A Life vs. 30 Days
June 17, 2009 by admncc
This post officially kicks of the celebration of the one year anniversary of The Constant Complainer. Along the way, we’ll be doing some celebratory give-a-ways, starting now. Anyone commenting on this post before Friday the 19th will be entered to win a $50 American Express Gift Card and a The Constant Complainer t-shirt. There will be more on our first year in upcoming posts…
Anyway, I have a problem with the fact that Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth received only 30 days in jail for killing a pedestrian while drunk driving in Florida. You can view the Sports Illustrated story here. Stallworth was on the road early in the morning, hit and killed Mario Reyes (who had just finished his construction job). Most reports I read said that Stallworth immediately stopped, called 911, admitted to hitting Reyes, was extremely cooperative with authorities and complied with the field sobriety testing (his blood alcohol content was .126). According to the Associated Press, in addition to the jail time, “Stallworth must undergo drug and alcohol testing, will have a lifetime driver’s license suspension and must perform 1,000 hours of community service.” Stallworth also reached a confidential financial settlement with Reyes’ family. Of course he did!!! The short period of incarceration was attributed to Stallworth’s complete cooperation during the investigation and the wishes of Reyes’ family to put the incident behind them.
All I have to say about Donte Stallworth is that if I had done this and not him, and if I couldn’t pay the family off like he did, I’d be going to jail for a lot longer than 30 days. He’ll still make his millions and basically get away with taking a life, even though he’s pledged to carry on the memory of Mario Reyes…
Next is Daniel Petric. He is a 17-year-old Ohio teen who shot and killed his mother and wounded his father (who just so happens to be a minister). You can view the Yahoo! News story here. Petric was obsessed with the video game “Halo 3.” According to the Associated Press, “the defense claimed his age and addiction to the game made him less responsible.” Apparently his parents had taken the game away from him shortly before the shooting.
Petric received 23 years to life in prison for killing his mother. I think he should have received life in prison without the possibility of parole. And I think his defense argument could start a fairly interesting debate. I think it is BS and that the judge bought it hook, line and sinker. This kid gets angry because his parents took away the video game he was obsessed with, so he shoots them. OK, so all of you normal people out there (like me) who used to play “Contra” on the Nintendo 64 or “Grand Theft Auto – Vice City” on the PS2 – I want to hear from you. It sounds like this guy had been watching the end of “Scream 2” way too many times.
On another note, I’d like to nominate Chad Johnson, who plays for the Cincinnati Bengals, for our “Moron of the Week Award.” He legally changed his name to “Ocho Cinco” last year. His jersey number is 85. He wanted the Spanish text placed on the back of his jersey, instead of his last name. However, there are two critical errors with his request. First, 85 in Spanish is not “Ocho Cinco” – it is “Ochenta y Cinco.” Second, his formal name change application appears as “Ochocinco” so that’s how it will now appear on his jersey. Idiot!!!
Remember, comment and you’ll be entered to win a $50 American Express Gift Card and a The Constant Complainer t-shirt…
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Congrats on your 1 year anniversary. Keep up the great work. I agree both sentences were too short and yes 8 5 is an moron.
Congrats on the 1 year and many more years to come!
I’m not going to comment on the NFLer who got only 30 days in jail because its such a normal thing in our culture. You drink and drive and you go to jail for 45 minutes. Drink and drive twice you go to jail for 20 days. Drink drive and kill someone its 30 days. Seriously!?
But I’m going to comment on the kid who killed his parents over Halo. That is just disgusting and I think that the kid should get life with no chance of parole. Let’s see how much Halo really means to him!! I’ve always hated when people blame their own stupid screwed up mistakes on something else (a song made me murder police officers, a song made me go into school shooting off guns, a tv show made me think I could beat someone up without hurting them, a video game made me crazy…).
