astute drowsy observation
There are a lot of complaints about news media that I hear from time-to-time and it is usually something that I avoid thinking about. I figure it's difficult to relate stories without adding some personal bias here and there...I can deal with that. But I did have a bizare feeling of "that doesn't seem right" while watching Good Morning America while munching on eggo waffles (mmmm...eggo). The story was about a young man (teenager I think) that had accidentally struck a mother and her baby resulthing in the death of the mother. Evidently the jury had found the teen guilty and given him the maximum sentance of 15 years though...now the odd thing here is that the judge ruled that the jury was working on emotion rather than the facts and threw out their decision, thus letting the accused off scott free.
They did interview both sides, the husband and baby daughter of the deceased woman and the young man with his attorney. The husband was just pissed off it seemed, understandably so (I'd wanna kill that like punk too...regardless of facts, evidence or testimony) and most of what he said seem emotionally charged. The attorney spoke for the young man almost the whole time, and the argument seemed logical, well layed out: basically (as I understood it) it was a horrible accident, but there was no clear-cut evidence to support that his client had been driving recklessly...while neglegent, it wasn't a criminal act.
However you feel about that situation (I actually sidded with the teen) the thing that disturbed me most was that while the young man and his attorney were talking, on the other side of the split screen they were doing close ups of the little baby girl (who was way too cute) and they were leaking audio of the little girl saying "momma" & "daddy" amongst other baby babble. It was heart wrenching, but that was my problem with it. It seemed like a cheap ploy to make everyone hate the teen and feel even more sorry for the victims...which I already felt sorry for them, they have my deepest sympathies. BUT what about the teen that happened to hit them? I somehow doubt this kid is a monster, he doesn't deserve that...irregardless of trials, this kid has to live the rest of life with the memory of what he did...neglegent...yes, no doubt...but a crimal act? I think that's being harsh and simply seeking revenge. This was an already sad, tragic event and there is no way to punish someone that makes up for the loss of a life.
Of course, I won't even touch the issue of the judge throwing out the jury's verdict..which seems wrong in and of itself.