Hanging would be too good for these fuckers.

[Feynn]

My sympathy goes out to the family of Robert Stanley, a 75 year old father, husband, and grandfather who was murdered by unknown assailants this past Saturday.

He was driving his bus down the freeway and was struck by a 14kg (30lb), basketball sized boulder that was dropped from an overpass. The perpetrators of this random act of horror had to cut through the chain link fence before they could commit this heinous act. Mr. Stanley managed to pull his bus to the side of the road and put on his four way flashers before he collapsed and died from his injuries. He should also be considered a hero for possibly saving the lives of many other people.

Although there have been many tips given to the police no arrests have been made.

I want to see the people who did this caught and punished beyond the fullest extent of our current laws. Imprisonment isn't enough for these sad fucks. When the police find them I don't think many people would mind turning their atttention elsewhere while our constabulary beats the ever loving fuck out of these folks. Hanging would be too good for them because it would be too short lived, they deserve to live a long life filled with torment and pain, just like Mr. Stanley's widow, children, and grandchildren.

The perpetrators are likely teenagers and I enjoy the thought that they are probably hiding somewhere, scared shitless that they will be caught and sent to prison where they will be passed around the general population like candy.

His four sons were supposed to be going on a fishing trip with him tomorrow but instead, they will be attending his funeral.

http://www.canoe.ca/EdmontonNews/es.es-06-06-0009.html

[Rib Eye]

Maybe medical experiments? I've long held that the worst criminals should be forced to undergo medical experimentation as a way to make up their debt to society. Better to use a person who despite the ability to reason and a moral sense has chosen to do evil then creatures like chimps and such who don't have such abilities.

Let find these guys and infect them with some deadly disease and then see if the newest experimental drugs can cure them.

Then hang them!

[belladonna]

I hear about stuff like this every once in a while and I just can't help wondering what in the fuck they were thinking!? I think, like Feynn, that it was most likely teenagers. But what part of their reasoning equipment is so warped that they can't see that huge boulders dropped into moving traffic=potential for death? Did they want to kill someone? How can any rational person claim that a stunt like this was "just a game" or that they "didn't mean to hurt anyone"? No--just cause a five car pile-up so you can see all the rescue crews come with their pretty lights on, right? It's like they're living in a cartoon, and are expecting the director to yell cut and the players to stand up, shake their heads a bit, stuff their intestines back into their torsos, and just go on about their merry way.
::sigh::
People's lives just trashed >snap< because a couple punks got bored with their playstation.

Of course, there's always the infinitely more disturbing scenario in which the perpetrator(s) had every intention of killing someone. Murder so detatched and random that it hurts my heart to think about it.

[LouisB]

A good friend of mine lost a windshield to a watermellon dropped from an overpass. My friend was alone at the time and he was lucky in that the watermellon hit the passenger side. Had it hit the driver's side, I have no doubt that he would have been seriously injured, if not killed. The perpetrators of this "joke" were never caught.

[Eve]

You know, a lot of lives could be saved by organ donation. I'm sure whoever is reponsible has organs. Y'know, heart, liver, kidney, eyeballs. And I understand that the organs are much fresher and more usable if they are removed before death, without benefit of anasthetic . .

[ivylass]

Originally posted by Eve
You know, a lot of lives could be saved by organ donation. I'm sure whoever is reponsible has organs. Y'know, heart, liver, kidney, eyeballs. And I understand that the organs are much fresher and more usable if they are removed before death, without benefit of anasthetic . .

Yummm...vivisection....and to make it better, let's allow the parents of these infected pustules watch the procedure...

[BoBettie]

:: Zette sharpens her melonballer ::

[rjung]

The problem is probably because the idiots who do this kind of stuff don't think they're endangering people's lives -- they figure it's a game, and the worst that will happen is that someone has to cough up "a few bucks" to fix the damage to his/her vehicle.

Which doesn't make it any less of a crime, but it might explain why the morons do it.

[Typo Negative]

I knew a kid who pulled this kind of stunt. It was 25 years ago, and a bowling ball instead of a boulder. A woman was horribly injured, and never fully recovered. The kid (the mutant offspring of friends of my parents) did a couple of years in juvy hall and was released.

[kambuckta]

Originally posted by Feynn


I want to see the people who did this caught and punished beyond the fullest extent of our current laws. Imprisonment isn't enough for these sad fucks. When the police find them I don't think many people would mind turning their atttention elsewhere while our constabulary beats the ever loving fuck out of these folks. Hanging would be too good for them because it would be too short lived, they deserve to live a long life filled with torment and pain, just like Mr. Stanley's widow, children, and grandchildren.

The perpetrators are likely teenagers and I enjoy the thought that they are probably hiding somewhere, scared shitless that they will be caught and sent to prison where they will be passed around the general population like candy.



Yeah, I'm with you Feynn. Let's burn the fuckers. Let's make sure they never get a chance to redeem themselves. After all, they're prolly teenagers, and we all know how hanging teenagers has helped reduce the crime rate. Yep, those stupid arseholes who chucked a rock onto a car that killed a man deserve MORE than hanging......indeed, you suggest BEYOND the fullest extent of our current laws. Whaddya reckon Feynn? Shall we drop them in boiling oil, or draw and quarter them? Shall we leave them to the mercies of a nest of ants, so that they come out completely rooted? Whaddya reckon Feynn? Yep, they fucked-up, but, hey Feynn, didn't YOU do anything completely stupid when you were a teenager? I did, and I thank god/allah/ whoever was the deity of the day that NOTHING serious happened. It could've. Easily. And while I feel for the family of Mr. Stanley, do you really thing that revenge against a bunch of dickhead adolescents is going to rectify things? Really?

Sure they were dickwads. Sure they were arseholes 'cos they should have anticipated the consequences of their errant actions. But should they DIE for it? I dunno mate, sounds a bit dodgy to me!

