Speedboat “killer”

[canta_brian]

The press outdoing itself in this story. Firstly, just to say tragic death and all that but:

Firstly I have an issue with the use of the word killer. We are not talking about Jack the Ripper here. Irresponsible and unlucky, but we don’t see headlines about car drivers of this sort. He was stupid to run but the press coverage sort of explains why.

Secondly, in this age of me too, why is it that the press still talks about the loss of a young woman in the terms of angel etc. Surely we can accept that she is perfectly capable of making her own decisions in life? Do we really need to judge her purely as a helpless victim? What would the coverage be like if it was her boat and he had died?

[Numbers]

The press outdoing itself in this story. Firstly, just to say tragic death and all that but:

Firstly I have an issue with the use of the word killer. We are not talking about Jack the Ripper here. Irresponsible and unlucky, but we don’t see headlines about car drivers of this sort. He was stupid to run but the press coverage sort of explains why.

Secondly, in this age of me too, why is it that the press still talks about the loss of a young woman in the terms of angel etc. Surely we can accept that she is perfectly capable of making her own decisions in life? Do we really need to judge her purely as a helpless victim? What would the coverage be like if it was her boat and he had died?

This is exactly what I was thinking about this, the media referring to him as a killer is ridiculous, he wasn't even driving. I'm assuming he will be charged with reckless endangerment but I'm not a legal man so who knows.

[canta_brian]

The press outdoing itself in this story. Firstly, just to say tragic death and all that but:

Firstly I have an issue with the use of the word killer. We are not talking about Jack the Ripper here. Irresponsible and unlucky, but we don’t see headlines about car drivers of this sort. He was stupid to run but the press coverage sort of explains why.

Secondly, in this age of me too, why is it that the press still talks about the loss of a young woman in the terms of angel etc. Surely we can accept that she is perfectly capable of making her own decisions in life? Do we really need to judge her purely as a helpless victim? What would the coverage be like if it was her boat and he had died?

This is exactly what I was thinking about this, the media referring to him as a killer is ridiculous, he wasn't even driving. I'm assuming he will be charged with reckless endangerment but I'm not a legal man so who knows.

He got 6 years - tried in his absence. manslaughter by gross negligence.

Edit. Thought this was an interesting comparison
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politi ... -jail.html

[morepork]

He's got nothing on that Danish guy wot built his own submarine and took a Swedish journalist out for a jolly and cut her head off.

[canta_brian]

He's got nothing on that Danish guy wot built his own submarine and took a Swedish journalist out for a jolly and cut her head off.

Indeed. I don’t think even Rowan would have a problem with describing someone who cuts off another person’s head as a killer. Although, even as a write that...

[morepork]

A feckin submarine man.

[canta_brian]

A feckin submarine man.

I imagine it was the lack of proximity of her head to her neck rather than the depth at which the vessel was sailing that caused her the issues

[Numbers]

The press outdoing itself in this story. Firstly, just to say tragic death and all that but:

Firstly I have an issue with the use of the word killer. We are not talking about Jack the Ripper here. Irresponsible and unlucky, but we don’t see headlines about car drivers of this sort. He was stupid to run but the press coverage sort of explains why.

Secondly, in this age of me too, why is it that the press still talks about the loss of a young woman in the terms of angel etc. Surely we can accept that she is perfectly capable of making her own decisions in life? Do we really need to judge her purely as a helpless victim? What would the coverage be like if it was her boat and he had died?

This is exactly what I was thinking about this, the media referring to him as a killer is ridiculous, he wasn't even driving. I'm assuming he will be charged with reckless endangerment but I'm not a legal man so who knows.

He got 6 years - tried in his absence. manslaughter by gross negligence.

Edit. Thought this was an interesting comparison
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politi ... -jail.html

How the fuck did they come up with that? There's no doubt this bloke is a dick for skipping the country and for using the speedboat, however if she was driving it then surely the main person culpable for her death is her.

Trial by media.

[onlynameleft]

Does anybody remember reading about the original trial because my recollection is it has only become particularly noteworthy since he has appealed whilst having absconded? He was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter which does not involve any kind of deliberate act. It is where the court finds he owes a duty of care and his conduct has breached that, leading to or contributing to the death and to such an extent that it can be considered criminal. As far as I know the main breaches were to do with the fact the boat was a deathtrap and the fact that taking it out at night was considered to be madness. Nothing to do with who was driving it.

[Sandydragon]

He's got nothing on that Danish guy wot built his own submarine and took a Swedish journalist out for a jolly and cut her head off.

Indeed. I don’t think even Rowan would have a problem with describing someone who cuts off another person’s head as a killer. Although, even as a write that...

Tell you what, let’s not ask him.

[cashead]

He's got nothing on that Danish guy wot built his own submarine and took a Swedish journalist out for a jolly and cut her head off.

Indeed. I don’t think even Rowan would have a problem with describing someone who cuts off another person’s head as a killer. Although, even as a write that...

Depends. Is the guy a strongman leader with overt dictatorial tendencies, preferably with a predilection for mass murder and oppression of an ethnic or social minority group?

[onlynameleft]

Does anybody remember reading about the original trial because my recollection is it has only become particularly noteworthy since he has appealed whilst having absconded? He was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter which does not involve any kind of deliberate act. It is where the court finds he owes a duty of care and his conduct has breached that, leading to or contributing to the death and to such an extent that it can be considered criminal. As far as I know the main breaches were to do with the fact the boat was a deathtrap and the fact that taking it out at night was considered to be madness. Nothing to do with who was driving it.

Although as you might expect, the only evidence that she was driving the boat at the time has come from him.

[canta_brian]

Does anybody remember reading about the original trial because my recollection is it has only become particularly noteworthy since he has appealed whilst having absconded? He was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter which does not involve any kind of deliberate act. It is where the court finds he owes a duty of care and his conduct has breached that, leading to or contributing to the death and to such an extent that it can be considered criminal. As far as I know the main breaches were to do with the fact the boat was a deathtrap and the fact that taking it out at night was considered to be madness. Nothing to do with who was driving it.

Do boats have to pass a regular mot? I also wonder if driving like a dick in a car that has failed an mot would see the same charges. There appeared to be examples of people getting more lenient sentences when they killed a person in a car they were attempting to steal. Although the source was the telegraph so...

Although as you might expect, the only evidence that she was driving the boat at the time has come from him.

[onlynameleft]

As far as I know you need a licence and have to comply with certain safety standards although not sure if there is an annual (or other regular) inspection regime. The Thames licence says the can stop you and inspect the boat at any time.
I suppose under "normal" driving circumstances, i.e. on the road, there would be other offences open to the CPS. Going AWOL probably wasn't the best mitigation argument for sentencing though.