Political Crossfire Forums

[Richard Owl Mirror]

Judge delays jail sentence until after football season ?

Quote: KENTON, Ohio (AP) -- A judge decided two high school athletes can complete the football season this fall before they serve 60-day jail sentences for a car crash caused by a decoy deer placed in a country road. Two teens were injured.

"I shouldn't be doing this, but I'm going to. I see positive things about participating in football," Judge Gary McKinley said Tuesday.

Dailyn Campbell, a 16-year-old quarterback for Kenton High, and 17-year-old teammate Jesse Howard will serve their time in a juvenile detention center. They were also ordered to write a 500-word essay titled "Why I Should Think Before I Act."

Last November, teens stole the decoy from a man's home, created a base to help it stand upright because it had only two legs, and then drove up and down the road, watching as drivers swerved to avoid it, prosecutor Brad Bailey said. He said Howard did not stop the prank.

Robert Roby Jr. crashed his car into a pole and broke his neck, collarbone, arm and leg. His passenger, Dustin Zachariah, suffered brain damage, Bailey said.

Campbell and Howard pleaded no contest to vehicular vandalism and other charges. Three other teenagers are awaiting trial in the fall.

"None of these guys will ever know what our sons have gone through," Roby's mother, Mary, wrote to the court. "If they get nothing for what they've done, they'll do something worse later. They need more than a slap on the wrist."

Both Campbell and Howard apologized at their sentencing.

"I think every day that I hurt someone, and that hurts me inside," said Howard, a defensive back who earned an honorable mention on the all-district team last fall.

Howard's father, C.J., said he punished his son by taking away his driver's license, keeping him at home and preventing him from playing sports.


~@~

I'm speechless, what do you think about this punishment?

Quote: Robert Roby Jr. crashed his car into a pole and broke his neck, collarbone, arm and leg. His passenger, Dustin Zachariah, suffered brain damage, Bailey said.

Quote: Howard's father, C.J., said he punished his son by taking away his driver's license, keeping him at home and preventing him from playing sports.

If this boy is prevented from playing sports, why did the judge allow him to go unpunished during the upcoming football season?

[Izzibeth]

i'm also speechless... but this doesn't surprise me in the least.

much less extreme, but related nonetheless.... when i was growing up and attending high school, i remember the rule was if you got any lower than a C average, you were supposed to be kicked off of the football team (and other teams). well.. i know, personally, a handful of people who did not get a C average.. much less. and they did not leave the football team. they were allowed to stay.

for some reason entertainment overrules a lot in this country. i have no idea why.

[toddytodd]

Richard Owl Mirror wrote: Judge delays jail sentence until after football season ?

Quote: KENTON, Ohio (AP) -- A judge decided two high school athletes can complete the football season this fall before they serve 60-day jail sentences for a car crash caused by a decoy deer placed in a country road. Two teens were injured.

"I shouldn't be doing this, but I'm going to. I see positive things about participating in football," Judge Gary McKinley said Tuesday.

Dailyn Campbell, a 16-year-old quarterback for Kenton High, and 17-year-old teammate Jesse Howard will serve their time in a juvenile detention center. They were also ordered to write a 500-word essay titled "Why I Should Think Before I Act."

Last November, teens stole the decoy from a man's home, created a base to help it stand upright because it had only two legs, and then drove up and down the road, watching as drivers swerved to avoid it, prosecutor Brad Bailey said. He said Howard did not stop the prank.

Robert Roby Jr. crashed his car into a pole and broke his neck, collarbone, arm and leg. His passenger, Dustin Zachariah, suffered brain damage, Bailey said.

Campbell and Howard pleaded no contest to vehicular vandalism and other charges. Three other teenagers are awaiting trial in the fall.

"None of these guys will ever know what our sons have gone through," Roby's mother, Mary, wrote to the court. "If they get nothing for what they've done, they'll do something worse later. They need more than a slap on the wrist."

Both Campbell and Howard apologized at their sentencing.

"I think every day that I hurt someone, and that hurts me inside," said Howard, a defensive back who earned an honorable mention on the all-district team last fall.

