Teen Who Started Eagle Creek Fire Ordered to Pay $36 Million!

[308]

Blood from a turnip. There will be no restitution. He will never have any incentive to make a living.

Like my brother when he got divorced and owed child support. He got a fake disabilty 20 years ago and learned to live in poverty so he would'nt have to pay his xwife. Spends his life growing weed inside his rental house now with his new mormon wife.

 

[history]

Yeah i remember that sentiment going around right after this happened, but I can't remember why they got around that.

I'm still surprised his identity hasn't been leaked all over social media

It could be his parents know the right people....
Judges are lawyers are some of the most corrupt 2 legged wolves walking around.

 

[41mag]

be held accountable for the devastating damage and putting his fellow man in danger, $36 million seems a little unrealistic to ask for.

IMHO there is absolutely no way the value of what his actions destroyed, could ever be 'repaid' even if he himself were a trust fund billionaire.

Some assert 'let the punishment fit the crime'.

Well here's a step toward that position.

Collection of such is another issue.

 

[41mag]

You guys really think his life should be ruined until the day he dies over this?

disagree that it will necessarily 'ruin his life'; such a judgement may help impose some form of responsibility & accountability in an existence otherwise devoid of the concept. And we all know it unlikely he pays as much as 36 cents.

 

[Kruel J]

disagree that it will necessarily 'ruin his life'; such a judgement may help impose some form of responsibility & accountability in an existence otherwise devoid of the concept. And we all know it unlikely he pays as much as 36 cents.

Any job he gets he will be garnished. And at the dollar figure he owes, they will likely take 50% of is earnings, before tax. I'd call that ruined.

 

[wired]

Any job he gets he will be garnished. And at the dollar figure he owes, they will likely take 50% of is earnings, before tax. I'd call that ruined.

He'll just end up being just like your typical deadbeat dad working under the table or just in one place long enough for the garnishments to kick in.

Lock him up or don't but don't turn him into more of a piece of crap.

 

[41mag]

I'd call that ruined.

life is full of surprises
maybe he'll become motivated to learn meaningful skills

 

[wired]

life is full of surprises
maybe he'll become motivated to learn meaningful skills

Why? So more of the fruits of his labors will be taken away? He is being heavily de-incentivized to leading a productive life.

 

[41mag]

So more of the fruits of his labors will be taken away? He is being heavily de-incentivized to leading a productive life.

you and I disagree

 

[wired]

you and I disagree

Would you bother trying if you know most of what you work for is being taken away from you for the rest of your life? No home of your own, no family, no future for your kidsif you were to have any. It sounds analogous to Communism to me.

 

[41mag]

Would you bother trying if you know most of what you work for is being taken away from you for the rest of your life? No home of your own, no family, no future for your kidsif you were to have any. It sounds analogous to Communism to me.

You have an argument based on speculation on future theories fabricated to support your point of view.

I agree with neither your argument nor your conclusion. However, my own comment too are merely 'personal opinion'.

 

[wired]

You have an argument based on speculation on future theories fabricated to support your point of view.

I agree with neither your argument nor your conclusion. However, my own comment too are merely 'personal opinion'.

I wouldn't say that. This is a guy who is being perpetually punished with eternal poverty for a dumb mistake he made when he was 15 years old that was exacerbated by decades of poor forestry management. . No matter what he does he can never climb out of that hole.

 

[41mag]

Mr. wired:

long ago I was a social worker for a 7 year period of my life. As such, daily exposure to both the various theories as well as realities that accompany the incredible range of human behavior, has left me with a wealth of familiarity of such arguments as you propose. Too often those remedies have failed for one reason or another.

Your argument is fine in support of the arsonist nimrod who will never be likely to pay his debt. You leave out the aspect that 'society' itself deserves better than he may ever be capable of paying. You leave out that society is the loser here, not only in the fire/etc, but in greater terms, that should the perpetrator not be given a full measure of legally imposed 1000 pound sh*t hammer of Truth, what's the point in having any such law in the first place? The segment of reformers that challenged the old 'punishment only' concept strives to give the individual criminal a chance to redeem his life. He does have that opportunity to achieve something over the course of his next decade.

This is not an inconsequential act that destroyed a public treasure. And the likelihood that remedial behavioral programs over the next 10 years of his life, is the best we can all hope for. The judgement at his 25th birthday seems to dissolve, into what? if anything, is speculation. The intent of the court is to help guide him into a responsible life and help moderate his behavior.