[Com2Kid]

Originally posted by kambuckta
and we all know how hanging teenagers has helped reduce the crime rate.


I can assure you with 100% accuracy that all subjects of capitol punishment have never ever become repeat offenders.'




Shall we drop them in boiling oil, or draw and quarter them?
Whaddya reckon Feynn?



You kidding? You know how much oil costs now days??

And the other way is just too messy. . ..


Shall we leave them to the mercies of a nest of ants, so that they come out completely rooted?


Oh come on, that is sooo elementary schoolish. Yeesh.


Whaddya reckon Feynn? Yep, they fucked-up, but, hey Feynn, didn't YOU do anything completely stupid when you were a teenager?


While I can't speak for Feynn, I can safely say that, indeed;

I never EVER EVER did anything malicious that could have EVER EVEN POSSIBLY killed another person.

I did like the blades of a blender once without unplugging it though. (it was off, just not unplugged)


I did, and I thank god/allah/ whoever was the deity of the day that NOTHING serious happened.


Congrats on being an insensitive dick, I'm sure your parents are proud that they fucked up.

:rolleyes:

I was taught to respect life from Day 1, and that HELPING people was the highest calling that one could aspire too.

Getting drunk/stoned/whatever and doing stupid shit, or just doing stupid shit alone, was a BIG no no

(I also didn't spend ass loads of money on candy or goodies or cloths or any other such expenses, I put all of my money in the bank. Called thinking ahead and self preservation, nice concepts, should be taught to children by parents, I wonder why they are not. . . .)


It could've. Easily.


Your fault.

I honestly hope that you feel guilty for that, guilt is damn nearly about the only redemption for endangering another's life.

(I don't give a fuck WHAT Deity you do or do not beg for forgiveness from, if you don't feel BAD about what you did, no sense bothering, it all just becomes lip service after that)


And while I feel for the family of Mr. Stanley, do you really thing that revenge against a bunch of dickhead adolescents is going to rectify things? Really?

Might prevent them from happening in the future.

Right now kids pretty much have the "Well I can do ANYTHING I want and NOT get in trouble" type of an opinion.

I'd betcha assloads of money that after a few generations of "Drink beer / do drugs and get shot on site" that this nation would have FAR less occurrences of drug / alcohol related accidents. . . .

Same goes for doing stupid shit.

People who throw firecrackers at dogs/cats, hell, now there are some stupid fucks. Now I wouldn't mind spending the money on oil for boiling them in. . . .

People who think that human life ain't worth a shit;

well hell, why should THEY even be CONSIDERED human?

If they do not want to give proper respects to other members of the species then I see no reason to TREAT THEM with the respects accorded to a member of the species.

They render themselves null and void.


Sure they were dickwads. Sure they were arseholes 'cos they should have anticipated the consequences of their errant actions. But should they DIE for it? I dunno mate, sounds a bit dodgy to me!

Oh yah how about instead why not shove'em in jail for a few years, let'em get out, and become a danger to the public again!! Why that is SUCH A GREAT IDEA!!!!

Pardon me, I have to go chase after my eyeballs, they just rolled out of my head. . . .

[Fionn]

Originally posted by kambuckta

Yep, they fucked-up, but, hey Feynn, didn't YOU do anything completely stupid when you were a teenager? I did, and I thank god/allah/ whoever was the deity of the day that NOTHING serious happened. It could've. Easily.


Did you ever deliberately do something that could kill another human being? I did stupid stuff as a teenager, yet I somehow managed never to seriously endanger myself or others.

[Sublight]

Well, this story gives me a nice warm feeling inside. I do hope it's true.

http://www.darwinawards.com/personal/personal1999-27.html

[Feynn]

kambuckta -

You're right, I know all the vengeance in the world won't bring back Robert Stanley. I never knew him but from what I have heard and seen on the news, he was a great guy. I drive that same freeway and it just as easily could have been me or someone else I know.

It is a shame that vengeance cannot bring him back, it's a pity because if it really could I'd be breaking out the melon baller. Because it can't I am left to vent my frustrations here.

But then again, perhaps we should coddle these irresposible and thoughtless little fuckers, if they are minors they will serve some time in a juvenile facility and even if they are charged as adults they are probably going to get out in under ten years. (This is what OUR current laws would probably give as a sentence).

What they probably need is a whole bunch of hugs. Yeah, that's it... hugs.

Nah... fuck that.

I like your idea about the boiling oil better (despite the price of crude). Having them drawn and quartered never even crossed my mind but now that I think of it, that is a fucking stellar idea.

You see... I'm not yet in the mood to consider redemption as an option. I am more in the mood to blow off some steam as an innocent man was randomly killed by what appears to be a group of irresponsible, uncaring, and malicious persons. Things like this don't lend themselves to making all of us feel all merciful.

Whaddya reckon?

Is it okay for me to me REALLY pissed off? Perhaps it would be more appropriate for me to start a rant about people who use the word "prolly" because that really pisses me off.

In answer to your question about doing stupid things as a teenager... I can't think of anything I ever did that would have been life threatening and never in my wildest dreams ever considered tossing large objects off bridges would be something fun to do on a Saturday afternoon.

Of course, I was the world's most boring teenager. It sounds like your teenage years were a little more exciting than mine.

Peace.

[kambuckta]

Orright Feyyn, sorry about the 'prolly' (it shits me too when others use it, but I thought I might get away with it on this occasion, but...alas..not to be!)
I can appreciate how you're feeling about the little arseholes, and I too have no illusions that just because a kid is technically a minor that it makes him/her less responsible for their actions.

I have had some recent experiences living with some 'kids' (as a care-giver for homeless kids), and I have no doubt whatsoever that most kids should be responsible for their actions.

HOWEVER......I DO wonder about hanging kids who chuck a rock off a bridge.