Howard's father, C.J., said he punished his son by taking away his driver's license, keeping him at home and preventing him from playing sports.


~@~

I'm speechless, what do you think about this punishment?

Quote: Robert Roby Jr. crashed his car into a pole and broke his neck, collarbone, arm and leg. His passenger, Dustin Zachariah, suffered brain damage, Bailey said.

Quote: Howard's father, C.J., said he punished his son by taking away his driver's license, keeping him at home and preventing him from playing sports.

If this boy is prevented from playing sports, why did the judge allow him to go unpunished during the upcoming football season?

I don't know how it is in other states, but in Ohio football is insanely popular and takes precedence over most everything. Football players are held in such high regard that they are almost invincible. Google Maurice Clarett and see for yourself.
The Columbus newspaper got much backlash because they once decided to place the Ohio State Buckeye football team on the front page and other, more important news Iraq War) buried several pages back.

I understand and appreciate that organized sports can help keep kids/people out of trouble to some degree. But give me a break....

[sparsely]

I'd say the kid already has his punishment, and people are making him live in hell for it.

Send him away to a safe place.

[eXploiTeD]

sparsely wrote: I'd say the kid already has his punishment, and people are making him live in hell for it.

Send him away to a safe place.

They deserve to be treated as lepers for doing something so incredibly stupid. They also deserve jail-time.

[Stygma]

Quote: I'd say the kid already has his punishment, and people are making him live in hell for it.

Send him away to a safe place.


Quote: Robert Roby Jr. crashed his car into a pole and broke his neck, collarbone, arm and leg. His passenger, Dustin Zachariah, suffered brain damage, Bailey said.


Yes, poor boys have been punished enough. Let's send them home to mommy and forget this all happened. :roll:

[Ek0nomik]

They must have put this phony deer on a country road or highway or something. If not, than I am extremely confused in the damages.

[toddytodd]

Ek0nomik wrote: They must have put this phony deer on a country road or highway or something. If not, than I am extremely confused in the damages.
Yes.
I only caught part of it on the news, but they placed something/someone in the road that caused the accident

EDIT:
I heard they were HILL JUMPING in their car - will have to watch the news tonight to see what's the real story

[Lumina]

Richard Owl Mirror wrote: Judge delays jail sentence until after football season ?

Quote: KENTON, Ohio (AP) -- A judge decided two high school athletes can complete the football season this fall before they serve 60-day jail sentences for a car crash caused by a decoy deer placed in a country road. Two teens were injured.

"I shouldn't be doing this, but I'm going to. I see positive things about participating in football," Judge Gary McKinley said Tuesday.

Dailyn Campbell, a 16-year-old quarterback for Kenton High, and 17-year-old teammate Jesse Howard will serve their time in a juvenile detention center. They were also ordered to write a 500-word essay titled "Why I Should Think Before I Act."

Last November, teens stole the decoy from a man's home, created a base to help it stand upright because it had only two legs, and then drove up and down the road, watching as drivers swerved to avoid it, prosecutor Brad Bailey said. He said Howard did not stop the prank.

Robert Roby Jr. crashed his car into a pole and broke his neck, collarbone, arm and leg. His passenger, Dustin Zachariah, suffered brain damage, Bailey said.

Campbell and Howard pleaded no contest to vehicular vandalism and other charges. Three other teenagers are awaiting trial in the fall.

"None of these guys will ever know what our sons have gone through," Roby's mother, Mary, wrote to the court. "If they get nothing for what they've done, they'll do something worse later. They need more than a slap on the wrist."

Both Campbell and Howard apologized at their sentencing.

"I think every day that I hurt someone, and that hurts me inside," said Howard, a defensive back who earned an honorable mention on the all-district team last fall.

Howard's father, C.J., said he punished his son by taking away his driver's license, keeping him at home and preventing him from playing sports.


~@~

I'm speechless, what do you think about this punishment?

Quote: Robert Roby Jr. crashed his car into a pole and broke his neck, collarbone, arm and leg. His passenger, Dustin Zachariah, suffered brain damage, Bailey said.

