Re: [Paddlewise] PFD Conviction

> Is it not just as likely that the person attempting the rescue thought, by
> putting on the PFD, he could save the girl and himself?  The girl could
not
> save both of them, could she?  Had he intended to let her die, it would
have
> been murder.  Manslaughter is criminal negligence.  Still a homicide, but
> far from murder.

Well, if you ask me, and I've worked on quite a few murder cases, it would
be a pretty good example of criminal negligence to remove a child's PFD and
then somehow allow the child to drown.  Regardless of the rationale.  And
BTW, manslaughter is not necessarily always criminal negligence.  It can be
"with intent to cause harm, causing death," or, in some jurisdictions, "with
reckless disregard, causing death."  There are often degrees of
manslaughter.  The exact definitions of these terms vary from state to
state.  Of course, you hate to see a man go to prison for something like
this, where no doubt the whole thing started with good intentions.  If I was
the DA, I'm not sure whether I would prosecute or not.  But it sure is, from
what I understand, a classic example of someone causing the death of another
through, at the very least, a serious error in judgment.  Very sad, really.
One life lost, others destroyed.  No good comes of it.
Mark



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