[nightshadea]

Who said ya have to use crude oil ? cooking oil makes a nice crisp and it takes longer also

[kambuckta]

Originally posted by Fionn


Did you ever deliberately do something that could kill another human being? I did stupid stuff as a teenager, yet I somehow managed never to seriously endanger myself or others.

Hey Fionn, I did some MAJOR stupid stuff as a teenager, and as I said in a previous ost, it was just good luck, or good Deity that kept me from getting into a confrontation with The Law.

I'm a mum now of teenagers who are dabbling in the same sorts of mischief that I did when I was their age. THAT'S why I hope that the death sentence isn't invoked for sheer adolescent stupidity. In many ways, we've all been there and done that, and most of us managed to avoid the consequences of our thick-headedness. for the less fortunate/clever/astute then a prison sentence is in order.....

[kambuckta]

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that teenagers DO fuck up, as much as we as adults try to prevent it, but do we want to see them DIE or be imprisoned for life because of their stupid actions? [selfish motives] I must admit there are a couple of kids I WOULD like to see behind bars for the next 20 or so years, but only because they then would not be a bad influence on MY kids![/selfish motives]

What are 'sentences' for anyway? Punishment, rehabilitation or retribution?

[OpalCat]

Nothing I did as a teenager (aside from, say "driving" which could, potentially result in an accident, etc) ever came close to endangering anyone's life. And they didn't "chuck a rock" they dropped a BOULDER into traffic.

When I was a kid, I remember my dad, his girlfriend, his girlfriend's 18 month old baby, and myself set out from Florida to Pennsylvania by car. Somewhere around Georgia, at night, while driving under an overpass, our windshield suddenly shattered into a bazillion pieces. The Mountain Dew label stuck to the glass made it pretty clear what had happened.

So we stood there on the shoulder of the highway, in front of the car's headlights, picking glass out of a screaming infant, out of my father's hands, etc. .. My dad could have very easily lost control of the car and we could all have been even more injured or possibly killed. As it was, I can tell you that I hope you never have to treat an infant with 100+ glass cuts. It isn't fun.

And it was all because some idiot thought it would be fun to throw a glass bottle off an overpass into highway-speed traffic.

People like that ... we don't need their genetics in our gene pool. Cull the herd.

[Typo Negative]

Originally posted by kambuckta
HOWEVER......I DO wonder about hanging kids who chuck a rock off a bridge. That IS minimizing their crime a bit, isn't it????

They didn't just toss a rock off a bridge. Their intention was obviously to cause mayhem. Showing a complete disregard for life. We have malice aforethought here, since this very bulky, heavy rock had to moved and transported though a fence.

Did you think they couldn't see the bus coming from their vantage point? They intended to do as much damage as possible.

I think some punishment, severe as the law allows, is in order here. And if they get their asses kicked when apprehended, so much the better.

[kambuckta]

Look folks, I am the LAST person to be defending the 'inalienable' rights of bloody teenagers.
I've seen a gut-ful of their immaturity and bullshit, enough to last me a thousand lifetimes.....

HOWEVER, I DON'T think that their irresponsibility necessarily deserves the death penalty...

They're fucking KIDS, OK, and as I said in my previous posts, it was just a lot of luck that many of us didn't get nabbed for the same crimes when we were the same age.

[iampunha]

A 30 lb weight ... that's roughly two shots (as in, the shot put). I've thrown the high school weight. It's around 14 lbs, IIRC (I think I got it all of 20 feet). Having one of those things hit me when I was laying down was painful enough. But the equivalent of TWO? At highway speeds?

There was an episode of some scifi show wherein the guilty of a crime had to relive the whole thing from the POV of the victim. Sounds decently fitting to me.

[Typo Negative]

Originally posted by kambuckta
They're fucking KIDS, You sound a little too sure of that.....Nobody mentioned the perp's ages.

[Squish]

Originally posted by kambuckta
I'm a mum now of teenagers who are dabbling in the same sorts of mischief that I did when I was their age.And you're not preventing them?! WTF?

I was raised by my parents; I wasn't allowed to simply grow. Geezus H. Kee-rist on horseback... Gosh, you can only hope that your kids never murder anyone? :rolleyes:

Wantonly and randomly murdering someone is not simply mischief; it shows a total disregard for human life and for human society. Allow this sort of thing to go unpunished or lightly punished, and more sociopathic idiots are going to murder more people.

[Mac Guffin]

So the perps like throwing things off bridges?
I say we throw them off a bridge....

This bridge---> http://www.royalgorgebridge.com/

It's a lllllooonnng way to the bottom....

[Squish]

Excellent idea, particlewill! LOL!

[OpalCat]

Originally posted by kambuckta

They're fucking KIDS, OK, and as I said in my previous posts, it was just a lot of luck that many of us didn't get nabbed for the same crimes when we were the same age.

Um. I think that you are seriously overestimating the delinquency of the average teen.

[Cervaise]

Originally posted by kambuckta
They're fucking KIDS, OK, and as I said in my previous posts, it was just a lot of luck that many of us didn't get nabbed for the same crimes when we were the same age. Are you fucking out of your skull?

I never, never, ever did anything even as remotely as dangerous and stupid as throwing a fucking boulder off an overpass into speeding traffic. Neither did any of my friends. Are you saying you did? And that the only reason you didn't kill somebody is that you were lucky?

Jesus Scrotumsucking Christ.

If you had managed to kill somebody, I guarantee you'd be the subject of a similar rant, and you'd getting as much sympathy as the assgaskets in this sad little tale -- and deserving of far less.

Words fail me.

[Com2Kid]

Originally posted by kambuckta

They're fucking KIDS, OK, and as I said in my previous posts, it was just a lot of luck that many of us didn't get nabbed for the same crimes when we were the same age.

I am all for retroactive punishment for nonrepentent offenders.

