Quote:
Originally Posted by codeman671
How so?  |
As usual, the reference source provided does not make the argument intended.
The individual in Florida was sentenced to 84 years based on multiple convictions of manslaughter for six deaths induced by
Boating While Intoxicated....
A close reading of the stories attached showed a belief that the individual was travelling most likely above the posted speed limit of 25 MPH but authorities agreed that in the narrow confines of the area of the crime that the vessel was not travelling anywhere near its maximum limits.
But again, the individual cited was convicted on manslaughter due to
boating while intoxicated.
Also, the insinuation that operating at an estimated 28 MPH in the Littlefield case would have somehow equated to massive criminal penalties if a 25 MPH speed limit had been in effect shows a complete misunderstanding of how the criminal justice system works in New Hampshire. If the speed had been the contributing factor in the Littlefield collision the State already had an existing statute, the reckless operation RSA, that would have been invoked as a felony charge. Speed was not and still is not the contributing factor that caused the death in the Littlefield crime. The complete transcript of the original trial and the Supreme Court decision based on Littlefield's appeal is public record, and has been for years. Littlefield, although not found guilty of Boating While Intoxicated, was found guilty of the felony Failure to Maintain a Proper Lookout due in part to his consumption of alcohol on the night of the crime.
Finally, to equate the horrific crime in Florida (which the poster had to go back eleven years and thousands of miles to compare) in which six individuals were slaughtered versus the unnecessary death of one individual here in New Hampshire totally negates the ability to classify the two crimes and the resulting sentences as "
similar".