User Panel
Posted: 8/19/2006 6:38:32 AM EST
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/08/19/deerdecoy.crash.ap/index.html
KENTON, Ohio (AP) -- It was intended to be a prank: steal a decoy deer, place it on a country road and watch as motorists swerved to avoid it. It ended with two teenagers suffering serious injuries when their car hit the decoy and rolled into a ditch. When a judge ruled this week that two boys -- both high school football players -- can complete the football season before they serve 60-day sentences at a juvenile detention center, it caused a division in this northwest Ohio city. On one side are those who say allowing a 16-year-old quarterback, and his 17-year-old teammate to play shows that football players get preferential treatment. On the other are those who say either the boys deserve another chance or that they will stay out of trouble if they're part of the team. "I've never seen anything that has been so much an issue in the community," said Arch Rodgers, principal of 670-student Kenton High School. "The worst part is this has drug out so long and the longer it drug out, the more it created friction in the community." Robert Roby Jr., one of the injured teens, said he believes the boys received special treatment because they're football players. "They could have killed me and my friend so easily over a stupid prank. For me it feels like they got a little slap on the wrist," said Roby, 19, who graduated from Kenton High in 2005 and played baseball and golf. "Kenton is a big football town and a lot of people don't look past that to see what really happened," he said. The Wildcats, which won state championships in their division in 2001 and 2002, draw about 4,000 fans for games in this city of about 8,000. Taunts and crude remarks The 17-year-old's father, C.J. Howard, said members of the community have made crude remarks when his family shops at a nearby Wal-Mart store and that his younger children are taunted by older youth when they play in the yard. He said his son would not be the focus of such attention if he didn't play football. "I don't know why it's about football players. Why isn't it about student council or track?" Howard asked. "He admitted what he did and he faced the consequences like a young man should." School Superintendent Doug Roberts said the crash has drawn attention because the emphasis the news media and the community placed on football. Authorities say a group of teenagers stole the two-legged decoy deer from a yard, rigged it so it would stand and placed it in the road on November 18. The decoy was at the top of a hill on the curving road, Roby said, and he didn't see it until it was right in front of his car. "I panicked and swerved to go around it," he said. Roby's seat belt gave way, his head broke the car's sun roof and he fell to the ground. He heard his passenger, Dustin Zachariah, hit the ground. Prosecutors say Zachariah, now 18, suffered brain damage. Investigators say the 17-year-old, was among the boys who watched the cars. He and the younger teen, pleaded no contest in juvenile court to vehicular vandalism, possession of criminal tools and petty theft. When Judge Gary McKinley announced his decision Tuesday to delay the sentence, he said, "I shouldn't be doing this, but I'm going to. I see positive things about participating in football." Donna Deisler, the mother of the younger teen, declined to comment on the case. Messages seeking comment were left for her son's attorney, Mike Hood. Zachariah's mother, Kathy Piper, did not return calls seeking comment. Roby is recovering from broken bones in his neck, arm and leg. He spent about three months in a neck brace and has had 10 surgeries. He faces one more surgery on his leg and said he hopes soon to return to the University of Northwestern Ohio. "It's been a long tunnel, but it's getting shorter," he said. The two football players are to remain on house arrest once released, pay fines, perform community service and each write an essay titled "Why I Should Think Before I Act." Trials are pending for three other defendants. The mother of the oldest boy, Valerie Berry of Ashland, Kentucky, said her son has a strong support system and will be able to move on. "With this stunt he was a child," she said. "He's an adult now." |
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i figure that the judge decides the punishment which in this case was 60 days in a detention center. Whether they wait till after the football season or not its still a 60 day sentence and they will serve their time.
