There are times when I do not totally agree with our system in
the United States. I first saw this on fox news and found the
actual link on their site:
“A man who drew national attention for rescuing four children
from a burning apartment building was arrested on unrelated
charges Monday after a sheriff’s deputy recognized him on
television.”
They arrrested him simply because he hadn’t reported to his
probation officer. Now I would think that after saving four
children’s lives, for which would now be dead if it wasn’t for him,
they would let this one incident slide.
If it was something serious, then okay that would be different,
but this is not really all that serious! And the guy deserves to be
commended for being a hero and saving 4 children, not thrown in
jail. He put his life on the line for these children, and this is how
we thank him? :-\ :sigh:
Having to go see a probation officer or not, is shows he has some
genuine compassion for life.
and if he was that good of a person, then why didn’t he meet with his parole officer?
I’m not saying they should have arrested the guy, but he did have it coming.
Think about it this way… A guy is on parole after Manslaughter conviction of 15 years. He misses his appointments with his parole officer, may even have committed a few more crimes, maybe even carrying a gun again… Then he stops a robbery, saving the clerk’s life… Should the parole violations be ignored?
I have very little compassion for someone who has spent time in prison, then can’t make an appointment once every three months…
Rules are the same for everyone. Well, not important people, apparently, but yeah. We have to treat everyone equal or we’ll get stung.
The man did a great thing, and should be commended, but I’m glad he was arrested. Show that the justice system has the cojones to make the public mad at them to get what needs to be done, done.
I didn’t read the story, but if he broke parole because he was on the way to his appointment and saw a house burning with children inside and stopped to save them, let this one slide…
If his appointment was say 10.00am and he saved em at 4.00pm, lock him up… and don’t anybody go on about sending this person to years of buggery and continious bashings in prison, blah blah blah, do the crime do the time…
there is a difference…
If he was on probation he never actually did jail time for his crime. If he was released from jail then he was on parole and will be required to finish his sentance.
People usually get probation for first offenses like that (if it was his first offense) they just have to report once a week for the predetermined time.
while I agree that probation is diff from parole, he was still convicted of a crime, and as punishment he was supposed to meet with a probie officer once a month. He missed 2 visits.
Also, just because someone does a good deed does not relieve him of his responsiblities. Just think if he started the fire, so he could act like a hero?
oh I agree… one good deed does not excuse another.
We are just basically going off what the news says… I am sure his P.O. must have wanted him to come in pretty bad if he saw him on t.v. and wanted him arrested
I have to agree with Phil and Rev on this as well. Sad as it is, he has to obey his parole, regardless of what good deeds are done on the outside. Though I would say that someone who is on 3 years parole, goes to every meeting, and in his spare time rescues people from burning buildings, should have that taken into consideration when he has a hearing to see if his parole can be reduced. He is showing that he’s a benefit to society.
There was another situation simliar, but not similar to this one, which happened recently. A man was arrested for returning into a burning building to save his dog. The fire and rescue team told him not to enter, but he ignored them. The basics of the case against him are that he endagered the lives of the fire fighters when he went back in.
Personaly I think that a person should be able to risk his own life, without having the fire fighters save him, if he want’s to do so… but you can’t formulate that into a law, or even a precident. No, the fire fighters have to go in after you if you enter a burning building, otherwise they are failing in their duty… I except this, and the guy’s arrest. I wouldn’t want to be on that jury though. That’s a really hard choice.
It seems to me that these days a hero’s life is thankless, and often not worth the trouble. What does that say about us as a people?
There’s always more to a story. I’m pretty much for hanging a man who sets up a dangerous situation to come out the hero. That’s really really sick.
Phil~ yeah… like I said, I hope they don’t procecute the guy for his dog, but I’ll live with it if they do. About that sin thing though… it can’t really be used in a court of law and a testimony to the wrongness of what the guy did. The compelling part of the story is exactly this. To the guy, his dog held the same emotional attachment as a child. He wasn’t thinking when he did what he did. The question it raises is, are we going to prosecute people for having that reaction… , that the life we want to save is worth more than our own… or anyone elses. One could almost pead that as a temporary insanity case. It’s not that far fetched.
Just think about the following possibility I came up with.
A fire breaks out in your house, and you make for the exit, you have your cell phone in hand, and are dialing 911 as you move. You see your cat sitting 10 feet out of your shortest path to the door. Do you pick up the cat before leaving?
The only none prosecutable answer would be “no”. If you do not immediately leave the building you put yourself in risk of being trapped inside, and hence, risking the lives of fire fighters. I place the cell phone in hand, just to prove that you don’t need anything inside the house. You have the most vital object which may help the fire fighters accomplish their task.
Of course I’m probebly over thinking the situation, but that’s my nature. I can see other problems with having a precident like this one on the books. I guess I’m not at all worried about such a thing, even if I too would go in to save my dog, but I just find the whole thing rather interesting as arrests go.
Does anyone remember when Manny the Hippy got arrested for Parole Violation when his Probation Officer saw him broadcasting live from Florida on the David Letterman show? Lesson: If your on probation, dont appear on TV.
:-\ :sigh:
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