Not to put complete blame on the parents here but I do think that a lot of the above mentioned circumstance could have been avoided by some simple parenting instead of putting the kids in front of the boob tube all day. When I was growing up I had cable with all channels in my room. My parents would actually sit down and talk with me about what I was watching and tried to figure out if I could tell the difference between reality and a tv show. I watched the Power Rangers but it didn’t make me think that I could start beating up my neighbors kids and nothing would happen to them (a long while back a kid took his infant brother in the backyard and praticed power ranger movies on him and ended up killing him as a result). My parents would monitor what I’d listen to and if they thought something wasn’t approriate for my age they’d take it away from me.
If a 17 year old boy gets that obsessed with a freaking video game (a lame one IMHO) then he wasn’t that mentalty stable to begin with and his parents should have caught on earlier. Take care of your kids!
He paid the victim’s family a lot of money and they supported the sentence. Certainly seems like justice has a different face when you are wealthy.
First, I’m not commenting to receive the gift card, I actually feel the need to rebut to this…
I want to begin by saying I do not condone drinking and driving… However, I can certainly guarantee that I’m not the only person that has visited this website that has not gone out for some drinks after work and driven home. Knowing the effects of alcohol on my body, I can confidently say I know the difference between when I am “impaired” and when I am not. Ohio (and Florida) state law have set the BAC limit at 0.08. This translates into approximately 1 12oz. beer/hour. Donte Stallworth had a BAC of 0.126. Taking into account that a considerable amount of time would have passed between his last drink at the bar and when he took his field sobriety test, I would assume his actual BAC at the time of the accident was slightly higher than 0.126, but not much(keep in mind that your BAC will continue to rise after you stop drinking for a period of time as the alcohol enters the blood stream). With this being said, I don’t think a BAC at that level is impairing a person very much, especially an NFL football player. I would attribute this accident more to tiredness – since it occurred at about 7am, after a night of hanging out at the bar, as well as some fault of the pedestrian for crossing the street outside of a crosswalk, on a turn in the road. I think this was truly an accident, and nothing more. As for the sentence, is 30 days in jail the equivalent of a human life? No. However, given the circumstances of the incident, I think the court (and victim’s family) have accepted that this was an accident, and a situation like this could unfortunately happen to just about anyone.
1. CONGRATULATIONS!!!
2. um, you’ve got to be kidding. this whole video game causes people to murder people is retarded. if anything, it’s probably the parent’s fault for instilling no sense of right and wrong. i mean, how do you not know its wrong to shoot someone!?
3. ocho cinco. UGH.
Congrats on 1 year! Keep it up!
It doesn’t seem that the punishment fit the crime but I can’t imagine having to live with that the rest of my life. I agree that it seems that if you have money, you seem to be able to “get out of trouble”.
Yes, parents have some responsibility. You wonder if they noticed any signs of this child being “crazy”. You would think so.
As for the last one, some people are just plain stupid.
I knew that Donte would come up after I read the article yesterday. I would have to say that I agree with CC. If this was you or me that was even at BAC .09, we would be in jail for at least a few years. The only reason he isn’t is because he is wealthy enough to make his problems go away. Must be nice.
At least he did cooperate and own up to his mistake, albeit a very big one. I can’t help but wonder why the lives of dogs and charges of interstate gamblimg are worth 2 years and the life of a human being, father, and husband is worth 30 days???
Let me review our justice system real quick. A guy who is drunk, drives and kills a person with a car, and is serving 30 days in jail. Yet another man hosts dog fighting, and kills dogs that do not fight well, and he serves about 2 years in jail. By this example, one may think that an animal life is worth more then a human. He killed someone, and that person’s life is only worth 30 days in jail.
Congratulations! I have to say your site has been a fun distraction from the everyday problems…I wish you 20 more years of similar success.
Back to the whole jail/Blood Alcohol Content thing, what Donte did was against the law, but what the prosecuting lawyer accepted for a plea was also criminal.
As for the Petric kid…getting off, and the judge believing the lies of the defense attorney told and got away with. It’s all a big joke.
