Social Networking Pictures Come Back To Haunt Drunk Drivers
Los Angeles (CA) - Social networking sites are great for posting party pictures, but some of those pictures have come back to haunt two drunk drivers. In an Associated Press article, these drunk drivers took unrepentant pictures after their crashes and received two years in prison.
20-year-old college junior Joshua Lipton was charged with drunken driving after he crashed his car and seriously wounded a woman. After the crash, Lipton attended a Halloween party and was photographed wearing a prison jumpsuit and having a grand old time. The prosecutor in the case found the pictures on Facebook and the sentenced Lipton to two years in prison.
In another case, Lara Buys was found guilty of drunken driving after she crashed her car near Santa Barbara California. The crash killed her passenger, but that didn’t stop her from posting pictures of herself holding a glass of wine and joking about alcoholism. Buys pled guilty and the prosecutor was willing to give just probation, but after finding the pictures on MySpace, he recommended two years in prison - something which the jury and the judge agreed.
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So they got two years in prison for posting pictures? I didnt know it was against the law to be unrepentant.
I guess that goes to show you how messed up our legal system really is. I don't care if people post pictures of them doing heroine the week after a crash, it has no material impact on the case at hand if their screening comes back negative. This is why the death penalty needs to be revoked, every study proves it has no deterrent effect, and it's estimated that since 1970 we have executed 120 people that have since been found innocent. People need to learn to separate law from personal feelings and stick to the facts at hand, not idle conjecture.
Sounds like these judges need to go to a college campus and just arrest everyone there. Ironic, cause I bet they did the same things in college themselves. I guess it's just not illegal until your caught.
PS: AA is a fraud, they have a 5% success rate over 12 months, which is the same as people just doing their own thing and trying to quit. It's also a religious organization, whose members (if you take a look) are usually chain-smokers and coffee addicts.
I wish they would just legalize pot, which to date has not directly resulted in a single death, ever, and give substance seeking people a healthier more relaxed alternative which makes them more happy and less violent instead of putting them into a raging stupor like booze does.
Sounds like some appeals coming up...
sagnhill
The people were found guilty of drunk driving, the pictures showed that they didn't care. This cavalier attitude got them a harsher sentence.
Martin0642
I would love to see evidence that an innocent person was executed. "estimated' my ass. These people didn't go to jail for posting pictures, they went to jail for drunk driving. In the second case a person DIED and the lady got 2 years. 2 years. WTF? Are you advocating lighter sentences for drunk drivers? Everyone at college does it, so judges should get off their back? You need to smoke some more pot and shut up.
Wow. You're all missing the point.
The judge can suggest any sort of punishment when it's within the law to be suggested. If he/she believes that the accused is unrepentant and is likely to repeat offend after release from custody, and has evidence of not caring about the damage done (like killing a passenger) then good for the judge for suggesting an appropriate penalty for the accused.
How is the death penalty at all related to a DUI charge? C'mon. Talk about going off-topic and pushing your own agenda.
Given that they actually injured and killed people then publicly made fun of the situation they got far less then they deserved. Not more jail time but a public flogging would be in order. Though that woman whom killed someone then made fun of the situation should spend a half hour alone with her victims family whom could do whatever they wished to her without consequences for that half hour.
Conversely if these sentences were laid out for people whom did not crash nor injure anyone. Rather were just randomly pulled over for a sobriety test and failed then this would be far too extreme.