Losing a year of high school football can cost you a scholarship and a shot at college and ultimately the pros. I understand it is preferrential treatment but they are still serving the punishment sentenced. To of lost a year of football would be a greater punishment than that they were sentenced to. |
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There lies the nexus of the issue. Too many kids today rely on their fleeting physical prowess in High School to get into College in lieu of actually attempting to get an academic scholarship through scholastic hard work and study. |
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Then maybe he shouldn't have been risking peoples lives by putting shit in the road. I was nearly killed one time when I almost ran over a log placed across a road by some jackass. Maybe if a NFL pro quarterback killed some people we should wait 10 years until after his career is over to sentence him.....for the fans. |
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The victims suffered serious injuries... One was brain damaged. I don't give a shit about their football career....Not exactly the type of people I want to be seen as "role models" on a pro football team. No wonder most proffesional athletes are total assholes and assclowns These kids should be in PMIA prison with the parents getting their asses sued off. |
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+1 |
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I go a step further. FUCK their football careers. Causing someone to flip into a ditch for a prank leaving a lifelong disability deserves to cost someone something dear to them. I'd be working to get this Judge off the bench before the ink could dry on that story. |
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How many of us didn't do something stupid when we were teenagers? I know I did, and I'm not the same person now as I was then. Cut them some slack.........hold them accountable for their actions, but I don't think they need to spend 60 days in a correctional facility.
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If the kids are that dumb they aren't going to college to learn anyway, so I really wouldn't feel bad if they lost scholarships. The only reason they might get scholarships would be for sports, other than that they would disrupt the rest of the students who were their to learn and harass the daughters of the people on this site by trying to force them to have sex with them. It's no big loss any way you look at it.
If the parents of the kids who were hurt were smart about it they would file a civil suit against the families of those two kids. Then the kids who were hurt would get all their medical bills covered, new cars for each, all their college paid for...plus some. Let's hope that is how that is what happens. BTW, I played football so this is no slap at football players. It a slap at stupid idiots who get special treatment because they happen to play sports and are too dumb to do anything else. |
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Your right,,6 years would be better |
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My coach would not have let they play.
That's pretty fucked up IMO |
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Geez, maybe this treatment is why pro players think they can do all kinds of illegal stuff and get away with it. Instead of coddling em now, let em learn how the real world works(or should)
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Actually on second thought.......I didn't realize anyone was seriously injured.......my fault, I should've read the rest of the story. I still think too many kids lives are ruined by poor choices they make in their younger years though. My best friend got a DWI when he was 17, and it has been costing him job opportunities and marring his name ever since. He screwed up pretty bad and he's lucky he didn't wreck and hurt anyone, but I hate seeing good kids lives ruined over adolescent mistakes. In my town it all came down to money.......some other, let's just say "well off" friends of mine were detained by the police after they were caught driving drunk, in possesion of weed and alcohol underage while in the process of running over people's mailboxes. They weren't even arrested, just made a call to their parent's and they were off the hook. If that had been me, I would've been in jail.....likely even prison. I think these kids need punishment, but I also think that they should be able to recover from it and not end of paying for it for the rest of their lives. An equal system of treatment is needed to handle minors that doesn't destroy their lives and allows them to still be productive members of society. |
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I'd rather see those "kids" each get charged with two counts of attempted murder. To me, 60 days in a "detention center" is a slap on the wrist especially since the sentence is delayed until they finish the season; the fact that they spend their free time playing a game instead of studying or learning a useful skill should be of no bearing on the sentencing.
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TEN surgeries as a direct result of their actions? Who is paying for that? I know who SHOULD pay for it.
The judge said it best--"I shouldn't be doing this . . ." |
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YES, There were serious injuries. What crimes could/should they have been charged with????? |
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They are athletes and as such MUST be taught NOW that they are a protected class otherwise once they ditch college to join the NFL they wont know its OK to beat up your pregnant girlfriend, do heroin in the offseason, shoot a limo driver,wreck your ferrari into the mall cause general mayhem without consequences.
Plus, theres the positive message that the judge is sending to the other teenagers of America-- do good in sports and you wont have to worry about anything else. Cant wait till these two get out into the NFL and get a 15bil $/yr contract Sue them now get a lien on future earnings and hope they make the grade in professional sports. |
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Agreed... Their will always be people needed to collect garbage. I hear the job pays good in some localities |
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This behavior sounds just like what me and my friends did when in our teenage years.