I say that we take the butterfucks who DID do that kind of shit as a kid and hang THEM as well.

Keep them from raising mini-sociopaths of their own.

Yeesh. And I thought I was a nutcase!!! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

[iampunha]

Originally posted by kambuckta They're fucking KIDS, OK, and as I said in my previous posts, it was just a lot of luck that many of us didn't get nabbed for the same crimes when we were the same age.

Quick show of hands here ... who, as a child/juvenile shoved a big fuckin' rock off a bridge and killed a man?

<<crickets>>

's what I thought...

[Com2Kid]

Originally posted by iampunha


Quick show of hands here ... who, as a child/juvenile shoved a big fuckin' rock off a bridge and killed a man?

<<crickets>>

's what I thought...

Hell, who here shoved boulders off of bridges and DIDN'T kill anybody? (and no the throwing them into the lake/river doesn't count, though throw them into the lake/river at people/boats or when there was a boat race going on will still win you a fucknugget award)

Either way;

What's wrong tis wrong.

After the age of, err, oh, say NINE or so, most kids;

wait;

fuck it.

MY THREE YEAR OLD NEPHEW KNOWS BETTER THEN TO THROW SHIT AT PEOPLE.

Yeesh.

[Com2Kid]

Originally posted by Com2Kid



MY THREE YEAR OLD NEPHEW KNOWS BETTER THEN TO THROW SHIT AT PEOPLE.

Yeesh.

Wait, realized talking about a three year old, some might misinterpet that.

shit is used as a generic explitive, not in the literal sense. :)

just cuz I know somebody would make the joke

[PhiloVance]

We don't know if they're kids or not. What they did was inexcuseable, and they should be prosecuted (when caught) according to the laws of the state/province where it happened.

Saying things like hanging, throwing off bridges and boiling in oil as a punishment is a little over the top, but then this is the pit and this is the place for things like that.

[Squish]

From my earliest recollections, my parents taught me simple stuff like, "Don't throw things," "Don't hit," and "If its not yours, don't touch it." These teachings were backed up by appropriate punishments (usually 'The Look' and a lecture, but sometimes a swat if needed).

[Rilchiam]

Originally posted by kambuckta
I guess the point I'm trying to make is that teenagers DO fuck up, as much as we as adults try to prevent it, but do we want to see them DIE or be imprisoned for life because of their stupid actions? [selfish motives] I must admit there are a couple of kids I WOULD like to see behind bars for the next 20 or so years, but only because they then would not be a bad influence on MY kids![/selfish motives]


NIMBY, eh? (Not In My Back Yard) You want to screen who your kids hang out with, and imprison those children before they do a crime. But if your kids caused someone else's death, you'd want them to get a slap on the wrist because "they're just kids"?

Please correct me if I have it wrong.

[Rilchiam]

Forgive the double post. (Yes, I do think a double post is worthy of forgiveness.)

[samclem]

Rilchiam said

Please correct me if I have it wrong.

You have it wrong.

Taking kambuckta's words/sentiments as literal is probably a mistake. Did you not follow what she/he said in the thread.

I doubt, seriously, that she/he wants those miscreants who influence her/his kids behind bars for the next 20 years.

I have a 15 year old who has friends that I wish would go away. I have probably said things similar. They are not nice kids. Some of them will wind up in jail. Some, hopefully, won't.

But if your kids caused someone else's death, you'd want them to get a slap on the wrist because "they're just kids"?

Please. Get over your anger. It doesn't serve you well.

[Caffeine.addict]

Before we start accusing Kambuckta and her children of doing anything this heinous, maybe we should hold off until she comes back and replies. I'm sure she meant the usual teenage stuff such as T-P ing a neighbor's lawn or something to that effect.

When I was a teenager, I did some minor stupid shit like that, and some other very minor pranks here and there, but I never did anything that might knowingly put someone else at risk of bodily harm.

That being said, I believe that the perpetrators of this crime should be charged as adults and prosecuted for Murder. They should receive very long sentences and be kept away from the general populace.

A long sentence is just the type of thing that is needed for this type of situation. They will be kept from doing worse things in the future and more importantly, this might make some other waste of breath realize that their actions do have consequences.

[Squish]

Let's review what she said:

Originally posted by kambuckta
Yep, they fucked-up, but, hey Feynn, didn't YOU do anything completely stupid when you were a teenager? I did, and I thank god/allah/ whoever was the deity of the day that NOTHING serious happened. It could've. Easily. And while I feel for the family of Mr. Stanley, do you really thing that revenge against a bunch of dickhead adolescents is going to rectify things? Really?

Sure they were dickwads. Sure they were arseholes 'cos they should have anticipated the consequences of their errant actions. But should they DIE for it? I dunno mate, sounds a bit dodgy to me! She's admitting that she did things as a teenager that could have easily caused "something serious." She is, IMO, shrugging off an intentionally malicious act that resulted in murder, and saying that the perpertrators should not face the death penalty for murder.
I'm a mum now of teenagers who are dabbling in the same sorts of mischief that I did when I was their age. THAT'S why I hope that the death sentence isn't invoked for sheer adolescent stupidity. Apparently her teenagers are "dabbling" in some SERIOUS "mischief" if she's hoping the death sentence isn't invoked. :rolleyes:
They're fucking KIDS, OK, and as I said in my previous posts, it was just a lot of luck that many of us didn't get nabbed for the same crimes when we were the same age. For the same crimes? For intentionally throwing a 30-pound boulder off a freeway overpass/bridge into traffic and causing a man's death?!

The point most of us are trying to make is NO, WE DID NOT DO ANYTHING LIKE THIS. It sounds as if she, and her children, did. I'd really like some clarification before we hang her, but she is being hoist on her own petard, here.