Quote: Howard's father, C.J., said he punished his son by taking away his driver's license, keeping him at home and preventing him from playing sports.

If this boy is prevented from playing sports, why did the judge allow him to go unpunished during the upcoming football season?

I think the judge's decision is outrageous.

[Darbyh25]

Quote: I don't know how it is in other states, but in Ohio football is insanely popular and takes precedence over most everything.

I grew up in West Texas. You want to talk about INSANE! Watch Friday Night Lights, they are not exaggerating.

[Enoch]

Am I the only one severely questioning the sanity of a populace who put a game above all else? Yeah, football may be fun, but it is a GAME...nothing more. This judge needs to be removed from the bench.

You want to punish these kids? Take them off the team. I don't care if they are star athletes. Maybe if they can't play, and their insane football-crazed community gets pissed that the "hometown boys" lost a game, they will feel some more punishments from the community after they get out of jail.

Actually, on second thought, any moron who puts a game that high up on their list of priorities would probably blame the judicial system instead of the idiot kids who caused the wreck by being stupid and careless.

[A Promise Kept]

This judge is retarded....a lot of judges are retarded. The two injured teens will probably never walk again or something. These juvenilles were dumbasses and should be tried as adults and jailed. Football does not supercede the LAW. What I don't get is why people didn't remove the deer from the road once they saw it. It figures. A lot of people only care about themselves these days.
Note: Friday Night Lights was an awesome and true movie.

The least punishment would be for the teens to pay for the medical expenses and auto repair. The absolute least. I saw no mention of that in the article. I think these guys should get jail time. Two less dumb people off the streets.

[levin893]

Another case of an unqualified judge. First they give a rapist 6 months in jail. Now they allow a couple of idiots to play football. We only have a couple chances in life. Doesn't seem fair these guys get a couple more.

[Ek0nomik]

UrielsFyre wrote: Actually, on second thought, any moron who puts a game that high up on their list of priorities would probably blame the judicial system instead of the idiot kids who caused the wreck by being stupid and careless.

But in this case, it is the judge. :lol:

[sparsely]

A Promise Kept wrote: What I don't get is why people didn't remove the deer from the road once they saw it. It figures. A lot of people only care about themselves these days.

ah ha! I say to you, the answer to that question brings a reckoning indeed!
You who would hammer around with gavels on the heads of your own sons...
Those who saw the danger and failed to remove the stumbling block from their followers path are guilty of the same.

[Richard Owl Mirror]

Judge's ruling divides 'big football town'


Quote: 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."

[Ek0nomik]

Richard Owl Mirror wrote: 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."

Someone who is working at Subway says, "I shouldn't be doing this, but I'm going to", and they hand you the large soft drink cup instead of the small.

A judge doesn't have the right to say that.

[A Promise Kept]

The tunnels getting shorter?! OH no! Don't go towards the light!!!! You see, they killed him.... those bastards!!

Anyway, I also believe that a judge has no right to say that. The punishment was nowhere near as severe as it should be. But sparsely is right about the passersby that failed to move the deer being just as guilty. I've been noticing that most of the judges that are making such crappy judgements are old. I think its time we start out fresh. People who actually know the laws of the land should be judge. Judges better watch their back, or they may find that someone is not going to agree with them and may take action.

[levin893]

Ek0nomik wrote: Richard Owl Mirror wrote: 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."

Someone who is working at Subway says, "I shouldn't be doing this, but I'm going to", and they hand you the large soft drink cup instead of the small.

A judge doesn't have the right to say that.

If a judge admits to you that what he's doing is wrong, than the corruption is out of the bag.

[D.A.R.E.]

Last time i check people almost never go to jail for killing people with their car, let alone just injuring people. I remember the case of a man here in SoCal who was so old and senile he drove his car through a farmers market killing something like 14 people, they even proved he mashed the gas through the whole thing, yet no charges filed. If these kids had been in a car and done the same damage they would be let off scott-free. So they put a deer in the road, obviosly the guy driving was not doing the best job because i don't see how a deer in the road could make you swerve into a pole, why not just hit the damn thing.