IRVING, Texas - Police charged Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Josh Brent with intoxication manslaughter Saturday after he flipped his car in a pre-dawn accident that killed teammate Jerry Brown.
Irving police spokesman John Argumaniz said the accident happened about 2:20 a.m. Saturday in the Dallas suburb, hours before Brent was to be on a team flight to Cincinnati for the Cowboys' game Sunday against the Bengals.
Argumaniz said the 25-year-old Brown - a practice-squad linebacker who also was Brent's teammate for three seasons at the University of Illinois - was found unresponsive at the scene and pronounced dead at a hospital.
Brown played for San Antonio in the Arena Football League this year. In 2011, he played for Jacksonville in the AFL and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Canadian Football League.
He was born and grew up in St. Louis, attending Vashon High School.
Leroy wrote:Since I no longer have cable, could someone recap the Bob Costas soliloquy on the dangers of motor vehicles?
Actually, it would probably be a good idea if we here in the US understood a bit better the dangers of motor vehicles and required greater competency prior to licensing people.
Shouldn't Jerry Brown's family be given the ability to not press charges against Brent? The two were pretty good friends, lived together, went to college together, etc. I'd say Brown was every bit aware of Brent's level of intoxication and decided to ride with him anyway. Not to absolve what Brent did. It was plumb wrong with tragic consequences, but to make Brown a victim just doesn't sit right with me.
Leroy wrote:Since I no longer have cable, could someone recap the Bob Costas soliloquy on the dangers of motor vehicles?
Actually, it would probably be a good idea if we here in the US understood a bit better the dangers of motor vehicles and required greater competency prior to licensing people.
AWvsCBsteeeerike3 wrote:Shouldn't Jerry Brown's family be given the ability to not press charges against Brent? The two were pretty good friends, lived together, went to college together, etc. I'd say Brown was every bit aware of Brent's level of intoxication and decided to ride with him anyway. Not to absolve what Brent did. It was plumb wrong with tragic consequences, but to make Brown a victim just doesn't sit right with me.
I don't know about not being charged at all. I don't agree with that. He won by getting to live. OTOH it drives me crazy when family members of the deceased act like their beloved was kidnapped and killed by a serial killer. If your beloved was [expletive] faced too then your beloved was (likely) just as responsible.
Yeah, imo, he needs to be charged with DWI or DUI whatever. He should be punished to the max for that offense. There's probably what a 1-20 year max jail sentence for the DWI depending on the history? Enforce that law.
I don't know what involuntary manslaughter entails, but I'd imagine there has to be a victim. In other words, someone had to be involuntarily manslaughtered. It seems disingenous to make a victim of someone who consciously made the decision to get in the car and by doing so accepted the inherent risk.
Involuntary manslaughter should be reserved for killing innocent people, imho.
Or to come at it from another angle, if two people are going somewhere and drunk driving is part of the plan, the decision is made upfront, before the night even begins, on rather or not that is acceptable. Some people will immediately ask the question how they're going to get home and refuse to go if drunk driving isthe way while others will just accept it. If you accept it, you not only accept it, but you're actively part of a chain of events that has the inevitable conclusion of driving home drunk. Rather or not you're the driver is not relevant, imo, you're condoning it.