Sounds like an innocent prank by teenagers gone horribly wrong. Personally, I see no reason why these two boys should be going to any type of jail over this. Restitution? Absolutely. They need to be responsible for ALL the medical bills, even if we are talking millions of dollars. Punishment? That's up to the parents and football coach. They should decide what the boys' fate is. Legal repurcussions and jail time? Hmmm. I don't agree. |
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Those two kids should go to jail, learn to be thugs, predators, lowlifes, perverts, and generally burdens on society.
Then they can switch their dreams from the NFL to the NBA, where they will fit right in. |
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we have enought ass hat trash in sports now, sounds like we can weed 2 out early.. |
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And that, my friend, is why we have stuff like this occurring with such alarming regularity. Parents need to PARENT their children and impress upon their spawn DAILY the importance of realizing the choices they make can AND WILL affect the entire rest of their lives. Also, kids need to SEE this to be true in cases such as this. The parents who are raising their kids in a responsible manner have just become liars as a result of this. In this case their dumbass actions WILL affect the rest of the lives for the victims and the POS "football heroes" aren't even inconvenienced by the consequences to the extent of missing the football season--then get two months of TV watching as "punishment." It's no wonder kids grow up to be irresponsible worthless shits who don't fear consequences--there ARE no consequences. |
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You know, just because loosing a year of football might cost them a scholarship, doesn't mean that they should get preferrential treatment.
Everyone's situation is different. There are jobs you can show up to drunk/high and not get fired. Then there are jobs that you can get fired for drinking last weekend. They should have been thrown in jail directly after sentencing. No reprieve, no nothing. If the court would have done it to me, they shoud do it to them, PERIOD. I don't give a rat's butt if they play football or not. Maybe they should have thought BEFORE they pulled that stunt. Kinda symptimatic of the problems with today's younger adults......failure to think before acting. GEE I wonder where that came from? |
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I'm sure they weren't intending to hurt anyone, it was just an adolescent prank that's all. They really screwed up and they should have to pay for it. However, they are just kids that's all.
I'm sure everyone has done one thing or another when they were younger, that could've resulted in serious consequences if they had been caught or hurt someone. Juvenile's make mistakes and they should have consequences, but I think enought peoples lives have been ruined in this situation. |
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Innocent prank? Are you fucking kidding me? Putting a fake deer in the road to cause a car accident is an innocent prank? They wanted to see cars swerve? The emergency lane change is a dangerous maneuver, especially when carried out by a larger vehicle, or one driven by inexperienced teenagers. The end result of this prank is easily predictable by anyone with a room temperature or better IQ, and they should be punished accordingly. |
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No, I'm not fucking kidding you. |
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No shit. If I commit a crime tomorrow, I don't think the judge would let me start my jail time after October 15th when my contract is up and I collect a fat retention bonus - he'd ship my ass off right now. |
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Well, since I've stated my side, please explain why you think a prank that can (and did!) end in a car accident is innocent. |
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Two people will never live normal lives because of this, and you believe its better that they get to play football? |
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What about an adolescent prank with what they thought was an unloaded gun, where someone gets killed? They never meant to hurt anybody, after all. |
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Yes, but those lives that have been ruined are not the "football heros". They are walking away from this without much more than a slap on the wrist. The fact still remains that they did cause someone permant injuries. Ask yourself, If a "kid" caused an injury of this type to one of my family should I just let them walk because they were "just kids"? |
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Innocent prank - putting a flaming paper bag with poop in it on a porch and ringing the doorbell What they did was reckless endangerment. |
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Did they intend to hurt anyone? We all know what the answer is. Most of us have done similiar things in the past. I'm not going to condemn these kids for doing things kids do. They should be responsible for paying all costs involved...but jail time? Bah. |
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And what if this example of an "innocent" prank caught the house on fire and somebody got burns over 50% of his body? Does it change the fact it was *still* an innocent prank, with no harm intended? |
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I was raised not to do something that foolish. I can't speak for anyone else, however. |
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Therein lies our answer. Thank you for crystalizing precisely what this type of behavior is...and is not. |
