# Boyfriend dies in Youtube prank/stunt video, girlfriend charged with manslaughter **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 28, 2017, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boyfriend-dies-in-youtube-prank-stunt-video-girlfriend-charged-with-manslaughter/790080 "2017-06-28T19:33:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boyfriend-dies-in-youtube-prank-stunt-video-girlfriend-charged-with-manslaughter/790080/41 "2017-06-28T22:01:49Z")
_Romeo and Juliet_ is one of Shakespeare’s most depraved and sordid plays. It would be vastly improved by introducing more bloodshed and perhaps a disembowling. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boyfriend-dies-in-youtube-prank-stunt-video-girlfriend-charged-with-manslaughter/790080/42 "2017-06-28T22:05:08Z")
It depends. Was the girlfriend raised in a fundamentalist household to believe that she must be in subjection to all of her man’s wishes? If so, then no punishment other than taking her guns away. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boyfriend-dies-in-youtube-prank-stunt-video-girlfriend-charged-with-manslaughter/790080/43 "2017-06-28T22:31:53Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Looks like the Darwin Award is two children too late in this case. Not finding a lot of sympathy for the GF, since “shooting guns at people” is a thing 99.9% of the folks in this country have the sense not to do. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > What percentage do you have for “people demanding that they be shot”? Probably also 99.9%. This tragedy happened because one of the rare people dumb enough to ask to be shot met one of the rare people dumb enough to say yes. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boyfriend-dies-in-youtube-prank-stunt-video-girlfriend-charged-with-manslaughter/790080/44 "2017-06-28T22:34:10Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > What percentage do you have for “people demanding that they be shot”? I don’t know. I’m still working on “the percentage of people who think an obviously made up number is accurate to some number of significant digits”. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boyfriend-dies-in-youtube-prank-stunt-video-girlfriend-charged-with-manslaughter/790080/45 "2017-06-28T22:34:26Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The article says she told 911 that she “accidentally” shot him, although it sounds like the opposite of accidental. “I accidentally shot him!” “‘Accidental’? You were aiming right at him!” “I was aiming at the book! And I hit it! It’s not my fault the bullet didn’t stop!” :rolleyes: Still, a lack of familiarity with terminal ballistics probably isn’t a crime. Does the question of “reasonable person”, as in “a reasonable person would have expected the bullet to go through the book”, figure into this? ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boyfriend-dies-in-youtube-prank-stunt-video-girlfriend-charged-with-manslaughter/790080/46 "2017-06-28T22:53:00Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > People - test first! How hard would it be to try firing though the book with nothing behind? You can afford a desert eagle, but can’t afford two books? According to the article, he did so (or, at least, she said that he said that he did so). But, maybe the round that he test-fired was bad? Good enough to make it out of the gun, but with far less force than a normal one would have? So, no. Don’t test first. Just don’t do it. Don’t point guns at things or people you want to remain living. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boyfriend-dies-in-youtube-prank-stunt-video-girlfriend-charged-with-manslaughter/790080/47 "2017-06-28T23:05:05Z")
One of the articles said she was a foot away from the book. That’s really close. And I’m not familiar with guns, but isn’t .50 caliber a powerful round? (Another story in the media today is of a group of Dutch teenagers on a trip to Spain. They were doing bungee jumping and one student was strapped in when the Spanish-speaking guide told her, “No jump” because the harness hadn’t been secured yet. She heard this as, “Now jump” and did so.) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boyfriend-dies-in-youtube-prank-stunt-video-girlfriend-charged-with-manslaughter/790080/48 "2017-06-28T23:09:56Z")
This reminded me of [this old video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2z1LKfit6w); it’s been online since at least 2009. For those who don’t want to click without knowing, it’s a guy wearing no shirt but wearing a bulletproof vest. His friend shoots him in the chest from about 5 feet away with a 9mm. It quickly becomes apparent to everyone that this was not a good idea, even tho the shootee is not killed. [That scene in _Kick-Ass_ was just a movie scene, eh](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uQOkA8zuMk). ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boyfriend-dies-in-youtube-prank-stunt-video-girlfriend-charged-with-manslaughter/790080/49 "2017-06-28T23:33:01Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > This is the picture definition of involuntary manslaughter, not manslaughter. A much lesser crime. I think a prosecutor could make the case that aiming a gun and firing at a person’t chest was willful but you’re right. Either way she belongs in prison. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boyfriend-dies-in-youtube-prank-stunt-video-girlfriend-charged-with-manslaughter/790080/50 "2017-06-28T23:33:44Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > What book was it? Donald Trump’s “The Truths I Have Told.” ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boyfriend-dies-in-youtube-prank-stunt-video-girlfriend-charged-with-manslaughter/790080/51 "2017-06-28T23:35:12Z")