These 2 examples of OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM show how comical the whole system really is. It is a joke and only getting worse! It is all about the lies one side will tell. Then, the other side tells more lies. The last Liar always wins!
As long as we allow lawyers to lie, without penalty, the system will not change! It’s unfortunate, but our system is a, so called, Democracy and was built by the Democratic system. A strictly defined DEMOCRACY should be fair to all!
It’s all a big joke! Rob, pillage, rape, fornicate…It’s all a big joke. Just hire a good lawyer, who will lie on your behalf, to get you off! Because Donte had money, he got off. Vick didn’t have any money. He lost all his endorsements and violated his contract. He got 2 years!
Happy Birthday! 🙂
I realize you don’t think the 30 day sentence was fair and neither do I, but at the end of each day I’d bet my life the incident crosses Donte’s mind. He does not walk away punishment free. My father was hit by a semi truck and killed 10 years ago and we did nothing about it because it was an accident. I bet to this day the man still feels guilty. He must wonder how my sister and I feel about not having a father. The man who killed my father nor Donte are murderers I’m sure killing someone is going to haunt them forever. They may walk around with a smile on their face during the day, but we aren’t with them at night when they are alone with their own thoughts.
Chad Johnson definitely deserves Moron of the Week.
This may be a joke in poor taste, but the few fans the Browns have left may enjoy it. I heard a radio DJ mentioning this issue. And he said something like…it has been a while since Cleveland had a player with such killer instincts.
On another note, Christina, I’m sorry for your loss.
On your other topic about Mr. Petric, I am an avid gamer, I have been all my life. I can’t believe that addiction to a video game was a valid defense for anything, and that the judge actually bought that crap is a bit of a reach.
Video games, music, movies, and pop culture do not “force” children to go out and make bad decisions. They can influence a weak minded indivdual who hasn’t learned to think for themselves but an addiction to Halo 3 isn’t going to “force” me to shoot anybody. That is a decision that I would have to come to by other means.
I feel bad for the parents who were shot, and certainly nobody deserved to die but on some level didn’t they have to mess up with this kid somewhere along the way, or do you just get “bad seeds”? I don’t have children yet so I don’t know, but I think my parents did a pretty darn good job with me. I have always had a solid sense of right and wrong. Did I mess up when I was younger, sure, who doesn’t? But I sure have never shot anyone or even thought about doing some of the things that are in the news today.
I used to play Grand Theft Auto 4 and one of the side missions in the game was to go out on activities. One of the activities you could take your character and participate in was going to the bar and getting drunk. When you left the bar the game would advise you to call a cab. If you got into the car to drive you were immediately followed by police who tried to pull you over. I am sure that if I got liquored up and one of Kent’s finest pulled me over tonight I wouldn’t get a reduced sentence because I said I was influenced by a video game.
On Stallworth: I believe there is a house arrest issue that he’ll need to deal with. My hope is that he will be forced to live out his house arrest. If they somehow find a way to make it “mobile” so he can continue to play, then we would be dealing with an absolute miscarriage of justice.
On the Gamer/murderer…I love my children unconditionally. I don’t know what I would do if they murdered my best friend and wife. But I do know that these games do de-sensitize people. The military has used gaming techniques to de-sensitize soldiers so they would kill the enemy without much thought. Is it possible this kid was under the influence of Halo…??? Maybe. I’m not completely conviced.
William Gatherer, you’ll get credit for your timely comment and will be entered into the drawing. But I had to delete your comment because it caused a formatting error. I e-mailed you instructions on how to correct that moving forward. And I hope you’ll re-post. Thanks!
Oh, give the gamer kid a break. I play Tetris a lot and I can’t help myself when I go to the grocery store and stack the cereal boxes tightly against one another than smack them into oblivion. As for the football players, come on. They’re football players! They’re lucky they can even tie their shoes let along know right from wrong.
So do I get to enter the wet T-shirt contest you have going on? Huh? Do I?