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What a moron you show yourself to be. I have absolutely no doubt your ridiculous point of view would change if it was your brother or child hurt by their "prank". Think before you embarrass yourself. |
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Get in line and take a number, bud. |
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That's bull shit - These two idiots cost Mr Roby a lot more than a football scholarship and his passenger has suffered brain damage - he'll never be the same from the sound of that. They don't get to suffer their consequences when it's convenient, like these two jerk offs that pulled the prank. It makes me sick - we are sending a message to youth - if you are good at sports, you will get preferential treatment. What about "we hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal"? Not equal in the sense that we have the same capabilities, but in that we are all entitled to the same rights! This judge basically said that these boys have more rights than other boys because they can play football. What a stupid son of a bitch. ETA RE Wobblin Goblins statement that it is a stupid prank gone wrong: Yes, it is. We've all done stupid stuff, but hopefully you're smart enough not to mess with stuff that can get people killed. You have to pay the piper, it doesn't matter if you didn't want anyone to get hurt. I did lots of dumb stuff as a teenager, but never anything that intentionally put other people at risk. As they say here often at ar15.com, "stupid hurts" these two morons shouldn't be an exception to the rule. |
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I can't believe you actually wrote this. Imagine your loved one in traction for months due to some idiotic teenage prank. Possibly never being the same again. But, yes, let them finish their football season before getting to sit at home and jerk-off all day as a punishment. Give me a fucking break. |
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Losing a year of high school football can cost you a scholarship and a shot at college and ultimately the pros.
So what? The boys that were injured will suffer from this for the rest of their lives. What about the opportunities they have missed, and will miss in the future? Yes, this judge sent a message that all are created equal, but some are more equal than others. And another message sent by the judge ... that the victims of this crime are to be sacrificed for the community's enjoyment of their winning football team. |
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I agree, it should be a year in the correctional facility. |
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That'll show'em. |
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This is also the difference between public and private school education. At my high school, the would be thrown out regardless. I have facts to back this up too. When I was a sophomore in HS, and on the football team, we had a QB, OLM, and WR that were caught drinking (the night before a game no less). They were suspended from school for one week, suspended from football games and practice for 2 weeks, and given a permanent reprimand on their school record. They were all starters and we were undefeated and three weeks away from the play-offs. We had enought points by that time to go to the first round.
That is the difference between a public and private school: honor, courage, and dicipline is provided by those in charge so that they lead by example. No matter the cost. What lesson did this judge, lawyer, parent, prosecutor, and school teach? Not one I would want to take part in. |
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What are you saying is....oops, played a joke, and got you some brain damage. Sorry dude, we are going to play football now. No biggie. |
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As long as you don't really mean to hurt anyone and then say you're sorry, it will all be ok. Heck it was just an innocent prank. ETA: They might as well play ball this year. The lawsuits they and their parents will likely have to endure for the next few years will hammer the message home that their "innocent" prank fucked up a couple of people. |
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I agree on a few points here...no legal action..there intent wasn't to hurt anyone just make people swerve but they need to pay all medical bills and heavy punitive amount (stupid should be expensive so as to teach a lesson) Let the parents of all the kids get together with a mediator and agree on a punishment...football coach is not a parent and they weren't at school at the time so the school and its faculty need to stay out of it...public schools to often think that their rules = laws and they don't....just my .02 |
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LOL. Go read page one before you make stupid ASSumptions like that. |
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Who Gives A Shit? The injured parties will NEVER be the same as they were before the "accident". The judge is an ASSh--E and a schmuck. |
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The kids may have violated team rules concerning behavior and/or conduct, that's why the coach may have a say in this. |
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so when you all were children how many things did you do that "COULD" have gotten yourself friends or others hurt or killed but no adult saw you do them..now you didn't mean to hurt anyone but you could have ..........so imagine that little jimmy went left and not right when you did whatever you did and he got hurt ...go turn yourself into the local detention center and serve out your 60 days...casting of the first stone sucks but I guess when you were all younger you were angels.....hypocrisy
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