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Sunday, July 19, 2009

What Sort of Crime is This?


Man's Inhumanity to Man taken to a new an Frightening Low!

There is a case currently before the courts that I would like to write about, but I have to be careful as the matter being sub-judice, my words might influence the justices. The essential facts being alleged are as follows: A man and his female passenger while driving came upon a young motorcyclist lying in the road after having been involved in an accident with another car. Accidentally, they drove over the man and immediately stopped. At this point, I doubt that the suspects have committed any offence. What has happened to the motorcyclist is very tragic, but I think that none of the blame for anything that has happened can be put on the suspects.

Many things take place in the course of the driving day that are peculiar. We can only avoid becoming involved in tragedies if we are vigilant and if we anticipate what could happen, so in order to try to avoid them happening. For instance, many people drive as though they are the only people using the road. That is the completely incorrect assumption, of course, so it is our responsibility to be in the correct position in the road at all times. The other thing that is in our own interests is to choose a speed at which to travel that is safe and comfortable.

Continuing with the story: our suspects are in a situation in which any driver might find himself. We have come upon a young accident victim lying in the road and we have been unable to avoid running over him. We have stopped with the young man trapped under our car. This is horrible! What should we do next? I hear you say get out of the car and give as much help as you can. That makes sense to me, and is mandated by law, especially to drivers and their passengers who are involved in an accident.

It is alleged that the suspects in this case did not do that. Instead, they drove off, dragging the man, and it had to be obvious to them that he was being dragged. It is further alleged that they drove on for two kilometres with the body still attached to their car. At the end of the two kilometres, according to an eyewitness, they turned off the main road onto a side road, and inside that side road the car was driven backwards and forwards until the body became disentangled

The suspects deny that any of these things happened involving them, but the driver is charged with murder, and his passenger is charged with failing to give assistance to the victim. It seems that eye witness reports and cctv cameras do place them where they don’t want to be placed.

So, if the facts are as the prosecution allege, I have three questions: Why? Why? And Why?

Why would a driver, finding himself in the predicament of having collided with a person in the road, and now stopped, drive off instead of getting out of his car to offer assistance?

It might be because he had no driver’s license and insurance; or was drunk; or was carrying something in his car that would cause great difficulty.



Why drive on dragging a person, who, it is alleged, had life in him?

This is the one question that no one else other than the driver can answer, if he knows. I can believe that his passenger is as horrified as I am, and judging by the body language of the photo taken of the two of them in court, (he is sitting at one end of a bench, and she is at the other), he cannot expect much help from her.

Finally, why, after dragging a man’s body for two kilometres could a person be so heartless as to drive his car backwards and forwards until the body became dislodged and then drive away? This is a statement of man’s inhumanity that makes me very uncomfortable. I know that in war times, particularly involving the nazis, some things were done that are simply impossible to believe, and I find it beyond my own comprehension that I, or anyone whom I know, could stoop so low.

So, I end this with another question: What crime has actually been committed? Prosecutors have charged this man with murder, but that seems to me to not properly reflect the gravity of the crime. No one else should feel free to do the same thing because they will be free again after serving a few years behind bars. The judge in the case, if finding the man guilty as charged, should be able to throw the whole book at him. Most importantly the family of the young man must gain the satisfaction of believing that justice has been properly served.

I have a son about his age who rides a motorcycle. Were I in the shoes of that most unfortunate family, it would take a whole lot more than the standard sentence for murder to convince me that justice was well and truly done. Of that you can be sure!

Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael