Shania Twain defence works in drunk driver's favour
March 29, 2006 5:31 AM Subscribe
It's okay...Shania was driving for me. Chalk another one up to insanity. Hinkley had Jody. Berkowitz had Sam. God told Peter Sutcliffe what to do. Of course, no one told Ted Kaczynski what to do.
"Ten years ago, Brownlee was given a seven-year prison sentence and barred from driving for the rest of his life after he killed an Ottawa woman, Linda Lebreton-Holmes, and her 12-year-old son while driving with a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit. "
Good thing we gave him his driver's license back
posted by saraswati at 5:49 AM on March 29, 2006
Good thing we gave him his driver's license back
posted by saraswati at 5:49 AM on March 29, 2006
Oops. Didn't see the "driving well disqualified" charge. Shania told me not to read the whole article, I swear!
posted by saraswati at 5:50 AM on March 29, 2006
posted by saraswati at 5:50 AM on March 29, 2006
The 33-year-old man told psychiatrists that he ... believed singer Shania Twain was helping him drive.
Further proof that Shania Twain is useless. I wonder if this can be used to ban her music... If rap and Marilyn Manson are responsible for violence, I'm willing to believe Shania Twain is personally responsible for mentally unstable irresponsible DUI-fuckwits.
And those letters by Hinkley (especially seeing his handwriting) freak me out.
posted by slimepuppy at 5:51 AM on March 29, 2006
Further proof that Shania Twain is useless. I wonder if this can be used to ban her music... If rap and Marilyn Manson are responsible for violence, I'm willing to believe Shania Twain is personally responsible for mentally unstable irresponsible DUI-fuckwits.
And those letters by Hinkley (especially seeing his handwriting) freak me out.
posted by slimepuppy at 5:51 AM on March 29, 2006
The serious issue with this case is that the driver, Matt Brownlee, will probably get off with very little punishment, despite the fact that his driving privileges have been revoked for killing two people while drunk. This man is not allowed to drive, yet he's been caught driving! What does the Canadian justice system do about this? Not a whole lot. Slap on the wrist, deemed unfit to understand his actions. So essentially no punishment whatsoever.
Of course, I am very infuriated with the lack of justice because I was friends with one of the Lebreton-Holmes children. I can still remember to this day how the accident affected him. And yet I open the paper or watch the news, and this man's name keeps popping up over and over. I'm not in touch with my friend anymore, but I imagine he's more infuriated than I am, seeing the man who killed his mother and brother out driving again, with no repercussions.
There are times when laws need to be changed, or some type of justice must be brought out. This is one of those times. If the Canadian justice system does nothing about this man, the problem will never be solved; you'll see his name come up again in a few years when he causes another few deaths. Then maybe something will be done about him.
posted by Meagan at 6:00 AM on March 29, 2006
Of course, I am very infuriated with the lack of justice because I was friends with one of the Lebreton-Holmes children. I can still remember to this day how the accident affected him. And yet I open the paper or watch the news, and this man's name keeps popping up over and over. I'm not in touch with my friend anymore, but I imagine he's more infuriated than I am, seeing the man who killed his mother and brother out driving again, with no repercussions.
There are times when laws need to be changed, or some type of justice must be brought out. This is one of those times. If the Canadian justice system does nothing about this man, the problem will never be solved; you'll see his name come up again in a few years when he causes another few deaths. Then maybe something will be done about him.
posted by Meagan at 6:00 AM on March 29, 2006
This wouldn't have been a problem had he let Jesus take the wheel.
posted by unsupervised at 6:03 AM on March 29, 2006
posted by unsupervised at 6:03 AM on March 29, 2006
Should someone be punished for having a mental illness? Probably not. But the salient point is that this man has proven that he cannot be trusted to refrain from taking the wheel of a car while intoxicated, regardless of any mitigating factors he may believe relevant. If he needs to be physically prevented from driving, through incarceration or institutionalization or any other means, then so be it. It's not punishment, it's protection of the public.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:11 AM on March 29, 2006
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:11 AM on March 29, 2006
Shania Twain? If he ever snaps out of it, he's going to be so embarrassed.
Anyway: though the thought of giving people implants generally gives me the creeps, I think I'd make an exception for guys like him, for after (or as an alternative to?) prison. He needs to be rigged with something that detects alcohol in his blood, alerts the police, turns off his car if he's in it, and maybe cockpunches him a couple of times. (Is that possible? Not the last part, but the rest. How would you build a blood alcohol detector small enough for implantation and able to run for a long time, all the time? Maybe transmitting to a relay in a bracelet?)
posted by pracowity at 6:16 AM on March 29, 2006
Anyway: though the thought of giving people implants generally gives me the creeps, I think I'd make an exception for guys like him, for after (or as an alternative to?) prison. He needs to be rigged with something that detects alcohol in his blood, alerts the police, turns off his car if he's in it, and maybe cockpunches him a couple of times. (Is that possible? Not the last part, but the rest. How would you build a blood alcohol detector small enough for implantation and able to run for a long time, all the time? Maybe transmitting to a relay in a bracelet?)
posted by pracowity at 6:16 AM on March 29, 2006
I agree with Faint of Butt - if the man is mentally unable to stay out of a car, or if he's faking, either way he needs to be put away. Mental institution or jail, doesn't make any difference to me, as it stands he is a danger to society if left to run free.
posted by antifuse at 6:29 AM on March 29, 2006
posted by antifuse at 6:29 AM on March 29, 2006
What does the Canadian justice system do about this? Not a whole lot. Slap on the wrist, deemed unfit to understand his actions. So essentially no punishment whatsoever.
