Saudi Prince Gets Year In Vineyard Jail For DUI and Manslaughter

[Breeze54]

http://cbs4boston.com/topstories/local_story_321102709.html

(CBS4)
BOSTON
A Saudi prince will serve one year in a Martha's Vineyard jail
for driving drunk and killing a man in Boston three years ago.

Bader Al-Saud pleaded guilty to motor vehicle homicide Thursday,
after a Suffolk County Court judge accepted the plea deal he
reached with prosecutors.

Al-Saud was a student at Suffolk University when he ran down
and killed 37-year-old Orlando Ramos
while driving drunk on Charles Street in October 2002.

Prosecutors reportedly reached the compromise because
issues raised in a separate civil suit against Al-Saud
weakened the state’s case against him.

Al-Saud was allowed to choose the jail
as part of the agreement.

He chose the Dukes County House of Corrections
because he felt it was the safest place for him.

Ramos’s family says the deal is a disgrace.


This is the "jail"....WTF?

-----------------------------------------------

Word is he is a member of the bin Laden family.

[Vidar]

1. And so it goes.

[musette_sf]

2. and Laura Welch

walks free through Asia at the present moment....

[SoCalDem]

3. Sheriff Andy & Deputy Barney in charge of the place?

:)

[bryant69]

4. Well yeah, but that's the sort of deal any wealthy person gets

I mean it's not cause he's a Saudi; if he were a white American who had enough dough on hand, he' could probably get the same or even a better deal.

The rich are just better than us.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Ravenseye]

5. 1 year for killing someone

1 year on martha's vineyard.

What were these 'issues' in the civil case? I can't believe this country. No wonder so many people drink and drive when the punishments for doing it are so lax.

If you knew that being caught behind the wheel drunk would get you an automatic year in prison then less people would do it. I'm not talking about killing anyone. Just drinking and driving, not hitting anyone, just being caught.

First time, in jail for a year, liscence suspended for another year on top of that.

Second time, in jail for 4 years, liscence permanently revoked.

Third time, life imprisonment.

You have punishments like that you know how many people will be caught drinking and driving? Particularly a second or even third time?

Almost never.

[Breeze54]

6. MA has new tough DUI laws now...finally!

http://www2.townonline.com/holbrook/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=361500

Snip-->
Governor signs 'Melanie's Bill' into law
By Robert Aicardi
Friday, November 4, 2005

Massachusetts,
notorious for having some of the most lenient drunk driving
laws in the country,
took a step last week to crack down on repeat offenders.
On the afternoon of Oct. 28, Gov. Mitt Romney signed
"Melanie's Bill,"
a bill designed to significantly strengthen drunk driving penalties.
"What we are doing today will save people's lives," he said.
Melanie's Bill, named for 13-year-old Melanie Powell of Marshfield,
who was killed in July, 2003,
will allow prosecutors to use certified court records
to prove prior convictions when seeking punishment for
repeat drunk drivers.
The law also creates new crimes,
including driving under the influence with a child under 14
in the car, knowingly loaning a car to someone who is drunk,
and manslaughter by drunk driving.
Another part of the bill requires convicted drunk drivers
who want their license reinstated to use "interlock devices,"
a Breathalyzer hooked up to the ignition of their car.
"It's a simple way to keep drunk drivers off the roads,"
said Executive Director Barbara Harrington of the state
chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
During the bill signing ceremony, Melanie's grandfather,
Ronald Bersani, read a passage from her journal and said
that her goal in life was to be a guardian angel.
Bersani credited Melanie's parents for turning grief into
action by lobbying for the bill. <--Snip

More at Link....
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I just can't believe this guy gets to pick his jail!
The 'special circumstances" are that he is a member
of the bin Laden family and concern for his safety in prison.

[MountainLaurel]

7. You're right

About the relationship between penalties and drunk driving. In certain European countries, you get caught drunk driving, you lose your license. Forever. As a result, people don't drive after drinking.

[Demoiselle]

8. ONLY a YEAR? On the VINEYARD? It is a disgrace. eom

[CottonBear]

9. I thought that Suadi Arabs do not drink. Or is that only while they're in

Saudi Arabia? :shrug:

I wonder what Bush & Cheney did to get this guy such a light sentence?