[OpalCat]

Originally posted by brujo
Before we start accusing Kambuckta and her children of doing anything this heinous, maybe we should hold off until she comes back and replies. I'm sure she meant the usual teenage stuff such as T-P ing a neighbor's lawn or something to that effect.

For the record, I never did anything like that, either. I think I may have drawn a smiley-face in the dust on someone's windshield at some point, but that's about it.

[Caffeine.addict]

Originally posted by kambuckta
Yep, they fucked-up, but, hey Feynn, didn't YOU do anything completely stupid when you were a teenager? I did, and I thank god/allah/ whoever was the deity of the day that NOTHING serious happened. It could've. Easily. And while I feel for the family of Mr. Stanley, do you really thing that revenge against a bunch of dickhead adolescents is going to rectify things? Really?

Sure they were dickwads. Sure they were arseholes 'cos they should have anticipated the consequences of their errant actions. But should they DIE for it? I dunno mate, sounds a bit dodgy to me!

Squish-

There are fucked up things that teenagers do that may conceiveably injure themselves but that are not premeditated to cause harm. Supposing that they had decided to spay paint some graffiti on an overpass. There are countless ways in which one could injure themselves or others here without any intent to cause harm.

I'm a mum now of teenagers who are dabbling in the same sorts of mischief that I did when I was their age. THAT'S why I hope that the death sentence isn't invoked for sheer adolescent stupidity.

This isn't an admission that her children are engaging in serious mischief.

I only hope with regards to the last quote that she misread the quote. In any case this happened in Canada so there is no death penalty. In any case I'm not sure that even here in the U.S. this kind of thing would rise to the level of Capital Murder.

All I'm saying is lets give Kambuckta a chance to clarify her statements before we start accusing her and her progeny of something that they didn't do.

[Flymaster]

I once pushed my brother off of a 5 foot high slide in my back yard, when I was 8 and he was 5ish. He broke his arm, just barely, and was in a sling for 2 weeks. That is the closest I have ever come to killing anyone.

I have never done anything even remotely close to this sickening crime, or anything like it.

I'm a mum now of teenagers who are dabbling in the same sorts of mischief that I did when I was their age.

If this is true, and by your own admission it is, AND it was only by the grace of god (again, your own admission) that you didn't seriously injure someone, then by not preventing your children from doing the same, not only are you a bad parent, but you are a bad person.

[Squish]

Originally posted by brujo
There are countless ways in which one could injure themselves or others here without any intent to cause harm.
<snip>I only hope with regards to the last quote that she misread the quote. In any case this happened in Canada so there is no death penalty. In any case I'm not sure that even here in the U.S. this kind of thing would rise to the level of Capital Murder. In this case, there obviously was intent to cause harm.

Too bad it did happen in Canada. Hanging is too good for them (oh, wait, maybe hanging them off a bridge...)

[Caffeine.addict]

Regarding the OP, I agree. These fucks had to have known what they were doing would cause either serious bodily harm or death. I hope that they are caught and they get long sentences.

[kambuckta]

No folks, I NEVER threw rocks from overpasses, nor do I in any way condone the actions of the teenagers* who did.
*(In my reference to them as teenagers, I was following the lead of the OP who assumed as much. I have NO IDEA of the ages of the perpetrators.)
I never engaged in any activities that I believed could have endangered a life.

No do my children throw rocks, and they have never been involved in any other serious activities (to my knowledge anyway!)

So I would appreciate it if you could refrain from casting aspersions about my parenting abilities and their characters.

My opinion (and it's ONLY an opinion, and one that I believe I am entitled to hold) remains the same however.

Invoking the death penalty for something that MAY have been the result of STUPIDITY is wrong. And adolescents are notoriously stupid and not known for always considering the consequences of their actions. Certainly they SHOULD think before they act, but as any parent of a teenager knows, they do not necessarily think things out as an adult would.

I am NOT saying that the culprits in this case should NOT be punished. They should, and severely too.
I am saying that the death penalty may not be warranted here......
While I understand that my stance may not meet with your approval, I do NOT understand your lynch-mob mentality, not your need to denigrate me as an individual for holding an opinion that you do not share.

[kambuckta]

Oh, and the 'mischief' I was referring to in my youth was general skylarking.....there was no intent to cause any harm to any person at any time but that is NOT to say that some of my actions could NOT have harmed someone. Firecracker use (now banned here) is a good example of something that COULD go horribly wrong but luckily for most kids, does NOT.

(Please note, I am not in any way comparing the use of firecrackers with rock-throwing, just the way in which children and teenagers especially may not consider the consequences of their sometimes negligent behaviour.)

[Venoma]

Invoking the death penalty for something that MAY have been the result of STUPIDITY is wrong. And adolescents are notoriously stupid and not known for always considering the consequences of their actions.
kambuctka, would it also be considered stupidity to push your friend in front of an oncoming train? To play chicken with an old lady on a crosswalk? To gang up on a fellow classmate with 15 of your friends and beat her until she has internal injuries?

How much responsibility are you willing to absolve someone of due to their age? Hell, 200 years ago a 15-year old was considered mature enough to run a household and raise her own children... would you have called that the blind leading the blind?

Stop making excuses for them because of their age. They knew they were going to hurt someone, period. THEY WANTED TO HURT SOMEONE. That's what they did. Do they deserve to die? Perhaps not. (ONLY perhaps. That's only because I consider myself a better person than that sort of SCUM.) They won't get the death penalty - the country that Feynn, and I, live in does not have it. Do they deserve to go to jail for 20+ years? Hell yes. I'd prefer if they didn't come out at the other end, to be quite honest. I'd also like to see them given 20 lashes... but I guess that's a big no-no in today's humane society.

