# Blankenship, quit your fucking lies!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blankenship-quit-your-fucking-lies/535479>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [April 9, 2010, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blankenship-quit-your-fucking-lies/535479 "2010-04-09T01:13:36Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\
**Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blankenship-quit-your-fucking-lies/535479/41 "2016-04-08T22:14:55Z")

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> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#):
>
> It’s not about money and connections. It’s about how the legal system treats direct versus indirect offenses and intent. Blankenship wasn’t trying to kill anyone; he was trying to save money and didn’t much care if he killed someone. It might seem like a trivial point, but it’s the difference between a speeder who causes a deadly accident and a guy who runs over a couple of kids on purpose.

So what kind of penalty would a speeder who causes a deadly accident get, particularly if it could be shown that he had a long record of repeated offenses, injuries, and fatalities? It would be impossible for Blankenship to argue that he had no idea that people would get hurt or killed given his long record of serious and repeated safety violations and their consequences, and deliberate attempts to deceive safety inspectors.

> [@SteveG1](#):
>
> OK then, fair enough. So how much time would a less wealthy, less connected person get for I dunno, manslaughter (the drunk driver) or criminal negligence (the guy who just doesn’t give a damn)?

Here’s one answer. Here in Ontario, where sentences tend to be lenient by most US standards with an emphasis on other remedies and rehabilitation, a drunk driver who killed several children and their grandfather could be used for comparison. He made no attempt to contest the charge, pleaded guilty, expressed great remorse, and as a wealthy individual he also had the best lawyer that money can buy. IOW, under the circumstances he set up the best possible conditions for leniency, the exact opposite of Blankenship. He got ten years.

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