[Windswept]

Two (American) football jocks (age 16, 17) put a fake deer in the middle of a curvy road. An oncoming car with two teens swerved hard to miss the deer when they rounded a curve and suddenly saw it in the middle of the road. They went into a ditch.

One suffered broken bones in his neck and elsewhere, and has had ten surgeries so far. The other teen suffered brain damage.

The judge has decided to let the jock pranksters play the entire upcoming football season *before* spending 60 days in jail and doing community service.

60 days in jail and community service? When one of the victims has brain damage???

Robert Roby Jr., one of the injured teens, said he believes the boys received special treatment because they're football players. "They could have killed me and my friend so easily over a stupid prank. For me it feels like they got a little slap on the wrist," said Roby, 19, who graduated from Kenton High in 2005 and played baseball and golf. "Kenton is a big football town and a lot of people don't look past that to see what really happened," he said. The Wildcats, which won state championships in their division in 2001 and 2002, draw about 4,000 fans for games in this city of about 8,000.

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/LAW/08/1....ap/index.html


Does this sentence seems fair to you guys, or is it just one more example of preferential treatment for athletes?

I bet the judge was given 'the word' by various movers and shakers in the community to let the football season progress with its valued players on the field.

Honestly, it makes me sick. Those jocks should get four years in jail for what they did. Anyone agree/disagree? Am I being too harsh?

[Foj]

Originally Posted by Windswept Am I being too harsh?

No. I think they should be kicked off the team and be made to serve more than 60 days during the football season. Plus, get them jobs somewhere to help pay at least some of the medical bills.

[torifile]

That's not nearly enough for what happened. Granted, it was a "joke" but there are very real consequences to some jokes (as the victims of this (crime(?) prank(?)) can attest. It wasn't intentional, but that doesn't mean they should get off with nothing worse than what they'd get for underage drinking or some other victimless crime.

That said, I don't know if it is preferential treatment but regardless is way less than is acceptable. I hope that a civil court will give the victims some retribution.

[murbot]

That sentence would have been fair if the car had swerved to miss the thing and they *weren't* hurt.

[torifile]

Originally Posted by the *Principal* of the school "I've never seen anything that has been so much an issue in the community," said Arch Rodgers, principal of 670-student Kenton High School. "The worst part is this has drug out so long and the longer it drug out, the more it created friction in the community."

Wow. He's the principal?!? He's practically unintelligible! I fear for the future of this country if our educators are this ignorant.

[Is it 1981?]

Absolutely not. Two months? That's disgusting.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by torifile I fear for the future of this country if our educators are this ignorant.

*thinks about mentioning Kansas*

*exits thread stage left*

[Windswept]

Originally Posted by torifile That's not nearly enough for what happened. Granted, it was a "joke" but there are very real consequences to some jokes (as the victims of this (crime(?) prank(?)) can attest. It wasn't intentional, but that doesn't mean they should get off with nothing worse than what they'd get for underage drinking or some other victimless crime. That said, I don't know if it is preferential treatment but regardless is way less than is acceptable. I hope that a civil court will give the victims some retribution.

But a civil court settlement would basically get money from the insurance companies, right?

The boys wouldn't be affected much, it seems to me.

I can just *see* influential men from this town of 8,000 pressuring the judge for that sentence.

I'll just bet judges are *elected* in that town, as opposed to being appointed by the governor of the state (or whoever it is that appoints judges who aren't elected).

An "elected" judge in a small community just seems WAY too open to community pressure to me.

I'd sure like to know if this judge holds an elected or appointed office.

[Windswept]

I'm dying to see if Dorian will think the sentence was just.

[torifile]

But a civil court settlement would basically get money from the insurance companies, right?

I don't think so. The perps weren't doing anything that would cover them with insurance. At any rate, I'm *sure* insurance companies will not cover this sort of gross misbehavior. There's no way they'd do that.

[atomicbartbeans]

Yeah, athletes do have a history of getting preferential treatment; even at my high school, the most popular jocks can get away with lots more (stealing food from the cafeteria, skipping classes, leaving school early for games) than the rest of us.