:)

[Derleth]

[b]kambuckta[/a], sorry, but your arguments are irrelevant. These teens did something that is so completely beyond the pale, so utterly sociopathic, so lacking in normal human empathy for the fellow man, that comparing it to the kinds of pranks normal teens to is akin to comparing the firebombing of Dresden to a schoolyard scrap: A difference not only of several orders of magnitude, but of several qualitative leaps. It is qualitatively different from anything you have done.

It also demonstrates a complete inability to live in a normal society. If these teens would consider for an instant that dropping a thirteen-pound rock onto oncoming traffic would be fun, they were not demonstrating momentary stupidity. They were demonstrating severe, profound dysfunction of a type that medical people call 'sociopathy': A lack of empathy and, therefore, morality. If they were stupid enough to not connect heaving the rock at people with people being hurt, they would have been too stupid to dress themselves or live outside a hospital. So, obviously, the connection was made. They simply didn't care. Killing them would be a mercy, both for them (saving them from a lifetime measured in prison terms and parole stretches) and for us (preventing who knows how many more homicides).

[Fionn]

Originally posted by kambuckta


Invoking the death penalty for something that MAY have been the result of STUPIDITY is wrong. And adolescents are notoriously stupid and not known for always considering the consequences of their actions. Certainly they SHOULD think before they act, but as any parent of a teenager knows, they do not necessarily think things out as an adult would.



I don't see the problem with it. I have a hunch a round of interviews with random prison inmates would reveal a veritable flood of stupidity. There is surely some stupidity involved when someone says "Hey, I know! I'll go steal a car/rob a bank/sell drugs to an undercover cop/drive drunk/kill someone for looking at me funny. The police will never catch me!" It's not a defense to crime.

[El Zagna]

Well, I have a confession to make. When I was a kid - somewhere around the first grade, I guess - some older kid told me that if you placed a pile of rocks underneath a train rail you could cause the train to derail. The older kid casually mentioned that he'd seen it happen. I had to cross railroad tracks on my way home, so naturally I wanted to test the claim and made my pile of rocks.

Nothing happened, of course, and I only tell this to illustrate the enormous disconnect between a child's mind and reality. The consequences of actually derailing a train never entered my mind. My only experience with derailed trains was from my toys and that wasn't a big deal. Wouldn't a real train be just like my toy train except on a larger scale?

For both kids and adults, the greater the distance between the act and its consequences, the less real it becomes. That's why dropping bombs from 30,000 feet somehow seems less horrible than blowing somebody's brains out with a shotgun at point blank range. The distance between the bridge and the car may not seem like much to you, but to these kids it may have seemed like 30,000 feet.

I'm not suggesting that these kids go unpunished or that their actions be brushed off, but I do have a problem with the kind of blood lust I'm seeing on this thread. I'm seeing a lot of assumptions being made on this thread about the motives, evilness and stupidity of the perpetrators. Those of you who are proposing such extreme punishments are, in my opinion, demonstrating the same qualities that you are railing against. The big difference is that you should be old enough to know better.

[Caffeine.addict]

Kambuckta said

Invoking the death penalty for something that MAY have been the result of STUPIDITY is wrong. And adolescents are notoriously stupid and not known for always considering the consequences of their actions. Certainly they SHOULD think before they act, but as any parent of a teenager knows, they do not necessarily think things out as an adult would.

The crime happened in Canada. Canada does not have the death penalty. Furthermore, even here in the U.S., this would not be a capital murder trial. In most states, Capital Murder is reserved for a specific set of crimes. I see that you are a foreigner, and are probably not familiar with the death penalty. Here in the states, the death penalty is only applied by statute, and under a limited set of circumstances. Regular murder doesn't rise to the level required.

VA Capital Murder Statute (http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+18.2-31)

§ 18.2-31. Capital murder defined; punishment.

The following offenses shall constitute capital murder, punishable as a Class 1 felony:

1. The willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of any person in the commission of abduction, as defined in § 18.2-48, when such abduction was committed with the intent to extort money or a pecuniary benefit or with the intent to defile the victim of such abduction;

2. The willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of any person by another for hire;

3. The willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of any person by a prisoner confined in a state or local correctional facility as defined in § 53.1-1, or while in the custody of an employee thereof;

4. The willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of any person in the commission of robbery or attempted robbery;

5. The willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of any person in the commission of, or subsequent to, rape or attempted rape, forcible sodomy or attempted forcible sodomy or object sexual penetration;

6. The willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of a law-enforcement officer as defined in § 9.1-101 or any law-enforcement officer of another state or the United States having the power to arrest for a felony under the laws of such state or the United States, when such killing is for the purpose of interfering with the performance of his official duties;

7. The willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of more than one person as a part of the same act or transaction;

8. The willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of more than one person within a three-year period;

9. The willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of any person in the commission of or attempted commission of a violation of § 18.2-248, involving a Schedule I or II controlled substance, when such killing is for the purpose of furthering the commission or attempted commission of such violation;

10. The willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of any person by another pursuant to the direction or order of one who is engaged in a continuing criminal enterprise as defined in subsection I of § 18.2-248;

11. The willful, deliberate and premeditated killing of a pregnant woman by one who knows that the woman is pregnant and has the intent to cause the involuntary termination of the woman's pregnancy without a live birth; and

12. The willful, deliberate and premeditated killing of a person under the age of fourteen by a person age twenty-one or older.

The behavior described in the OP, while incredibly despicable doesn't rise to Capital Murder. If VA couldn't charge them with Capital Murder, then chances are that it won't happen.

[El Elvis Rojo]

I remember putting nickels on train tracks as a kid thinking they would do the same thing. The thing is, as a child, the concept of derailing a train never considered the fact people might get hurt. Trains to me back then carried coal and lincoln logs and stuff, not people. But again, that's the thoughts of a child...one who hasn't even considered the concept of death because they've never been faced with it.

