Needless Accidents
| September 4th, 2008 by Robert | Word Count: 614 | Reading Time 2:26 | 2,353 views |
Our justice system is one of our country’s most defining achievements, but should we be happy with its current state? Throughout our past, lawmakers have tried to institute fairness within our legal system and protect the rights of the individual. The simple fact and idea that everyone is innocent until proven guilty provides a sense of fairness. However, has our attempt at being fair in all situations created an issue that favors criminal behavior? In past articles, I have written about our capital punishment laws among various other “issues” within our justice system. There are issues which require immediate action to rectify certain “loopholes” which criminals and their lawyers are actively exploiting. These exploits are freeing individuals who should be behind bars for their actions.
I ran across a report detailing exactly what I am referring to above. A young man recently was in a car accident, killing 2 people. Prior to the accident, he was stopped for suspected drunk driving. However, as the officer approached his vehicle, he sped off, ran a red light at an intersection and hit a vehicle which sent him airborne. His vehicle proceeded to land on top of another, crushing the passengers inside. The passengers were a newlywed couple (married for about a month), on their way home from a movie date when their life was ended. The first vehicle included 5 students with 2 receiving non-life threatening injuries. As it usually happens, the suspected drunk driver was not killed and is currently hospitalized. His passenger, needing to be cut out from the vehicle, is also hospitalized.
Sad story, but in reality, this was a needless accident that occurred because our justice system has become too “fair.” The back story on our driver includes the following: He has been arrested 4 times previously for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI), involved in 2 police chases, and has 4 outstanding drug and DWI warrants. Should this man have been allowed to be free? The last DWI charge he faced only required a $500 fine to be paid before he could be released. Is that fair? No, these charges are not something that he accrued over his extended lifetime… he is only 22 years old. This man should not have been allowed to drive let alone be out of jail.
How many of these needless accidents occur throughout the year? Not only drunken driving accidents, but any accidents that could have been prevented if our justice system would be more adamant about putting criminals behind bars rather than freeing them in an attempt to be more “fair.” I believe the suspect in this case was well beyond being treated fair. His repeated criminal action was more than enough to require his removal of freedom. Now, there are 2 deaths involved and at least 3 other injured people because of his actions.
We read stories like this all the time. Accidents happen, but some accidents can be prevented. This was a preventable accident. Are we too worried about how many people we have in prison? Are we worried about criminals being treated unfairly when they have repeatedly violated our laws? Who is standing up for the victims? Why aren’t we worried about the rights and lives of the victims or even future accidental victims? Each time we see or read a story such as this, we always think “That’s horrible… I’m glad it wasn’t me or my family.” This time… If we continue to allow our criminals to walk away time and again, eventually, your family could be reading a story about an accident involving you… or even worse, children receiving a phone call informing them of their parent’s death.
Citation: http://www.foxnews.com/
on September 4th, 2008 at 11:01 am:
What’s sad is that if you have money to pay an attorney, you can get sentences reduced continually, and there they are.. back on the streets! Has nothing to do with deserving.
You are right.. the system is too worried about the rights of the wrong – doer and not enough for the victims. THAT’S WHY THIS BOY HAD 4 PREVIOUS DWI’S. The consequences weren’t hard enough to steer him away from this behavior.
on September 4th, 2008 at 11:07 am:
Very true. Lawyers have basically become a get out of jail free card, if you have the money. Money should not play a factor in justice. You are either guilty or not. A high priced lawyer should not be able to twist the truth in an effort to change the facts.
And yes, the deterrents this man faced on his previous altercations were definitely not enough to make him rethink his actions. Primary issue is because our justice system reduces sentences to move the cattle (criminals) along through the system. We need to force the criminals to pay for their mistakes and in the end, our society will be a much safer place.
How many innocent deaths is it going to take to realize that we need to change how we penalize our criminals?
on September 4th, 2008 at 8:41 pm:
I see a big list in our local paper almost daily where they let these criminals out with a plea bargain and a slap on the wrist. You are right, this country is turning more to protect the guilty than to protect the innocent people. These lawyers and judges should have to be responsible for letting these people loose,just as an auto mechanic is held accountable for his work.
Would these lawyers be so eager to stand up for these criminals and a few thousand bucks to get them off?? I don’t think so, if they do the crime they should spend the time.
