calling child services...

[Ken Gargett]

So then in addition to having been severely injured and nearly killed, the kid's mother also gets sent away to prison for a few years, and that makes it better? For who? The kid?? I somehow doubt that the woman is a danger to the rest of society.

really? someone that stupid? who the hell knows what idiocy comes next.

she gets sent to prison, it might save the kid from some future moronic moment. or someone else's kid. perhaps you think she has learnt her lesson and something like this will never happen again? because people that braindead do that.

it might also make a few others think for a moment.

you don't avoid jail because you feel really bad about what you did.

if this wasn't child endangerment, intentional or not, then what the hell is? she didn't just hold the kid up quickly, she was "DANGLING" the kid over the railing above the animal enclosure. not koalas. cheetahs.

and unless you have access to other reports, there is no mention at all of the kid's mother being "severely injured and nearly killed". no suggestion she was harmed at all? unless you mean the kid (though your wording refers to the mother) who is described as having a few "bumps and bruises". again, not "severely injured and nearly killed". but to be honest, if he had been, would you still think mum should just wander home after a stern talking to?

as for "Let he who's never done any stupid thing he wishes to God he could take back cast the first stone. A wise man once said that" - not really a legal defence. and frankly an absurd one. no personal responsibility for our actions? someone gets pissed and runs down a kid but he should be let off because others have done something stupid? we could shut down every jail on the planet.

of course we have all done stupid things. we may have been fortunate and no one got hurt but it does not mean we should not be responsible for our actions. and it doesn't give others a licence to be morons.

[kgoings]

So if a kid is drag racing and crashes, kills his friend in the car with him and gets severely injured. He should not go to jail, because he got injured and probably learned his lesson? Great logic!

[DrunkenMonkey]

I was referring to the kid being severely injured and nearly killed. And now the kid's mother is to be taken away, if you're to get your way. Are you absolutely certain that this kid is better off without a mother than with this one?

[DrunkenMonkey]

My issue is, what's best for the kid? I think that none of us have enough information to make that judgement. Hopefully legal proceedings will focus more on that issue than many of the comments here have.

[DrunkenMonkey]

So if a kid is drag racing and crashes, kills his friend in the car with him and gets severely injured. He should not go to jail, because he got injured and probably learned his lesson? Great logic!

I think that the proper purpose of prison is to protect society from dangerous people, not to teach lessons. Sorry if that's not logical.

[shlomo]

Ken, I wonder...can I be the ultimate judge of "stupidity"? Can you?

I know if I had the power to lock up every idiot based on my own view, I would be the only car on the road, teaching classes to nobody, dealing with non existent companies, paying taxes to imaginary governments and posting on cigar message boards by myself.

Or close enough to it.

Utopia.

[El Presidente]

I think that the proper purpose of prison is to protect society from dangerous people, not to teach lessons. Sorry if that's not logical.

Wooooohoooo! White collar crime is back baby!

[DrunkenMonkey]

Wooooohoooo! White collar crime is back baby!

Oh yeah. Forgot about that majority of prisoners. Are you sure there's no better punishment for non-violent criminals? How about fines and future garnishment? Take their stuff to make reparations to the people they ripped off?

Edit: just looked it up and saw that in the US, white collar criminals are 0.6% of prisoners.