Thanks for visiting my blog!
When I heard that he was only getting 30 days in jail I was shocked. Then I heard he paid the family off….so it is yet another example of how rich people place themselves above the law.
Dear C.C.,
Don’t you like it that I start off our conversation as if we’re best buds and I’ve given you a quirky little nickname? You can call me Puddin if you want. Or Turkey. Or whatever. I’m not picky.
I tried hard to concentrate on your post but once I read anything written in sports-ese, my eyes glaze over. I repel sports of any kind.
I did manage to lock in on the paragraph about the video game shooter person. My husband, when he was a wee lad, had a friend who got mad at his parents because they wouldn’t allow him to do something (can’t remember what it was) so he went and found his dad’s gun and shot them both in the head. My husband remembers coming over to that guy’s house a few weeks before to hang out and his friend pulled out a bow and arrow and acted like he was going to shoot my husband. I think they were 10 or so. It’s scary. What makes a kid do that?
Congrats!
1. What money can buy, sad.
2. Gullable judge with an unbelievable reason. It’s called responsibilty!
3. I see that his education has worked for him.
Congrats on the 1st year and thanks for the always providing a great insight, not to mention a factual perspective. Keep up the good work!! (now if we can just get our Cleveland teams to work just as hard….)
The stink of this Stallworth thing is that good lawyers are always owed a favor. It seems to be this way in the Stallworth case. I listened to 1100am yesterday morning and I have to agree with the caller that stated, “…there are facts that the public is not exposed to (with this case)” meaning that we don’t know the true history of the victim or Mr. Stallworth. The victim &/or his family could have had a criminal record, even a laundry list of things. Stallworth, from what we know, doesn’t. All we know is that he was (and still is) a whining cry baby that can’t catch a cold. I believe that he whined his way to a plea bargain in that the family of the victim is getting hands on what they feel will make this right ($$$). By them (the victims family) allowing greed to overtake this situation, they are continuing the set the precedence by not allowing the judicial system to NOT take it’s course (i.e. I believe that Donte should be like any other convicted felon – had the book thrown at him and STILL had to pay the large amount of $$ the family is requiring). This lawyer for Stallworthless should be ashamed of himself and should be barred from the practice. It makes me sick just thinking that another professional thug gets off the hook (from my perspective). Three years from now, Donte will be playing ball again (trust me, he will. Someone will be stupid enough to pick him up). The family will still be at a loss, even if all that $$ is gone, and all of this in Stallworths mind won’t even be a thought. Crying Shame!
Can we sell our bullpen on E-Bay?
– 30 days in jail after killing (even accidentally) someone is appalling. That being said, both Stallworth and the victims’ family wanted to avoid a long trial, and being forced to re-live this horrible tragedy. So at least they avoided that.
– Here’s how I feel — video games aren’t violent enough!
http://thestabbingpen.com/2009/03/19/319-i-want-video-games-to-be-more-violent/
– Yes, while strong arguments can be made that Chad Ocho Cinco is a moron, I view him more as clown — but you don’t have a Clown of the Week feature. 🙂
I am an avid gamer and have played some of the worst ones out there. I have NOT killed anyone. I also listen to some of the most violent music out there. Marilyn Manson is a favorite of mine, along with Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Zombie, and Nine Inch Nails. I still have NOT killed anyone. For those of you who say it desensitizes people…YOU’RE WRONG. I have played these games and listened to questionable music since I was very young. I have watched inappropriate movies from a young age as well. I still know the difference between right and wrong. You can say that my parents might not have been that great considering I had access to all that stuff, but that’s not true. I got access to all those things because I was a kid and I figured out a way to do it. The difference was that I knew my parents would punish me if they knew what I was doing. Hence, I knew the difference between right and wrong.
Cartoons, music, tv, movies,and comic books do NOT cause people to murder. Yes they may give an already screwed up kid some “New ideas”, but that is a problem with the kid, not one of the scapegoats listed above.