Anyone able to lift a 30 lb rock over a fence and hurl it over a bridge wall isn't the age of a first grader, and I'm guessing has a better grasp of the idea of "consequences" than your average seven year old throwing mushrooms at cars passing by the bus stop (my own evil actions of the past come to haunt me).

The act of dropping ANYTHING off of a bridge into traffic is done for one specific reason: To cause an accident. It doesn't matter if it's a heavy rock that ends up collapsing a man's skull, or a water balloon designed simply to startle yet leave no damage...the result is the same: The shock of whatever hitting one's car will cause them to panic, swirve, and quite possibly, wreck. Whether they turn into oncoming traffic, hit the railing, or just spin out is unforseen, but the fact of the matter stand, when you drop something off a bridge into oncoming traffic, shit's going to hit the fan. That was the desired result of this action. Whether someone died or not, most likely these people didn't care enough to think about it, and therein lies the real crime. This disrespect for human life.

Kids being kids is one thing when it's limited to simple destruction of property. Keying cars, toilet papering houses, putting dog shit in mailboxes...all mindless fun. But when it starts to affect human life, that's where it becomes a real issue, and that's the issue here. Whoever did this knew that someone was going to get hurt. How bad the injury would be, they didn't care. They should be punished and made to understand what thier actions have cost this man and his family and made to care.

The death penalty is a sticky situation. I agree with long, long, LONG term of imprisonment. The only time's I feel the death penalty is warrented is when the "assailant" shows no remorse for what they've done and gives the impression that similar crimes will come about from their freedom. In this case, though, we don't know who did it or why. Perhaps they were all drunk or stoned and upon hearing about what happened have been huddled together terrified with guilt and fear of being caught. I'd like to think that. I'd like to think that eventually they'd come forward to the authorities and the victim's family, show their remorse and accept what comes to them. Unfortunately, people these days don't seem that caring anymore, and most likely, they've forced themselves to forget about it and are working on moving on with their lives. At which point, I hope the authorities find them, expose them in the most humiliating way (pull them from work or school or whatever), and subject them to whatever the harshest punishment the law allows.

[rjung]

Dare I ask if anyone participating in this thread truly believes in giving the death penalty to Teenagers Who Throw Heavy Objects Off Bridges At Passing Vehicles (whew!), or are we merely talking about folks who are venting steam out of anger and frustration?

[Flyhalf]

Originally posted by rjung
Dare I ask if anyone participating in this thread truly believes in giving the death penalty to Teenagers Who Throw Heavy Objects Off Bridges At Passing Vehicles (whew!), or are we merely talking about folks who are venting steam out of anger and frustration?

Obviously I have not been participating but yes, I do believe they should be put to death. The actions of this person or persons caused a death. Why should they be allowed to live?

[El Elvis Rojo]

Originally posted by Flyhalf


Obviously I have not been participating but yes, I do believe they should be put to death. The actions of this person or persons caused a death. Why should they be allowed to live?


I know I started a post on the death penalty back when the Andrea Yates trial was a hip-happinin' story. I don't know how to post links, but search my name back a few months and you'll find it in IMHO or General Questions, and you'll find a slew of reasons why people don't think this action should result in the death penalty. No reason for a hijack.

[El Elvis Rojo]

Sorry, the board keeps telling me the server's down, so I repost. Forgive me.

[kambuckta]

brujo, I happen to be aware of the Canadian legal system as it is almost the same as the one where I live (Australia). I was not talking about the official invocation of the death penalty, rather the way many of the posters in this thread were baying for blood.

And bnorton, I share your sentiments wholeheartedly. I think if the posters who claim to have led totally angelic lives were to be honest with themselves, they would possibly realise that they too had done stupid things that could POSSIBLY have caused some harm to someone else.

Derleth, as my second last post said, I WAS NOT COMPARING schoolyard pranks with the actions of the person/people who killed Mr. Stanley. Rather, I tried to show how sometimes a 'prank' can turn into a devastating tragedy and, especially in the case of kids, without 'malice aforethought'.

[Flyhalf]

Originally posted by El Elvis Rojo



I know I started a post on the death penalty back when the Andrea Yates trial was a hip-happinin' story. I don't know how to post links, but search my name back a few months and you'll find it in IMHO or General Questions, and you'll find a slew of reasons why people don't think this action should result in the death penalty. No reason for a hijack.

No hijack here. I'm just answering the question posed by rjung. Also let me say that I do not practice any form of religion. Having said that, I do believe in eye for an eye. Why should the family and friends of the bus driver suffer while the person or persons who committed this crime go free? I'm not saying scott free. I mean what's the big deal in going to jail for a few years and then getting out and being able to live your life? In that sense you really haven't lost much except for a little time. Meanwhile, the family and friends of the victim still suffer...

[OpalCat]

Originally posted by El Elvis Rojo
I don't know how to post links, but search my name back a few months and you'll find it in IMHO or General Questions, and you'll find a slew of reasons why people don't think this action should result in the death penalty. No reason for a hijack.

Not to pick on you, but I really don't understand the inability of people to post links. There are two really simple options:

1: copy and paste the url of the link into your post, and check the "automatically parse URLs" box (which is the default anyway, I think)

2: use the "http://" vB Code button above the reply box and follow the simple prompts.

IMHO anyone who can't figure these things out is just being lazy.

[Squish]

Kambuckta, thanks for the clarification of your earlier remarks. But--
Originally posted by kambuckta
I think if the posters who claim to have led totally angelic lives were to be honest with themselves, they would possibly realise that they too had done stupid things that could POSSIBLY have caused some serious harm to someone else (I'm not talking about accidentally bumping into someone in a crowded club or the like). I'm being totally honest. To clarify my own position, I was raised by old-fashioned and strict parents.

