Jail or no jail?

[AZN_ZX2]

http://teamzx2.com/showthread.php?t=7284

Ok well I was about to go to bed, and I started thinking about this accident, so I decided to post about it.

Pretty much someone had a 2000lb car with 500hp that was barely street legal, and he offered a kid he barely knew a ride to check out the car. The driver lost control and crashed. The person that the driver gave a ride died instantly.

Driver is 18 and the person who died RIP was 24.

Now my question is Should the driver be put in jail? Why or why not?

My coworker said that he shouldn't be put in jail because he is young, and has to live with that the rest of his life.

I said no, he isn't any better than anyone else, and needs to face the consequences.

[mellowness65]

young doesn't compensate for dumb, lock him up

the original link didn't work for me

[dmark101]

sounds like involuntary vehicular manslaughter to me. sorry accident or no, if he was street racing and lost control, the driver is most definitely liable.

the kid will likely go to trial, unless he takes a plea deal, and unless he finds a sympathetic jury, he'll do a couple of years or less and be out.



btw, the original link to the story is broken. i had to search the website to find a snippet of the article and you actually have to pay for it to read the whole thing. stupid asbury park press newspaper.

[mechtech]

Prison, not jail. [similar, but different tattoos!]
But there are umpteen jillion cars that are unsafe on the roads already. And a similar number of untrained and ignorant drivers.
Can we lock them up for basically the same thing? Driving a car that is unsafe? Being stupid?
It has to be on an individual basis.
State with death sentences are the most sure way of curtailing some crimes - it works as a fear factor. Criminals know they can take other raps, but not this.
Sending a message to the rest of us by punishing this guy WILL work as a deterrent. Harsh? Too harmful to his self esteem? But what else? Let him go and blame his parents?
He'll be out by the time he's 30 anyway.

[chik]

Regardless of age, if he is old enough to get a license or old enough to drive then he is old enough to serve time.

And kinda going off of what mechtech said, by the time he gets out (if he were to be loced up) he would still be young enough to get on and have a life... Hopefully one with better decisions.

[AZN_ZX2]

Good I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought so!

[LunchBoxZX2]

Jail time, for sure. Being young doesn't excuse you from being recklessly negligent with someone else's life.

[PHeller]

I'd say he should serve time, but only for a few years, and only because kids have to realize that this crap can't happen. People have got to understand that being stupid doesn't get you out of trouble.

I hate to say it, but I'm essentially advocating throwing myself in jail. Why? Because I do stupid stuff on the road. I know it dangerous and I know I'm breaking the law. I don't drive like an ass with passengers in my car, nor do I street race or split lanes in high traffic, but I do drive like a nut on country road, and I very well could come around a corner and kill someone. It's a choice and a mistake that I'd have to live with, and I think it would be right for me to be punished for it.

Without the threat of penalty, I'd never think what I was doing was wrong, and I'd never try to slow it down. It's the penalty that makes us think twice.

This dude wasn't thinking of the penalty, nor the consequence.

[mechtech]

PH - What an honest personal appraisal!
You are dead right about penalties/fines/prison providing motives for good behaviour.

[JonsZX2SR]

There are a lot of good points. It seems there are two issues here, First, he owned and was driving a motor vehicle that was marginally safe for road use, let alone for transporting passengers. Second, he was driving irresponsibly.

Depending on how the facts of the case play out and how he is prosecuted, he might be found guilty of negligence, involuntray manslaughter or vehicular homicide. That he was being careless and irresponsible compunded the situation and he should serve significant jail time.

The family of the deceased person should also file a civil suit against him. If he gets out of jail, they should be able to take resources away from him and make his life a living hell.

[AZN_ZX2]

There are a lot of good points. It seems there are two issues here, First, he owned and was driving a motor vehicle that was marginally safe for road use, let alone for transporting passengers. Second, he was driving irresponsibly.

Depending on how the facts of the case play out and how he is prosecuted, he might be found guilty of negligence, involuntray manslaughter or vehicular homicide. That he was being careless and irresponsible compunded the situation and he should serve significant jail time.

The family of the deceased person should also file a civil suit against him. If he gets out of jail, they should be able to take resources away from him and make his life a living hell.

Agreed. He totalled a $70,000 car so I'm sure he can spare some money. Or all of it. Hopefully he has learned now.

[mechtech]

Good point. A civil suit could be better.
This would include punishment, some sort of payback for the family, and a strong message sent .