Texting teen gets 9 days
I found the initial follow-up story on Bicycle Retailer, but read the whole article HERE in the Denver Post about the sentencing of the teen who killed a bicyclist in Colorado while text messaging. If you remember I blogged about this back during Thanksgiving.
For killing a bicyclist the teen received 9 days in jail (to be served over spring break), 300 hours of community service, 98 days of house arrest, and cannot drive a car or own a cell phone. There are other stipulations within those parameters the juvenile must abide by such as speak to other kids about driver safety.
9 days. 300 hours. 98 days. No car. No cell phone. 1 dead cyclist.
Why? Because the young kid owned up and admitted fault, and has shown tremendous remorse for his actions. Even the victim's family asked the judge not to sentence the kid to a longer jail term. I guess that's all it takes to not actually take on the full consequences of killing someone, show remorse. Based upon the article I'm sure this kid isn't acting, but why is that enough to get this outcome?
At some point a just sentence must be carried out in relation to the magnitude of the accident. Is involuntary manslaughter worth only 9 days? The price to pay for simple carelessness is only 9 days. There are drunk drivers who haven't killed anyone serving more time than that. In my opinion 9 days is not a just consequence for the kid's careless actions.
For killing a bicyclist the teen received 9 days in jail (to be served over spring break), 300 hours of community service, 98 days of house arrest, and cannot drive a car or own a cell phone. There are other stipulations within those parameters the juvenile must abide by such as speak to other kids about driver safety.
9 days. 300 hours. 98 days. No car. No cell phone. 1 dead cyclist.
Why? Because the young kid owned up and admitted fault, and has shown tremendous remorse for his actions. Even the victim's family asked the judge not to sentence the kid to a longer jail term. I guess that's all it takes to not actually take on the full consequences of killing someone, show remorse. Based upon the article I'm sure this kid isn't acting, but why is that enough to get this outcome?
At some point a just sentence must be carried out in relation to the magnitude of the accident. Is involuntary manslaughter worth only 9 days? The price to pay for simple carelessness is only 9 days. There are drunk drivers who haven't killed anyone serving more time than that. In my opinion 9 days is not a just consequence for the kid's careless actions.
posted by NashvilleCyclist.com at 2/10/2006 01:59:00 PM
2 Comments:
The victim's family asked that he not be sentenced to a longer term. They probably have a pretty good perspective on the whole thing and if they're not outraged by the sentence, why should we be?
This is precisely why there are laws on the books to address these situations. It should never matter if the victim's families are outraged or possessing a "good perspective." What's important is there is an objective court that administers a verdict with proportional punishment if guilty, and set free if not guilty.
A just and orderly society must set laws and follow them explicitly. Otherwise, we'll have mob lynchings and/or people getting off scot free without any objectiveness. Thereby setting the stage for anarchy and a legal system without order.
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