07-08-2015, 12:51 PM
(07-08-2015, 12:36 PM)djs7685 Wrote: Do those simple traffic violations usually kill somebody? I mean, this time it did, so we just pretend that doesn't change anything?
The fact that Americans decided to use the term "accident" so loosely has really fudged things up. Plain and simple, if you aren't paying attention to the road for ANY reason, it's no longer an accident.
There's a huge difference between a legitimate accident and what people are calling "car accidents". Whoever isn't paying attention for whatever reason SHOULD be charged appropriately. I'm not arguing whether this does or doesn't happen, I'm arguing whether it should or shouldn't happen. If you're operating a vehicle, pay ***** attention.
I think your problem is that you are not seeing the difference between "being held responsible" and "being a criminal".
No one is saying that she should not be held responsible for killing someone else. If she was negligent then she should be held responsible in a civil wrongful death action.
But criminal activity is not the same as accidents. People have accidents all the time. They drop things. They spill things. They trip over things. In fact I'll bet even YOU have done some of these things. No one is perfect. But this is not criminal activity. This is not the type of stuff that the criminal justice system was set up to address. If a person trips and falls down some stairs while carrying a baby he should not be treated the same way as a murderer.
There are times when negligence can lead to criminal charges. Like if she was texting while driving or if a person is shitfaced drunk while carrying a baby down some stairs. But in general accidents are not the same as crimes.