They should start sending people to Arizona and let Joe Arpio show them how criminals are supposed to be treated if convicted. No tv’s, no air conditioners,no fancy gym,no fancy meals. What they do receive is PINK UNDERWEAR,PINK OUTER CLOTHES, PINK HAND CUFFS AND A TENT TO SLEEP UNDER. Oh yeah they also get .65 worth of bologna and bread for their meals. Most of the prisoners that are sent to solitary confinement volunteer for the chain gang to clean up roadways or whatever is needed. They don’t have to worry about too many criminals wanting to return to Big Joes boarding house. Oh, and in case you haven’t heard it gets up to around 120 degrees here during the day sometimes.
Just think if every county in every state had a Big Joes boarding house to send some of our corrupt lawyers and judges also, along with their criminal friends, maybe the civilized people could relax some and enjoy life as it should be!!!!
on September 5th, 2008 at 8:34 am:
If we treated criminals like they should be treated, crime rates would definitely decline in my opinion. I equate it to this: You put locks on your doors not to keep ALL criminals out, just the average criminal who may be making a horrible mistake. If someone wants to break into your house, they will.
The locks are there to stop the entry level guy, the first mistake guy, the bad decision guy. Penalties for crimes are the same. The hardcore criminal will not care about the consequences but the average criminal will. If you create a system that deters the entry of wannabe criminals, crime will decrease because the barrier (penalty) is so high. You will be left with the hardcore criminal crowd and they are what the laws and sentences should be directed at.
Sure, we all make mistakes, but sometimes, 3-4 “mistakes” are not exactly mistakes. At some point, it is just who you are. The guy in this article was not making a mistake, he was a repeat offender who should have been sentenced as a criminal, not as a “mistake” by an average citizen.
on September 6th, 2008 at 2:43 pm:
I don’t think our justice system will ever be fair. We have let so many crimminals go unpunished, they think they can now get away with anything. We need more law officers to catch them all. We don’t have enough prisons to house them all, they know that. Even our prisons need stronger managers, more skilled, integrity guards.
on September 6th, 2008 at 3:09 pm:
We have been force-fed the idea that we can treat or rehabilitate all criminals no matter what the crime. People who are the “mistake or bad decision” criminals can be taught, I agree. However, there are those amongst us that will never be taught or rehabilitated. They know right from wrong, they just choose to ignore it.
I agree, our justice system probably cannot be fixed because the costs associated with it will be more than we are willing the pay and also, special interest groups would never allow it to happen. Protect the innocent has been replaced with “Protect the innocent… as long as it’s worth the money.”
on September 10th, 2008 at 3:45 pm:
Another senseless accident has happened recently which should have been prevented – from CBS4 Denver:
“Francis M. Hernandez… a suspected illegal immigrant from Guatemala… ‘has been’ accused of causing a horrific crash at a suburban Denver ice cream shop that killed three — including a 3-year-old boy.
Hernandez was arrested more than a dozen times (at least 16) since 2003 by nine different state police departments, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation says. Some of the arrests were for criminal impersonation and forgery; the bulk were for traffic violations, including driving without a license and without insurance.
Hernandez has used …12 aliases and two dates of birth.”
The illegal immigration portion is only a part of the problem, the major issue here is his prior record. How can a man, who isn’t supposed to be in our country anyway, be allowed to go free with his arrest record since 2003? Amazingly inadequate application of justice within our system.
Now a 3 year old and 2 women have paid the price of their lives for the freedom this man has enjoyed, both illegally and by lack of structure within our judicial system.
on September 22nd, 2008 at 8:44 am:
The world is too complex for the justice system to run flawlessly. It likely never will run flawless. For every case mentioned involving excessively light penalties, you can find a story of excessively harsh sentences. It is a system that could be improved, but you will always have these types of stories. People with lengthy background checks should be watched a little more than the average person.
on September 22nd, 2008 at 9:05 am:
I agree that a flawless system is akin to asking for a perfect world, but these cases are far from the fringe issues. The simple justice mistakes cannot be effectively filtered from the system because we will always have issues with plea bargaining among other similar issues.
But, people who are notorious law offenders being allowed to walk free are the ones we can change our system for. Yes, there are cases of excessively harsh penalties against less “criminal” citizens, but my guess (without concrete evidence) is that they are far less in common than the above examples.
I’m not advocating a 1 strike and you’re out system (except for violent crimes or other similarly harmful actions), but I am going on record saying that people with habitual run ins with the law deserve to spend some time away from society… including plea bargains, sentence reductions, or whatever the case may be.