I believe the scope of the judgement is appropriate. Maybe he can learn something important along the way. He does have the opportunity.

 

[Captain O]

Any job he gets he will be garnished. And at the dollar figure he owes, they will likely take 50% of is earnings, before tax. I'd call that ruined.

So what? He ruined himself. If you commit the crime, you pay the price. Welcome to the real world. There are consequences for misbehavior. He ruined his own life. He was old enough to know what he was doing. (He doesn't suffer from mental retardation).

No pity.

 

[wired]

Mr. wired:

long ago I was a social worker for a 7 year period of my life. As such, daily exposure to both the various theories as well as realities that accompany the incredible range of human behavior, has left me with a wealth of familiarity of such arguments as you propose. Too often those remedies have failed for one reason or another.

Your argument is fine in support of the arsonist nimrod who will never be likely to pay his debt. You leave out the aspect that 'society' itself deserves better that he may ever be capable of paying. You leave out that society is the loser here, not only in the fire/etc, but in greater terms, that should the perpetrator not be given a full measure of legally imposed 1000 pound sh*t hammer of Truth, what's the point in having any such law in the first place? The segment of reformers that challenged the old 'punishment only' concept strives to give the individual criminal a chance to redeem his life. He does have that opportunity to achieve something over the course of his next decade.

This is not an inconsequential act that destroyed a public treasure. And the likelihood that remedial behavioral programs over the next 10 years of his life, is the best we can all hope for. The judgement at he 25th birthday seems to dissolve, into what if anything, is speculation. The intent of the court is to help guide him into a responsible life.

I believe the scope of the judgement is appropriate. Maybe he can learn something important along the way. He does have the opportunity.

How is society going to benefit from what will more than likely cost more to enforce than they (we) gain from him? As a social worker you are I am sure familiar with what single mothers have to go through in many occasions to collect money from deadbeat dads. This isnt going to be any different. Under the table jobs and living off the grid , fake socials until the IRS catches up then move on. Seen it many times back in my 30's when I knew single mothers going through the same thing and that was over a few hundred dollars a month.

Give the kid a chance to redeem himself but dont expect he is going to pay for all the damage he did. Put him on a "performace improvement plan" ( probation ) contingent upon his finishing college, give him a few years reasonable fines then kick him loose. In most states if you kill someone at 15 you arent paying for it the rest of your life.

 

[Captain O]

How is society going to benefit from what will more than likely cost more to enforce than they (we) gain from him? As a social worker you are I am sure familiar with what single mothers have to go through in many occasions to collect money from deadbeat dads. This isnt going to be any different. Under the table jobs and living off the grid , fake socials until the IRS catches up then move on. Seen it many times back in my 30's when I knew single mothers going through the same thing and that was over a few hundred dollars a month.

Give the kid a chance to redeem himself but dont expect he is going to pay for all the damage he did. Put him on a "performace improvement plan" ( probation ) contingent upon his finishing college, give him a few years reasonable fines then kick him loose. In most states if you kill someone at 15 you arent paying for it the rest of your life.

BS! This is nothing more than a manner in which he can "skip out" on his responsibilities. Were he to be placed in involuntary servitude for the rest of his natural life, it would be okay by me. "Performance improvement plan" be damned! He should be stripped of everything he does for the rest of his life. He will never have the capability to compensate for what he's done. At least 40 years in prison and a minimum of a $2,000,000 fine would make his life a pointless exercise in food, shelter, and maintenance. For what he's done, it seems a fair exchange.

 

[wired]

"He will never have the capability to compensate for what he's done." Yeah, No kidding.

The BS massive civil fine thing is just that. A waste of legal ink because NONE of that fine will ever get collected.

 

[NW Backpacker]

This article, written while the fire was still burning, covers much of the topics in comments above - including damages some shooters had to pay when their exploding targets started a fire.

Public demands consequences for 15-year-old Eagle Creek fire suspect

 

[41mag]

How is society going to benefit from what will more than likely cost more to enforce than they (we) gain from him

there is considerable heat in any discussion of similar outrage involving wide scale criminal acts regardless of age or penalty. Whether one response is measurably better than another is what drives the intensity of the argument.

And I disagree with your insistence the fuel cell status is a result of 'bad forestry process'. That scenic area has been intensely managed for over a 1/2 century by politically driven groups largely controlled by 'eco-friendly' groups rather than forestry professionals.

It's a tragic loss that will take multiple generations to remediate.

 

[jvp]

in a month this is yesterdays news and nobody will remember.