Quote:
Originally Posted by Steveo
I don't remember anyone on this forum that had a problem with Littlefield's conviction and sentence when it came down. He was negligent when he hit another boat and killed someone he didn't know and he went to jail for it. Maybe that is the difference here. Erica hit an island and killed her best friend. If instead of an island she hit another boat that night and killed some one on it what would you think. Was she negligent? If convicted should she serve jail time. I think we are getting too wrapped up into the emotions and the unusual situation. Because it was an island, it is too weird and unfortunate to be anything but an accident. Because it was her best friend - she could never be negligent when it came to her best friend. And of course Erica's personal suffering is much greater because she killed her best friend than if it was a stranger, she shouldn't have to suffer more by going to jail.
Bottom line: given all the conditions of that night if Erica hit another boat and killed a stranger on that boat this discussion would have been over long ago and Erica would have a couple of years jail time to think about what she had done.
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If this were the story of some wreckless driver in bad weather driving too fast, hydro-planing and consequently losing control of her SUV, striking another vehicle and killing the occupant (a total stranger) would we all agree the driver was negligent and should be punished or was it a "could happen to anyone" boo boo that should be quickly forgiven and forgotten? If instead, you had the same fact set but it's a single vehicle accident where the passenger (a close friend) is killed should we think about the punishment differently and more sympathically towards the driver? Suffered enough and all that? Who was killed shouldn't matter is my point. Anytime an innocent person is killed through the negligence of others, families and friends suffer. Knowing the victim of your crime shouldn't lower your punishment. The punshment should be the same as if she'd killed a total stranger. And this was an "accident" in the sense that she didn't intend to kill her friend, but it was completely preventable had any semblance of common sense been employed. The very idea that someone with her "boating experience" would conclude that getting on plane when she couldn't see beyond the bow of the boat was a reasonable and safe decision is truly frightening -- almost more frightening if alcohol wasn't really a contributing factor.