There’s going to be a lot of pressure on Youtube to start taking down stunts that are extremely dangerous. For example: [https://youtu.be/RHQbh9GqM2c?t=30s](https://youtu.be/RHQbh9GqM2c?t=30s) ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boyfriend-dies-in-youtube-prank-stunt-video-girlfriend-charged-with-manslaughter/790080/52 "2017-06-28T23:36:45Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I think a prosecutor could make the case that aiming a gun and firing at a person’t chest was willful but you’re right. Either way she belongs in prison. I’m sure they can try to claim that she intended to kill him but everything so far points to the fact that she’s stupid and not murderous. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boyfriend-dies-in-youtube-prank-stunt-video-girlfriend-charged-with-manslaughter/790080/53 "2017-06-28T23:38:47Z")
I’m unwilling to pay for this woman’s incarceration for her act of involuntary suicide. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boyfriend-dies-in-youtube-prank-stunt-video-girlfriend-charged-with-manslaughter/790080/54 "2017-06-28T23:45:01Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > One of the articles said she was a foot away from the book. That’s really close. And I’m not familiar with guns, but isn’t .50 caliber a powerful round? The .50 Action Express has roughly 40% greater kinetic energy than a full SAAMI spec .44 Remington Magnum. There is really no excuse here for not realizing that it would penetrate through a book, and anyone picking up a firearm and wielding it in a fashion so careless is by default criminally negligent. I can’t have much sympathy for either the shooter or her victim here, but the families and first responders have suffered trauma through their terminal stupidity. There should be sme appropriate and proportional response, but not having details about the principals or the specifics of the case I don’t feel that I or anyone else here can say what that penalty should be. BTW, textile body armor, which is made of aramid and UHMWPE fiber, will only protect against a certain point pressure of impact, hence why sharp knives and rounds with high sectional density can penetrat Class IIa armor. Even if a round doesn’t penetrate it can do substantial blunt trauma unless a steel or ceramic trauma plate is inserted. Such armor will also break down over time and with exposure to body heat and sweat, hence buying used body armor is rarely a good deal. (I write from experience.) Unless you are promoting your own body armor product in which you have complete confidence, inviting someone to shoot you is foolish for both parties. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boyfriend-dies-in-youtube-prank-stunt-video-girlfriend-charged-with-manslaughter/790080/55 "2017-06-28T23:46:25Z")
I have a hard time believing that firing a live round at someone, even if the trick had worked, was legal. Yeah, she should end up doing 18 months. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boyfriend-dies-in-youtube-prank-stunt-video-girlfriend-charged-with-manslaughter/790080/56 "2017-06-28T23:47:12Z")
The pen may be mightier than the sword, but the bullet is mightier than the book. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boyfriend-dies-in-youtube-prank-stunt-video-girlfriend-charged-with-manslaughter/790080/57 "2017-06-28T23:49:26Z")
I always feel badly when people have to pay this high a price for stupidity. I really doubt either of these two had the cognitive capacity to make a better choice. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boyfriend-dies-in-youtube-prank-stunt-video-girlfriend-charged-with-manslaughter/790080/58 "2017-06-28T23:52:57Z")
No doubt they were trying to reproduce teddy Roosevelt’s famous assassination attempt. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boyfriend-dies-in-youtube-prank-stunt-video-girlfriend-charged-with-manslaughter/790080/59 "2017-06-28T23:53:15Z")
I think people are getting too hung up on the gun thing. Quite simply she did something involving someone else that they both believed to be safe but wasn’t. Were they both very stupid? Yes, but that isn’t usually a crime. > [@Quimby](#): > > I think a prosecutor could make the case that aiming a gun and firing at a person’t chest was willful but you’re right. Either way she belongs in prison. You miss the point. It’s wilfulness about causing death, not wilfulness about the specific actions taken. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boyfriend-dies-in-youtube-prank-stunt-video-girlfriend-charged-with-manslaughter/790080/60 "2017-06-29T00:02:37Z")
If you willfully cause death, doesn’t that go beyond manslaughter and into murder? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boyfriend-dies-in-youtube-prank-stunt-video-girlfriend-charged-with-manslaughter/790080.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boyfriend-dies-in-youtube-prank-stunt-video-girlfriend-charged-with-manslaughter/790080.md?page=4)