The only two things I've done--both as an adult--that could have endangered someone else were:
1. Drove home drunk. Scared the shit out of myself, so badly that I've never done it since.
2. Put a lit cigarette out on the neck of the speed-crazed hulk who was trying to strangle me. Since he was at least 6" taller and 75 pounds heavier than me, I did what I thought was necessary to get his hands off my throat. For the record, the altercation started when he pushed me to the ground during a concert and I got up and yelled at him for it.

I've never been arrested, never become addicted to drugs or alcohol, never been in any physical fight other than the one mentioned above, never had an STD, never stole from or cheated anyone. I do have a big mouth and I can be meaner than catshit upon occasion.

An angelic life? No, not at all. A life where I don't engage in activities that might injure someone else? Yes.

[Squish]

Eeep! A comment of mine that I deleted was accidentally included in my quote of Kambucta. It wasn't intentional at all, and I apologize.

[El Elvis Rojo]

Originally posted by OpalCat


Not to pick on you, but I really don't understand the inability of people to post links. There are two really simple options:
...IMHO anyone who can't figure these things out is just being lazy.

Man, you really don't like me, do you? :D To call you on that, yes, I do know how to cut and paste it, and yes, I was being lazy. I could search for the link myself, but because the server here at my job takes a good five minutes to do a search and I couldn't remember much about the link (time, forum, etc.), I opted not to bother. But, the subject matter has been discussed, and anyone interested can follow through with their own search if they so desire.

As for Flyhalf's statement, who says going to jail is "getting off free"? A lot of people end up essentially getting tortured in prison. Even if they're in there for a few short years, it all usually happens in the first year that most of the trauma one suffers in prison takes place. Unless they're incredibly weak, in which case, it could last their entire sentence. And once they get out, they have a record. They'll be incredibly limited in the types of jobs they can get, they'll never be able to earn a decent living, and any chance they have at gaining a decent living will be destroyed if anyone finds out about the reason for their incarceration. Depending on their background and social upbringing, they most likely will fall back into another criminal situation and end up in jail again, if not multiple times.

They're lives will be over, only they'll still be living. Is that enough suffering to make up for their crime? Many people will say no. But they don't "get to go free."

[El Elvis Rojo]

And that should be "their lives." Oi.

[Feynn]

Just to clear things up a little...

I am not advocating the death penalty.

I am advocating slow and painful torture because there's no guarantee there's even a hell waiting for these pricks.

If I believed in hell I could then believe they would suffer endlessly for the harm they caused.

Executing these perps would be letting them off way too easy.

[OpalCat]

Originally posted by El Elvis Rojo


Man, you really don't like me, do you?

I know you are joking, but the truth is, I rarely look at the names of who is posting. If you asked me to recall a single other thing you had posted I would be unable to do so, and that goes for almost everyone. The biggest problem as a result is that I have a hard time keeping track of who doesn't like me heh.

[Flyhalf]

Originally posted by El Elvis Rojo



As for Flyhalf's statement, who says going to jail is "getting off free"? A lot of people end up essentially getting tortured in prison. Even if they're in there for a few short years, it all usually happens in the first year that most of the trauma one suffers in prison takes place. Unless they're incredibly weak, in which case, it could last their entire sentence. And once they get out, they have a record. They'll be incredibly limited in the types of jobs they can get, they'll never be able to earn a decent living, and any chance they have at gaining a decent living will be destroyed if anyone finds out about the reason for their incarceration. Depending on their background and social upbringing, they most likely will fall back into another criminal situation and end up in jail again, if not multiple times.

They're lives will be over, only they'll still be living. Is that enough suffering to make up for their crime? Many people will say no. But they don't "get to go free."


Read the part where I say they're not getting off scott free.

And all of that is much much worse than being dead let me tell you...

Although I have to say that I agree with Feynn. Extreme forms of torture would satisfy me (with death as the result of course).

[DrewG27]

Alright, I'd like to chime in on this whole deal.


Firstly, I am 13 myself. Likely a few years younger than whoever it was that decided it'd be cool to drop a rock off an overpass, but hey, all the better for proving my point. That being: Who the fuck cares if they were "kids"? I don't. At all. I'm 13, and I know damn well you don't throw boulders off of a bridge.


You know that movie "The Good Son"? When watching, at probably 8 or 9 (heh, I'm not that twisted), I was first made aware of this whole throwing stuff off of bridges phenomonon. And then, I knew you don't do that shit. The lady who gets hit by twisted little McCauly's blow up doll swerves (and possibley dies, I cannot remember). These kids/whoever had the mental capacity to realise this. And hey, maybe it was just a good hearted prank! And maybe that guy who broke into some old lady's house just wanted to steal $50 for crack, with no intentions of killing her. It just, eh, happened!

And with that, punish them to the full extent of the law. Try them as adults, give then 20 years without parole, all that jazz. Full shot, I say.


In a related story, my dad once knew a guy that got something thrown at him from an overpass. Said guy drove his car up, got the kid who threw the thing at him, and hung him by his ankles over the highway. Some random passer-by came along, and the first guy told him to call the police. The guy ended up getting arrested for assault (you know, the whole hanging by ankles bit is frowned upon, I guess) but got off without any problem. Heh, that is justice.

[Squish]

DrewG27: Thanks for the insight.

BTW, your dad's anecdote reminds me of a car-jacking incident in Scottsdale (suburb of Phoenix). Car-jacker with a gun pulls open a guy's car door--and the driver shoots him in the kneecap with a .357 Magnum. Driver is found not guilty because he was in "clear and present danger."

[Typo Negative]

Originally posted by rjung
Dare I ask if anyone participating in this thread truly believes in giving the death penalty to Teenagers Who Throw Heavy Objects Off Bridges At Passing Vehicles (whew!), or are we merely talking about folks who are venting steam out of anger and frustration? I think the death penalty is in order, and I do not know that these were teenagers. Not does anyone else.

I don't belive it was a case of "they didn't consider the consequences of their actions", but a case of "they didn't care".