab in jail/prison instead of just being locked away as punishment, then I'm sure he would and should have gotten jail time. But as long as America don't want to create a modern justice system it's not going to work, as long as you focus more on revenge than on helping and correcting, then judges who want to help people and reduce the amount of criminals and especially repeat offenders and not create more and new hardened criminals, they will have to resort to these kind of outside the box solutions. 

 

change your system and he would have had jail time. 

 

 

 

You seem to be confusing punishment as revenge when that's not the case at all. Punishment is for committing the crime and again serves not only for doing the crime but an example to others that actions have consequences. Revenge is an act set by those affected, punishment is an act set by the state for an action. Being sent to prison is not an act of revenge. 

[mudslag]

It seems he's been allowed to drive since he was 13 yrs old, and was picked up at the age of 15 with a naked 14 yr old passed out in his car. I think the parents need some jail time.

 

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-texas-teen-drunk-driving-probation-affluenza-20131212,0,61486.story#axzz2nL9plxJc

 

 

 

That psychologist cited one instance when the boy, then 15, was caught in a parked pickup with a naked 14-year-old girl who was passed out. He was never punished, the psychologist said, noting to the court that the teenager was allowed to drink at a very young age, and even began driving at 13.

 

[HawkMan]

You seem to be confusing punishment as revenge when that's not the case at all. Punishment is for committing the crime and again serves not only for doing the crime but an example to others that actions have consequences. Revenge is an act set by those affected, punishment is an act set by the state for an action. Being sent to prison is not an act of revenge.

Punishment IS revenge, especially when done in the organized form of the "justice" system.

[HawkMan]

Your post does make sense, but it also appears sympathetic towards the kid, normally I would agree that rehabilitation is the better option, but in this case, I don't think it'll work, hell I would very much LOVE to be, and would be happy to be proven wrong, but I just see this as an injustice has taken place, and his parents bought him out of any form of punishment, if I remember correctly, he didn't even get community service, just a 10 year suspended sentence

I think you and many other people completely underestimate and fail to understand what 10 years of probation means and how it will effect him.