[Windswept]

Originally Posted by torifile I don't think so. The perps weren't doing anything that would cover them with insurance. At any rate, I'm *sure* insurance companies will not cover this sort of gross misbehavior. There's no way they'd do that.

But what about liability provisions in their parents' homeowner's policies?

It's amazing what such coverage will extend to, with a knowledgeable lawyer to prod the insurance company.

Or even possibly liability coverage in their auto insurance. I mean, they did cause an 'automobile' accident with injuries.

Wow. I wonder if anyone at AN knows much about liability coverage? Probably not.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by atomicbartbeans Yeah, athletes do have a history of getting preferential treatment; even at my high school, the most popular jocks can get away with lots more (stealing food from the cafeteria, skipping classes, leaving school early for games) than the rest of us.

On the bright side, your school is doing a great job of preparing you for the Real World!

Just replace "popular jocks" with politicians, actors, musicians, rich people, and... uh... athletes.

[spikeh]

The sentence is a joke. Tie them to a fake deer and put it into the middle of the road.

[Moogs]

The age is everything. I'm sure the defense lawyers are hard at work showing how these "adolescent boys" made an adolescent mistake, and are very sorry, upstanding citizens otherwise, blah blah blah, their parents gave us lot's of money to get them off light.

This is a good example of where some good old fashioned vigilante (non-murderous) justice would be useful. 60 days is a cakewalk in the scheme of things. Maybe one or both will get the county jail beat-down anyway.

[julesstoop]

This sentence is by no means fair to the victims and fails to set any example for other youngsters.

While I don't think putting them in jail for an extended period of time is going to do anybody any real good, I do believe these kinds should at least be deprived from their privilege to play in the football season. Besides that a longer community service (helping people who suffer from similar injuries)and at least a conditional prison sentence (is that correct English?) are called for. Imho.

My country in general knows much less strict penalties than the US, but even I find this a ridiculous verdict.

[Moogs]

Yah the football part shows this is a real redneck type of town where that good ole "home team pride" overrides all other concerns because no one has a real life / any sense of perspective.

"Listen Bobbeh... I know those kids did wrong, but if they miss the season who really gets hurt? The whole town watches that team, Bobbeh... let's make sure they get their chance to play before handing down judgement." Reads like a bad made-for-cable movie.

This is probably a small, semi-rural town if I had to guess. That's the only explanation why they somehow get punished AND get to play football too. Bunch of drunks living vicariously through their kids on the varsity team, living for Friday nights.

[Windswept]

Well, you know, I put a poll on here because the article indicated that the town was so 'divided' about the sentence.

It's certainly obvious that 'objective' opinion (ours ) isn't at 'all' divided.

And yeah, Moogs, it's pretty clear that the city fathers (and mothers) live through the glories of their football team. Ick. But a town of 8,000 has so little else going for it, I imagine, in the way of putting itself on the map.

But where is Dorian?! Surely he isn't flinching from giving us his opinion in this case?

I mean, he seldom flinches when it comes to giving us his opinion.

I thought if anyone could see some productive value in this sentence it would be Dorian. But, alas, apparently not...

[MBHockey]

Originally Posted by murbot That sentence would have been fair if the car had swerved to miss the thing and they *weren't* hurt.

Agreed. This is ridiculous. 10 surgeries?? Brain damage? I had one surgery a full year ago from a hockey injury and it still hurts every day. I can't imagine what having 10 surgeries in close proximity of one another is going to mean in terms of full recovery time, but i can tell you it's going to be a hell of a lot longer than 60 days.

What fucking piece of shit thinks putting a fake deer in the road is a good idea anyway? What did they think was going to happen? Fucking idiots.

Where's Hammurabi when you need him?

[MBHockey]

Did anyone see this?!

The two football players are to remain on house arrest once released, pay fines, perform community service and each write an essay titled "Why I Should Think Before I Act." Trials are pending for three other defendants.

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by MBHockey Did anyone see this?!