Mooch,
If Halo 3 desensitizes kids against killing, then by all means every kid should play it. The reason being that in this specific game you kill aliens. So sure, go ahead and desensitize kids to killing aliens. We may need that someday.
At the end of the day, if your kids know the difference between fiction and reality, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Be a good parent and explain that to your kids. If they still don’t get it, they may need some outside help.
There is nothing confirmed yet, but rumor on the street is that Donte Stallworth will be suspended indefinitely by the NFL today…
30 days for a drinking and driving related death is ridiculous, but the family went along with the settlement. I agree with Christina that we don’t know what he’s thinking about or how guilty he probably feels. Maybe some good will come out of it through his community service.
About the boy, I have heard doctors say that a person’s brain isn’t fully mature until their 20s, and specifically the parts of the brain that affect reasoning and prediction of consequences. Ultimately that kids life is pretty much over and his father will have to suffer the loss of his wife and son as well as any guilt he may feel over his parenting. Locking the game up with the gun–not a good idea.
Congratulations!! I think your blog is great!
A. I am beginning to agree with the neighbor on not attending any professional sporting events – overpriced, overpaid and we’re paying for their lawyers!
B. What a poor “judge” of character! Life without parole? – I say fry him! How much you want to bet he gets video games in jail? and cable….. and a better educations…. and…ugh
C. Chad Johnson of the Cincinnati Begals – goes back to A. coincides with B. and is just plain stupid – duh
I heard about the Donte Stallworth case and all I can say is the justice system isn’t always fair, but the Lord always is! If the family went along with the shorter sentence for money, there judgment is coming also.
And to think… killing a black bear out of season protecting yourself could net you a 5000$ fine and max of 5 years in prison.
Kearsie, I don’t think anyone understands it, but some people are born sociopaths and it is unknown if any amount of nurture will change that. You can know right from wrong and still not care.
Mike, any generalizations people are making are wrong, but you’re wrong also in suggesting that desensitization isn’t real. I like violent games, love music by Opeth, etc., but one swallow does not a summer make…
As Don mentioned, the U.S. Army (or “us”) pays for the development and distribution of a game called “America’s Army” that is essentially propaganda intended to train children to glorify our “Overseas Contingency Operations” as they are now called (thanks for clearing that up, Hillary). Think of how much fun these games are. Now imagine what it would be like as a deluded teenager to have the opportunity to continue that fun in real life. Running around in the desert, completing objectives, shooting terrorists…if you spend your nights and weekends thinking you’re an unstoppable badass, the U.S. Army will be more than happy to make you into a real unstoppable badass. Once you know the equipment and the environment, it won’t take much more training until you know when to squeeze that trigger and tally your kills in human blood.
If this game wasn’t doing it’s job, the Army would not continue to provide it as they have for nearly seven years. Also worth noting is that the ESRB rating on the game is “Teen”. So there you have the target audience.
I have no problem with violent games created for entertainment, but that is not the motive of the federal government. With anything like this, where are the parents?
William, human life is not a special interest.
Gotta agree 100% here. It’s complete BS that he gets to take a life and only has to serve 30 days. Absolutely nuts.
Leo-
I had to use your minirant for my FB status. That one was too great to pass up.
[…] « A Life vs. 30 Days […]
I liked your blog and I think that using halo 3 in court was just dumb
Hey, one year! Congrats to you 🙂 I’ve been away on vacation (I’m stealth like that, didn’t know I was gone – did you?)
Let’s just say, that I read this stuff and shake my head every time like “Dude, really?!?” I think the 30 days thing is really amazing. I just can’t believe it, for real.
So many ridiculous news stories lately that just piss me off, a video game is worth killing the people that put you on this earth? Really? Moron.
Chad Johnson, I commented on him in your other article. Without a doubt a moron.
More so than Dante Stallworth is the moron, the people that allowed him to get away with it are the bigger morons.