An eye for an eye...
February 20, 2003. A major fire broke out in a nightclub in Rhode Island, apparently caused by fireworks lit indoors, as part of a rock group performance. To say that the death toll was devastating would be an understatement, over a hundred people killed, but the effect was more psychological - it is belived that there doesnot exist a single person in the state who did not know a person killed in that blaze.
May 10, 2006. After a trial, the first of the accused is convicted: the manager of the band who had set off the fireworks - 4 years behind bars, and another 11 as a suspended sentence. Remorse and guilt felt by the accused had no apparent effect on the relatives of the deceased, who seemed to be dissatisfied with the verdict. Agreed, it was a case of negligence, and the consequences of that action were disastrous, but was sending one man (maybe even more, because the owners of the club are still under trial) going to bring back the dead, or easen the suffering of their loved ones. Or was it merely a case tit for tat. You made me suffer, and so now it is your turn. Mind you, there was never an intention to murder, and a proper sentence would have been something which could have benefited the community as a whole, either an extremely stringent community service, or maybe confiscating the assets of the convicted. But keeping such a person segregated from society doesnot benefit anyone.
For me, this is a failure of the judicial system. How is it that rapists and serial killers can get away after they plead insanity, but someone who is harmless to society gets jailed for what was a single mistake, albeit a grave one.
God save America !
posted by Praveer @ 3:00 AM
5 Comments:
i read this yesterday, and trust me, even i shared similar thoughts!
i guess people are so tightly associated with their false self (ego) that they can never escape the confines of emotions! its just sad..
i guess, when u punish someone...its jus a way of showing others around that if u do the same thing, u will face the same fate.
In some way, putting fear in others mind...so they dont perform such a thing.
I dont remember exactly what had happened...but I wont blame the band for lighting the fireworks. They would have taken permission from the club owners to do so...and they shud be blamed for the negligence.
We see a lot of pyrotechnics in events like WWE fights which are indoors...so lighting fireworks inside is possible...if the arena can handle it.
Again, another point to think at is... had the people not panicked... the loss would have been lesser. but thats human mentality. they show in movie halls, in case of a fire..."walk dont run to the exit". I doubt anyone would obey that actually...and here were people who were intoxicated, so cant blame them not to keep their cool in such a situation. even I wouldnt ;)
I am not takign anyone's side, but I would not blame the judicial system.
going by your line of explanation for a "community service", would a judicial system give that to Osama if he is caught...jus coz, he killed a lot of innocents.
@meenakshi: looks like our wavelengths match
@joyghosh: that was one of the reasons i wrote this. it seemed that anger had clouded the judgement of the relatives of the victims, and revenge seemed to be their only motive
@sumedh: true, one of the reasons of punishing someone is to set an example for others. but in this case, no one would have intentionally killed so many people, it was gross negligence, and thats why i feel the punsihment was too harsh.
i felt that the motive should have been considered. if the intention was to kill hundreds of people, like in the 9/11 attacks, then you are perfectly justified to give the highest punishment to the culprits.
I agree with Sumedh. Many times punishments are set to refrain other ppl from commiting the same acts.
You say "but in this case, no one would have intentionally killed so many people, it was gross negligence" ... do u mean that negligence costing lives should not be punished harshly?
This is called manslaughter in legal terms (unintentional death). An individual/adult has to be responsible for his actions. He has to have a sense of responsibility towards the community.
Incase of drunken driving, its the same thing ... no one "intentionally" kills any one. But unintentionally accidents happen and people of the road get killed. This is a similar situation.
A human life was lost due to your "mistake". You have to be ready to take any punishment for that.
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