Of course, it'll be rife with grammatical errors and probably more than a few "urs" and "donts" thrown in for good measure.

And then they'll be congratulated for their "effort."

[MBHockey]

The entire punishment is laughable.

[World Leader Pretend]

Originally Posted by Brad *thinks about mentioning Kansas* *exits thread stage left*

Keep walking...

[sirnick4]

Brain Damage is permanent. It cannot be undone. I repeat: It cannot be undone.

This is ridiculous. Things like this piss me off.

[thegeriatric]

Originally Posted by Windswept Two (American) football jocks (age 16, 17) put a fake deer in the middle of a curvy road. An oncoming car with two teens swerved hard to miss the deer when they rounded a curve and suddenly saw it in the middle of the road. They went into a ditch. One suffered broken bones in his neck and elsewhere, and has had ten surgeries so far. The other teen suffered brain damage. 60 days in jail and community service? When one of the victims has brain damage??? Honestly, it makes me sick. Those jocks should get four years in jail for what they did. Anyone agree/disagree? Am I being too harsh?

No Not at all. If anything not harsh enough. What kind of a Fuc---g moron thinks this is a joke. They are lucky someone did not get killed. The injuries sustained were bad enough.

If the sentence is to light what kind of a message are we sending. This kind of stupidity needs to be stamped out, and the only way to do it is through the legal system, with a punishment harsh enough to send the right message to any would be copiers.

* Steps down from soap box*

[Windswept]

Does anyone remember this "prank" case from 1996?

I wonder what the final outcome has been... and whether there ever was a new trial after the successful appeal?

The Facts of the Case A stop sign was removed from a busy intersection in Tampa, Florida, in February, 1996. Three young men in a car - Keith Farr, Randal White, and Brian Hernandez - died instantly when a large truck hit their vehicle as they drove through the intersection. The missing stop sign was the cause of the accident. Christopher Cole, Nissa Baillie and Thomas Miller confessed to stealing several road signs in the area as a prank, but emphatically denied that they had taken the stop sign from that particular intersection. They were charged with first-degree manslaughter. The jury unanimously reached a guilty verdict for all three defendants. Each was sentenced to 30 years in prison, with 15 years suspended, resulting in prison terms of 15 years plus five years probation. On February 28, 2001 a Florida appellate court overturned the convictions of Christopher Cole, Nissa Baillie and Thomas Miller. As of March 9, 2001, two of the defendants were out on bail pending the decision by the prosecutor to proceed with a new trial. Only one remains incarcerated on an unrelated drug charge. The defendants won the appeal on the grounds that, among other things, the jury was tainted by the prosecutions disparaging characterizations of the defandants, incorrect characterization of one witness’ expertise and misquoted testimony.

http://www.courttv.com/choices/curriculum/stopsign/


It sounds like they 'did' serve 'some' time in jail. But the grounds for winning the appeal... geez.

Gee whiz, did the prosecution hurt the kids' feelings? Awww..... what a crying shame.

[Artap99]

The sentence has too many prepositions.

[Barto]

I don't think it's up to us and I think this thread is a great example of why it shouldn't be up to us.

Every time there's a thread here about crime and punishment it always ends up like this: Lock 'em up, throw away the key!

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by Barto I don't think it's up to us and I think this thread is a great example of why it shouldn't be up to us. Every time there's a thread here about crime and punishment it always ends up like this: Lock 'em up, throw away the key!

You raise a good point; that is how threads on these topics tend to go around here, but OTOH, generally the crimes we talk around here aren't the sort where a light punishment would suffice.

If someone posted a thread about every last court trial and prank gone awry I would agree with you. That, however, isn't the case. The crimes we generally discuss here are cases of outright stupidity, something AN users seem to hate.

[Barto]

If you locked up every 16 year old for outright stupidity, there wouldn't be any 16 year olds left walking around.

What happened is obviously very tragic and sad but I don't think that calls for a 16 year old and a 17 year old facing mob justice rather than the considered opinion of a judge taking the needs of his community into account.