The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday at noon.
Today’s question:
A player for the Las Vegas Raiders was arrested this week on DUI charges after killing someone while going 156-mph in his Corvette, according to news reports.
QUESTION: If a person is going well above the speed limit while drinking and driving and kills someone, should they be charged with murder?
Talk about it….
53 comments
Yes.
Yes probably should be, but its not murder by definition
Of course they should. and in closing LETS GO BRANDON!
Glad you support LGBtq causes
You have no class.
And you’re Bummed because the truth hurts.
and put in a mental institution. Who does that in their right mind?
Yes!
He was charged with “DUI resulting in death” which carries a 2 year to 20 year sentence in Las Vegas, NV. His NFL career is very likely done.
Yes!!! Famous or not!!!!!
The crying just shows he knows he screwed up his life. Let’s hope his NFL career is done.
Over twice the legal speed limit. The person he killed is not coming back. I don’t exactly know what charge but at least twenty years.
The woman’s dog died too. Throw a animal cruelty charge as well.
Even if they weren’t drinking, anybody that kills someone while driving over twice the maximum speed limit should do a minimum of 20 years. If they were sober, that means they had full possession of their mental faculties and still chose to speed, which is just as bad as a drunk driver. There are racetracks for those of us that like to drive fast.
A murder charge requires malice, and premeditation, (I learned this by watching the Derek Chauvin trial.) if it’s not proven in court, the defendant will walk. This is why they are charged with vehicular manslaughter. The DA will charge a defendant with what ever charge they believe they can prove beyond a reasonable doubt.
He’s already out on bail. SMH.
Bail was only $150,000…ridiculous.
Yes! If you are driving under the influence and kill someone, it should be murder. I don’t care if you are going 45, if you are drunk and kill someone that in the least is voluntary manslaughter.
In Nevada, it a class B felony to drive under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs and thereby cause someone to suffer substantial bodily injury or death. Penalties include two to twenty years in prison, fines ranging from $2,000 to $5,000, and a three-year driver’s license suspension.
NRS 484C.430 states that a driver who is impaired by alcohol or drugs – or who has illegal amounts of alcohol or drugs in their system – commits “DUI causing injury or death” when the driver:
“does any act or neglects any duty imposed by law while driving or in actual physical control of any vehicle on or off the highways of this State, if the act or neglect of duty proximately causes the death of, or substantial bodily harm to, another person[.]”
Note that defendants in fatal DUI cases may not be prosecuted for murder (NRS 200.030).
Bubba’s getting a new wife.
Nah. He’s too famous to hold anyone’s pocket. Cats will look out for him.
Yes.
Right to the gas chamber or electric chair.No chance of prison.
Agree with most of the comments here,(except for let’s go Brandon, not applicable) definitely jail time. I don’t drink and drive, I use to party a fair amount in my youth, most of the time I lived in New York City or my native Denmark, meaning I had access to public transportation or a bicycle. Not sure what mindset, even when having had a few too many, thinks it is okay to drive at that high speed, on a city street no less. I’m pretty sure I and most of us would have enough common sense to realize that it most likely was not going to end well. Perhaps a death wish, unfortunately it was someone innocent that died and the dog, sad. Of course his life is pretty much ruined, and those close to him will be adversely affected as well.
If he wanted to drink that much he had options of a ride share or private car to drive him home. He chose to drink excessively so he should get the maximum 20 years.
YES, charges should be brought!
What he did falls under reckless endangerment https://definitions.uslegal.com/r/reckless-endangerment/#:~:text=Reckless 20endangerment%20is%20a%20crime%20consisting 20of%20acts,disregard%20for 20the%20foreseeable 20consequences%20of 20the%20actions. Notice the part where it states: “…acted in a way that showed a disregard for the foreseeable consequences of the actions.” This guy had been heavily drinking prior to the “accident” and he is a millionaire who could easily afford having hired a driver. The NFL has already sacked him. I imagine he will be charged with involuntary manslaughter but it will be more appropriate if he’s charged with second degree murder.
The Bay Area is having more of these careless drivers, I was driving on a 40mph zone and an idiot driving a greenish-blue BMW was going 60 passing everyone and flying past the crosswalk. Thanks to all the non-enforceable laws, society is encouraging career criminals.
It’s Nevada so he can not/will not be charged with murder based on intoxication.
It is shocking to read how many people here feel Ruggs should have followed the law and not went over the state issued speed mandate plus drove his car after drinking. Yes it lead to a death, but Ruggs and his lady friend survived it! and if you factor in the other people in Vegas that also drank and drove and/or sped on Tuesday night, it was probably a 99% survival rate.
Nice! I see what you did there
Not sure what you implying? Shocking to feel he should have followed the law? Really. I doubt that other people speeded and drove drunk and didn’t kill someone is a big comfort to the family of the young woman who did die. Where are you compassion?
@Concord Native and @Hanne +1 for you two
🙂
YES! And it is murder just the same as pointing a gun that goes off and kills someone. Careless disregard in either case.
Shame on you Don’t you know Alec Baldwin was a victim!
Concord Resident, I guess you being sarcastic, so perhaps my reply was misplaced, sorry.
