Father Charged With Felony Murder in Son's Heat-Stroke Vehicle Death

FanDad said:
You are betraying your redneck roots, Sam.

Some of my fondest memories involve car trips in which three or four kids were under a simple cap in the back of a pick-up truck. A little shelf/bed across the top of the truckbed sides right behind the slider windows. Duffle bags, sleeping bags, coolers, fishing gear, a dog or two, flying down the highway at 70+, headed for Canada or Florida.....

Ever try to take a whiz out the back of a truck cap because you snuck too many Orange Crushes and your Dad won't stop? It ain't easy.

We never once had a close call even, nor have I ever seen a wreck with kids in the back of a pick-up in the paper or any news in my 50+ years.

You guys are right, though. I hate to see the kids scrambling around loose in a vehicle.
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Well, you're both fortunate and ignorant. Automobile accidents are still the number one cause of death of children aged 4-14, despite the rate of deaths declining significantly over the last 10-20 years due to seatbelt campaigns and laws.
 
I don't know if online searches cross the bar into premeditation, but I'd at least attempt it and go for the death penalty anyway on the basis he's too stupid to live.
 
eastside_purple said:
Well, you're both fortunate and ignorant. Automobile accidents are still the number one cause of death of children aged 4-14, despite the rate of deaths declining significantly over the last 10-20 years due to seatbelt campaigns and laws.
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I think it's important to remember that the vintage of vehicles I refer to didn't even have shoulder belts. We never saw a car seat until the "oops baby" came along 12 years after the previous youngest child's birth.

As far as causes of death 4-14 being due to auto accidents, with the decline of the family farm and advances in immunization, I would certainly hope auto accidents were the number one killer. What else could it be? Handguns?
 
FanDad said:
I think it's important to remember that the vintage of vehicles I refer to didn't even have shoulder belts. We never saw a car seat until the "oops baby" came along 12 years after the previous youngest child's birth.

As far as causes of death 4-14 being due to auto accidents, with the decline of the family farm and advances in immunization, I would certainly hope auto accidents were the number one killer. What else could it be? Handguns?
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Yup. Handguns is number 2 and rising with a bullet. You claimed to have never heard of an accident with kids not wearing seat belts back in the day. I know you were just kidding, but I felt like pointing out the obvious.
 
ronnie mund said:
Seatbelt laws are stupid(for adults).
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You're driving your car, not wearing a seat belt. Another car runs a stop sign and T-bones your car. You suffer injuries. A defense lawyer argues that by not wearing a seat belt, as required by the law, you contributed to your own injuries. He argues that you might not even have been injured at all if you had been wearing a seat belt. You may win the case, but the $$$ you get will be considerably less than if you had been wearing the seat belt.
 
eastside_purple said:
Yup. Handguns is number 2 and rising with a bullet. You claimed to have never heard of an accident with kids not wearing seat belts back in the day. I know you were just kidding, but I felt like pointing out the obvious.
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Are you talking strictly accidental deaths, homicides or all causes including medical?
 
eastside_purple said:
Assume all handgun related deaths. Not sure what you mean by "medical" as a cause of death.
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I mean by the different ways CDC categorizes causes of death by age group as opposed to simple manner of death utilized on death certificates. CDC breaks down into accidental injury, homicide, cancer, HIV, septicemia, SIDS etc.
 
eastside_purple said:
Sorry, I misunderstood the question. Assume all deaths-- http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/01/09/guns-traffic-deaths-rates/1784595/
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I'm suspicious every time somebody lays the aggregate gun deaths number on me. First, there's two very broad categories of firearms related deaths that should never be counted together for any meaningful policy discussion. Those that shoot intentionally and those that shoot accidentally. Then there's the gray area where somebody intentionally shoots but accidentally hits the wrong target. To go further, people who intentionally shoot themselves shouldn't even be considered a firearms related death, rather a straight suicide regardless of means. Then there's the firearms related deaths that are technically homicides, but not a crime because someone deserved to be shot. Those should be subtracted out.
 
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