Guest Anonymous Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 Will this sentence eventually be the one which sends the correct message to young Shetland Drivers:http://www.shetland-news.co.uk/news_12_2008/Driver%20jailed%20for%20friends%20death.htm I think that for once the sheriff has done the best he can, within the law. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAStewart Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Well if you consider that often the deaths, crashes or injuries occur when the drivers are drunk, then this message might not get to them, as logical faculties are suspended when drunk. Also, tough punishment (long prison sentences, capital punishment etc) do not deter crime and I point you to Texas for an example in this light: one of the highest crime rates in the USA and still has CapPun? But anyway. I'd like to think that this will get to anyone thinking of drunk driving, but we'll just have to wait and see I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustMe Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Not at all in favour of the sentence. Jail is just going to ruin yet another young life. The guy did something stupid and illegal and I am sure regrets his actions but a jail sentence?...........what good will it do?. Were I the Sheriff and it was within my powers I would have sentenced him to a year's work mopping up the blood in a busy hospital casualty department where he could have seen at first hand the problems drink causes society when taken to excess. I also wonder about the severity of the sentence. Sure he was the driver and his driving was the cause of the death but does the sentence take into consideration the fact that the boy who died was not wearing his seatbelt?. Maybe I am being controversial but I am by no means convinced that a long prison sentence for being stupid does much good for anyone other than to give into society's demand for revenge. Will the sentence deter other young people in Shetland?. Well perhaps but maybe a tough campaign to show all drivers the bloody results of crashes would do more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Styumpie Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Only banned from driving for 5 years, a life ban for this sort of thing would be a good deterrent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sudden Stop Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 I'd say that this type of punishment should be MORE regular but not just when deaths are involved. You need to be caught drink driving a few times before finally being threatened with jail. If you thought you may go directly to jail for the first offence - you'd make sure you'd have transport home BEFORE getting drunk (sorry JAS, the decision not to arrange this is taken whilst still sober). I feel sorry for this guy for having killed his mate and a jail sentence is appropriate (in my opinion) but the sentance it will not serve as a warning to anybody as nobody thinks it'll happen to them. If people are being jailed for they're first drink driving offence - the driving public would know with, no confusion, what the consquences of that action would be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khitajrah Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 [edit] A driving ban is no big deal really, folk drive without a license or insurance all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAStewart Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 ^If you knew about that while it was happening, that is a crime to withhold such information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khitajrah Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 ^ My bad. Rest assured that in your position as university student you should be priivy to some not-quite-law-abiding activities and that you report all such things to the local authorities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxFusion Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 ^Good Answer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtothet Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 its a bit retarded that he gets a 5year ban, and then 4years and 8months of that will be spent in jail is it not? i assume the ban starts from now. also this is me assuming he actually serves the full sentence, which i guess is unlikely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostrider Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 ^If you knew about that while it was happening, that is a crime to withhold such information. Dontcha just love living in a semi-Communist nation! Being criminalised for what you know, but choose to keep to yourself, is only but one tiny step away from being criminalised for what you're thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAStewart Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 ^ My bad. Rest assured that in your position as university student you should be priivy to some not-quite-law-abiding activities and that you report all such things to the local authorities. If you can find something, let me know. I'm not aware of anything, also its a logical fallacy to assume that just because I'm a student means that I am aware of criminal activity. Dontcha just love living in a semi-Communist nation! Being criminalised for what you know, but choose to keep to yourself, is only but one tiny step away from being criminalised for what you're thinking. If I knew someone had murdered someone, and then did again, should I keep it to myself? Of course not. I should share it to spare lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxFusion Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 how would you know if someone murdered someone unless you were there to witness it? you can't rely on hearsay you know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peeriewan Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 I don’t think that jail is appropriate here, It says they couldn’t find a taxi - who is to say they didn’t plan a way home when they were sober - many a time we go out and rely on a taxi being there when we need it, sometimes you just don’t know how long you are gonna be in town and my parents gave up being a dial a ride a long time ago. Secondly all three were presumably considering driving home as they were arguing over the keys, who is to say what the outcome would have been if one of the others had driven. Thirdly after you are 14 years old you are responsible for putting on your own seatbelt not the driver, is this not an important message in itself - seatbelts save lives. I don’t know what the answer is regarding punishment but they were all involved and are both missing Ian, imagine the feelings you would feel after killing your best friend. I think its got more to do with macho young boy culture and unfortunate I don’t think jail is a deterrent, the series of fatal accidents this time last year is more of a deterrent than the punishments handed out. I think a reminder of all the youngsters involved in fatal and near fatal crashes may have more impact. What is Ross going to learn in jail, he will be isolated from the support of his family and friends which he most likely needs to help him come to terms with what he has done, isolating him from this is not going to improve his mental health or help him move on. I know he killed someone but everyone makes mistakes and each of those boys were involved as they all got into the car drunk. How does the family feel? Do they really want another young life wasted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medziotojas Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 As I read it, khitajrah used an example in her post to demonstrate why she felt driving bans didn't work, which was fair enough. Without knowing the facts surrounding the situation the post which followed was not only a little OTT, but also OT. Going back to khitajrah's original point, how often do you here about people driving while disqualified? It clearly isn't deterrent enough for some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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