I think anyone with half a whit could reasonably foresee that driving at 156 MPH in a residential neighborhood or anywhere on a public roadway for that matter, could foreseeably lead to a traffic collision that more than likely will result in death.
Yes, they should be prosecuted for murder. You have the implied malice of forethought:
The Driver intentionally drove while intoxicated
The natural and probable consequences of driving at 156 MPH are dangerous to human life;
At the time the driver knew the act is dangerous to human life; and
The driver deliberately acted with conscious disregard for human life.
Janus, I agree with you.
Heck yeah. Steering a +2,000 pound bullet near people when you are drunk is not an accident, it is intentional. This player thought the rules didn’t apply to him because he is a professional athlete.
My guess, however, is that he will spend less time in prison than Michael Vick. Just think about THAT for a minute!
No Chuckie
The player will be tried in in NV and under NV law the maximum sentence is 20 years. All of this feeds into the no open container laws and loose DUI laws in NV. Nevadans love alcohol and love their open container privileges. Sadly this is what happens when you have those privileges
No. Murder is insisting he had the male aforethought of killing that victim. It could be argued all day long when he was driving his vehicle 156mph+/- drunk, he never intended to kill someone.
Vehicular manslaughter is more appropriate. That means he was responsible for driving the vehicle recklessly and his reckless driving did result in the death of someone. Two completely different things.
He should be released onto the salt flats while family members of the deceased girl are allowed to chase him down and run him over in vehicles traveling 156 mph. The chase and inevitable conclusion should be placed on pay per view and the money collected will also go to the family of the deceased.
Technically, unless he deliberately directed his auto toward someone with intent to hit them, I would not call this murder. I would call it homicide, manslaughter, etc. I am sure there is some law that describes the crime, and recommended sentencing, should a jury find him guilty.
Well we have a very LOW PROFILE similar case like this here in the Bay Area. Back on Sept 4th in Byron Ca an 18year old by the name of COLBY SHARVER had his 2nd DUI yes his 2nd and killing 2 teenagers and he was going they say 130mph and he is about to be sentenced to 4 years for both these kids life. What a slap in the face for the families of these 2 teens, Come on this kid needs to be locked up at least 20years if not more. He needs to be charged for both of these kids life instead of just 1. We NEED JUSTICE for KASSANDRA & YUYU ! This needs to stop. People must be held accountable for the bad choices they make. They should NEVER be able to get behind the wheel of a vehicle. This COLBY SHARVER kid needs help. 18 and 2 DUI are you kidding me. Then he walks just like that. Well shoot to him it must be fun and games since he gets away with it. Come on we need JUSTICE !!!! Lock him up. Let’s get him on the spot light so he feels his shame . RIP Kassandra & Yuyu. WE MUST GET JUSTICE FOR THESE 2 KIDS THAT LOST THERE LIFES TO THIS MONSTER COLBY SHARVER !!!!
Her death is too horrible to even think about. She was burned alive. So was her dog. Witnesses say they could hear her screaming but they could not get her out of the car.
Twenty years in prison is too lenient. He should get life. If he serves less than a life sentence he should never be allowed to drive again.
Now that he is sober, if he has an ounce of conscience he is hopefully miserable and filled with regret. He still needs to go to prison.
Not sure about the length of time he should serve, but a good number of years, not being able to drive again seems reasonable.
Drunk driving is a choice.
Speeding is a choice.
Both are bad choices but nonetheless bad choices.
The punishment should be like any any other choices people make that results in a person being dead.
An argument could be made for premeditated murder.
The death penalty could be in play here.
Instead he’ll do minimal time, if an at all, and be back on the streets sooner than most people would care to see.
For murder it would have to be premeditated or intent do to bodily harm. Here there was no premedication or intent. More than likely it will vehicular manslaughter.
Yes it should be Manslaughter with life in prison …………
Sad if passenger in idiot’s car, but there’s likely shared culpability. In this case; victim in her own vehicle and slammed into …yes.
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If ya want to fast, take it to a race track during Speed SF or Hooked on Driving events!
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Just because he was making a great salary does not allow him to act the fool and kill someone and their animal. He was out of control and he should pay the full cost of killing someone no matter who he is, what he did for a living and no matter what race he is. PERIOD.
No more exceptions for he and others that drive this way daily on our local roads let alone on highways. Use him as an example that money cannot buy your way out of what you have done wrong. Probably not the first time he has done this but in the past not gotten caught or bribed his way out of this.
The crying he is doing is because he screwed himself and his family royally and should pay a large amount of restitution to the family of the woman he killed.
yes…. full extent of the law – no plea probation stuff.. shouldn’t be out on bail either… and this was on a surface street! not a freeway!
Life in prison without parole.
Amazing at that speed (127mph at impact) that impaired driver nor passenger did not sustain more injuries.
This is definitely vehicular manslaughter but in Nevada they call it DUI causing substantial injury or death. Unspeakable grief to the family of victim.
Watch out for defense bringing up prior DUI caused deaths by NFL players and the resulting light sentences.
There really is no excuse for it. Maybe not murder, but definitely manslaughter.
IMO you kill someone in such a stupid and reckless manner, you stay your ass in prison until you die.
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