Party Host Mom Set for Va. Jail Term

[MountainLaurel]

snip

Their mom, Elisa Kelly, and her ex-husband, George Robinson, are paying the price for hosting Ryan's 16th birthday party -- more than two years in jail each. Ryan had asked his mother to buy his friends some beer and wine, as long as they all spent the night.

"No one left the party," said Kelly, 42, who collected car keys that night almost five years ago to prevent anyone from leaving. "No one was hurt. No one drove anywhere. I really don't think I deserve to go to jail for this long."

But Albemarle County Commonwealth's Attorney James L. Camblos III, who prosecuted the parents, said it was the worst case of underage drinking he has had to deal with in 15 years. "Not only were they serving alcohol to 15- and 16-year-olds, they misled parents who called to ask about alcohol, and they tried to get the kids to cover it up after police got there," Camblos said.

In this season of senior proms and graduation parties, the story of the couple is a cautionary tale for parents if they plan to serve alcohol -- or look the other way. It comes at a time of increased concern about the effects of drinking and driving and underage binge drinking, which is on the rise. Although 27-month sentences are rare, parents are increasingly being held criminally responsible for underage drinking under their roofs, even if they are not aware that it is going on.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/08/AR2007060802795.html?hpid=topnews

Any thoughts on this? I'm of two minds. One hand, it seems like an egregious violation of the law. On the other, it reminds me of the U.S.'s puritanical attitudes toward things like alcohol and sex and how moderation is probably a better strategy.

[villager]

1. The sentence is ridiculous, excessive -- pathological

How does it "help" teenagers to have both their parents put away for two years?

It's not about helping this family at all -- it's about jumping the GOP electoral career of the prosecutor (and/or the judge).

If they wanted to help, they'd remand the family to a counseling program.

[BOSSHOG]

2. I'm not a parent and share no opinion but

this obviously pales in comparison to a christian conservative prolifer intentionally lying about reasons to go to war and getting hundreds of thousands of people killed, some were 15 and 16 when he started lying. Has that guy been brought to justice?

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

3. I'm pretty sure there are countries in which hosting such a party would be perfectly legal.

In Western Europe, probably. You know, those awful Satanic places where they have all those evil, unamerican things like universal healthcare and progressive taxation.

[givemebackmycountry]

7. My sister had two exchange students in her house recently -

17 year old boy from Taiwan and a 17 year old girl from Italy.
After the prom they came back to her house to party.
5:00 am she wakes up and goes downstairs.
Kids at the dining room table, some of them drinking.

Girl from Italy is well into a bottle of Chinaco Anejo Tequila I had left behind on a prior visit.
Tipsy, but still well in control of her faculties.
She tells my sister...
"What's the big deal? In Italy, we drink wine all the time as kids and no one cares when teenagers drink"

My sister said that these kids were "remarkably mature and super smart" but still were kids at heart.

I guess it's all about how your raised.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

9. Thanks for the testimonial. I was allowed to drink beer since I was 15 or so

and, as my graduation at the hardest Engineering course in this country attests, there was no damage to my brain cells.

Oh, and I was allowed to sip the foam (foam only!) of Dad's beer mug sice I was... what, 6?

Mediterranean culture. Love it.

[Schema Thing]

4. very excessive

and the worst sin was misleading other parents, which is a social, not legal issue.


kids drink, and this is a great way for them to do it safely.

[durrrty libby]

5. If my kid's friends parents lied to me and gave my underage

son liquor, I indeed would be furious.

However, jail time seems a bit much, and more than 2 years is atrocious.

A drunk driver causing bodily harm often get less than that.

30 days or 100's of hours of community service would make sense

[Jed Dilligan]

6. Foster care will be GREAT for these kids

It's always about protect the children, right?

I'm fucking sick of these attention-seeking moralist judges.

[Warpy]

8. This is ridiculous

They needed to be fined and given community service, preferably putting in hours in substance abuse rehab.

Zero tolerance laws are by and for morons. They really need to go.

The drinking age in this country is too high and the driving age is too low. That's the main problem.

It's harder to claim you drive better when you've got a buzz on if you're on a bicycle and have road rash to show for the experience.

Europe has the right idea: light beer or wine mixed with water at home, allowed to drink in a pub at 14-16, no possibility of owning a car until schooling is done and there's a job to support the car.

[deadmessengers]

10. This is probably going to get me flamed, but...

I think the judge did the right thing here. Really.

Before I get accused of being a prude or a bluenose, let me get this out of the way: I agree with other posters upthread that the American attitude towards alcohol is incredibly unhealthy. The 21-year drinking age is utterly asinine, and completely inconsistent with any other idea we have for when adulthood begins. And I have allowed my 13-year-old daughter to drink small amounts of alcohol (wine cut 50-50 with soda water, or Kriek, a cherry-flavored Belgian beer) in my home, or when traveling to countries with less-ridiculous alcohol laws.

So, no, it's not that they allowed their kid to drink - that doesn't bother me one bit. Parents should be able to make that choice for their kids. The reason I think the punishment they were given is appropriate is the fact that they not only gave other parents' children alcohol, and then they LIED about it to the parents that asked.

That is a shocking, disgustingly arrogant act. By allowing other kids to drink in their home, they were in effect saying "I don't care what decisions you've made for your child, because I know better than you what's OK for your kid". They took that choice out of the hands of other parents, and THAT'S where they screwed up. And for that they need to go away for a good while, and 2 years seems about right. No sympathy whatsoever for them from me.