itsmeeeeeee

so, are we making 10 yr olds "criminals" now?
would we even consider any of this if insurance were affordable and insurance companies were FORCED to pay their claims in full.
ah but i digress. that's the way things USED to work in the good ol days... you know, before we lost our souls.

no, these days the first question is not if people are going to be ruined by their insurance companies...
rather, it's if we should charge this child, or not -
knowing that either way, his life, and his whole family's life, is probably "toast".

ever play with matches?


http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/2007110...ooJjD8WYys0NUE

Will a Child Be Charged in the Fires?

By MICHAEL LINDENBERGER Wed Nov 7, 2:35 PM ET

The 10-year-old boy who accidentally started one of the worst California wildfires last month could face stern consequences, should prosecutors decide to bring charges. Though too young to be charged as an adult, the boy could still face millions of dollars in fines, removal from his home and possible detention as a ward of the state. For now the boy's fate - and that of his parents, who would be partially liable for any restitution payments he would have to pay - rests with Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley. His office told TIME he has not yet decided how to proceed. "The matter is under review," spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons told TIME on Monday. "No decision has been made."
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To bring those charges, all Cooley must decide is whether the boy knew right from wrong - an easy standard to meet, other prosecutors in the state say. "That is a lot easier to establish than you would think," said Cyndi Jo Means, a deputy district attorney in nearby San Diego County who leads that county's juvenile division arson team. "Think of your own children, even very small children; most of the time they know when they did something wrong."

Despite the low hurdle to prosecution, Means contends the California juvenile justice system seeks to help young suspects, who can benefit from counseling and close supervision from the court and case workers. Children under 14 are nearly always charged as juveniles, not adults - no matter what the crime. "We try to help the child, and prosecuting them as adults would not be very helpful," Means said. Any finding of guilt, she added, would not follow the boy into adulthood.

Southern Californians are still sorting through the wreckage from the fires, which burned more than 800 square miles - an area 40 times as large as Manhattan - and destroyed some 2,100 homes. The 10-year-old's carelessness sparked the Buckweed fire in Los Angeles County, which destroyed 21 homes and injured at least three people. Those losses have left some residents in a less than forgiving mood. "If you accidentally set a massive fire that destroys homes, causes residents to flee for their lives and requires millions of dollars in resources to extinguish, then you damn well need to pay the piper," wrote Dave Bossert on his online newspaper, The West Ranch Beacon.

Peter Arenella, a professor at the UCLA Law School said any prosecution of a 10-year-old that aims to punish the boy, rather than help him, "is an absurdity. The only justification for that would be if, in some extreme case, there was a need to protect society from him." Barring that, he said, prosecutors should be reluctant to sweep the boy up into the legal system.

itsmeeeeeee

and speaking of withering judgement -

what's a 76 year old sheriff's deputy doing transporting a killer?

reminds me of that commerical for glucosemine. the one with that 70+ year old woman who was still waitressing, thanking the makers of the product because "i just couldn't do it without..."


Fla. deputy, 76, killed with his own gun

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071108/...XjWx_yaYGs0NUE

By KELLI KENNEDY, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 32 minutes ago

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. - An inmate handcuffed inside a medical transportation van Wednesday managed to steal a gun from the twice-retired, 76-year-old sheriff's deputy at the wheel, kill him with it and drive off, authorities said.

Michael Mazza was recaptured four hours later at a pawn shop, the deputy's gun still on him, Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti said. The 40-year-old suspect confessed to the shooting, the sheriff said.

Mazza, dressed in a suit and tie, was on his way to the second day of trial on charges of bank robbery and eluding police. He had been complaining of a back problem, which is why he was in the medical van, but it's not clear if that was a legitimate claim, sheriff's spokesman Elliott Cohen said.

Deputy Paul Rein talked to his wife on his cell phone just before 8 a.m., then set out on the routine transfer from a county jail, Lamberti said.

Minutes after departing, Mazza fought through a partition separating him from Rein, the sole officer in the vehicle, the sheriff said.

Rein died at a hospital shortly after he was found bleeding in a Pompano Beach parking lot just after the attack. He was not wearing a bulletproof vest and had been shot once in the chest, the sheriff said.

He had other injuries, including a broken finger and bruises, suffered in the altercation with Mazza, Lamberti said.

anhailla

I thought the same thing, talk about a crime of opportunity.
He looked at that poor 76 year old as the only thing standing between him and freedom.
sad.
I hope he enjoys his life sentence in prison.


does florida have the death penalty?

Brainpolice

In response to the thread title: The purpose of insurance is risk management. I have some problems with the concept on a knee jerk level but it is necessary upon deeper reflection.

__________________
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dadakarma

That's what insurance is for?

Please tell me why having insurance is a substitute for holding perpetrators accountable for what they do.

sunflower

Considering the age of the child (10 years), the fact that was playing with matches and caused such devastation will probably not be held against him criminally. He and his parents, however, will probably be paying for that childish act for the rest of their natural lives.

I don't see any insurance companies taking responsibility for this, not even if the parents carry any liability insurance; it probably wouldn't even scratch the surface, I'm afraid.

__________________
“During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act”.

George Orwell

************************************

The owners of this country know the truth. It's called the American Dream....'cos you have to be asleep to believe it.

George Carlin

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sunflower

Yes, we do.

__________________
“During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act”.

George Orwell

************************************

The owners of this country know the truth. It's called the American Dream....'cos you have to be asleep to believe it.

George Carlin

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...m8fo8ne6xy.gif

itsmeeeeeee

i take it you're of the "charge the little bastard" persuasion?

i don't know too many kids who NEVER experimented with matches.
thank god - generally, nothing comes of it, but a good scolding, and a scorched carpet, etc...

this poor little shit picked the wrong time and place to experiment with the mystical flame. it was an accident that, just by accident of birth, happened to him. "there but for the grace of (fill in the blank) go i!" or my kid. or yours. and that's why you buy insurance. haven't you ever heard the expression about raising kids: "pray for the best and insure EVERYTHING!"?

insurance is supposed to pay for damage/loss, due to accidents, acts of god, etc. that's what ya pay the premium for. or at least, that's what people used to pay for. now you pay in hopes the insurance companies don't find a way to keep from paying you if you ever have to file a claim.

it's common knowledge that insurance companies have screwed many a policy holder from katrina. no doubt they'll be in favor of filing charges! they'll want to recoup some of their losses from the flesh of this child, and his grandkids, that is, if he has any - and doesn't kill himself from the shame/ guilt of what he did as a small child.

just my opinion. and everyone's free to disagree.

chambers92

When my husband was seven, he and some friends were playing with matches and they ended up burning down a barn. Fortunately, the barn wasn't being used, so no one got hurt. He was just an overly curious little kid who was left alone a lot with not enough supervision..Not a good combo.

itsmeeeeeee

my son had a little accident in his bedroom...

i was lucky... i didn't burn anything, but i wrecked a nice rug with red wax! ooooo, i remember that paddling! (one of the rare occasions i got one!)