Do you disagree with the assessment of being unfit to understand his actions, or do you disagree with the concept of being lenient to those who do not understand their actions? Either way, I don't see how this is a systemic problem.
posted by mek at 6:30 AM on March 29, 2006
Do you disagree with the assessment of being unfit to understand his actions, or do you disagree with the concept of being lenient to those who do not understand their actions? Either way, I don't see how this is a systemic problem.
posted by mek at 6:30 AM on March 29, 2006
Pracowity, I do recall there being a device that hooks a breathalyzer to your ignition, requiring you to pass it to start your car. This could make an interesting/effective conditional sentence in this case.
posted by mek at 6:35 AM on March 29, 2006
posted by mek at 6:35 AM on March 29, 2006
Pracowity, I do recall there being a device that hooks a breathalyzer to your ignition, requiring you to pass it to start your car. This could make an interesting/effective conditional sentence in this case.
Have people not heard of these things? They even make a joke about them in The 40 Year Old Virgin.
posted by cillit bang at 6:44 AM on March 29, 2006
Have people not heard of these things? They even make a joke about them in The 40 Year Old Virgin.
posted by cillit bang at 6:44 AM on March 29, 2006
Have people not heard of these things?
Those, I've heard of. But I was asking about an implant. Something that could prevent him from drinking (report him if he does), never mind driving, though it could also switch off his car if you wanted it to.
posted by pracowity at 6:48 AM on March 29, 2006
Those, I've heard of. But I was asking about an implant. Something that could prevent him from drinking (report him if he does), never mind driving, though it could also switch off his car if you wanted it to.
posted by pracowity at 6:48 AM on March 29, 2006
FYI, the unabomber doesn't really fit in with those others. He was an ideological leftist eco-terrorist, where as the others you link to (Son of Sam, Hinkley... you could have probably thrown in Sirhan Sirhan (it was the girl, it was the girl) and Mark David Chapman (it was the book)) are mentally ill and/or have been brainwashed into being lone-nut-patsies by secret conspiracies.
posted by illovich at 6:49 AM on March 29, 2006
posted by illovich at 6:49 AM on March 29, 2006
a device that hooks a breathalyzer to your ignition, requiring you to pass it to start your car. This could make an interesting/effective conditional sentence in this case. - mek
Yeah, but his ignition shouldn't start at all because he doesn't have a licence because he's killed people while driving drunk, and yet he continues to drive drunk.
posted by raedyn at 6:56 AM on March 29, 2006
Yeah, but his ignition shouldn't start at all because he doesn't have a licence because he's killed people while driving drunk, and yet he continues to drive drunk.
posted by raedyn at 6:56 AM on March 29, 2006
Yeah, but his ignition shouldn't start at all because he doesn't have a licence because he's killed people while driving drunk, and yet he continues to drive drunk.
Do they have one of those things where the ignition won't start because you're a fucking lunatic and they took your license away? I gotta get one for the guy up the street!
posted by illovich at 6:58 AM on March 29, 2006
Do they have one of those things where the ignition won't start because you're a fucking lunatic and they took your license away? I gotta get one for the guy up the street!
posted by illovich at 6:58 AM on March 29, 2006
Best part of the story? The only photo was of Ms Twain, as if the paper was saying "See? See what these mind-warping demons look like? For shame!"
posted by grubi at 7:17 AM on March 29, 2006
posted by grubi at 7:17 AM on March 29, 2006
Would that make her an accomplice to the crime? Maybe she could be named in the civil suit...
posted by Gamblor at 7:18 AM on March 29, 2006
posted by Gamblor at 7:18 AM on March 29, 2006
Seems like there ought to be some kind of Good Samaritan law to protect her here. I mean, just think how much damage he could have caused if she hadn't been driving for him.
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:26 AM on March 29, 2006
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:26 AM on March 29, 2006
grubi writes "The only photo was of Ms Twain, as if the paper was saying 'See? See what these mind-warping demons look like? For shame"
Crikey, it wasn't even a good picture of her.
posted by Mitheral at 8:25 AM on March 29, 2006
Crikey, it wasn't even a good picture of her.
posted by Mitheral at 8:25 AM on March 29, 2006
So whose car is he driving?
posted by mek at 10:41 AM EST on March 29 [!]
Shania's. She's an enabler.
posted by unreason at 8:25 AM on March 29, 2006
posted by mek at 10:41 AM EST on March 29 [!]
Shania's. She's an enabler.
posted by unreason at 8:25 AM on March 29, 2006
Crikey, it wasn't even a good picture of her.
More proof that hot chick > bad music.
posted by thanotopsis at 8:28 AM on March 29, 2006
More proof that hot chick > bad music.
posted by thanotopsis at 8:28 AM on March 29, 2006
illovich, Ted Kaczynski was a total loon. The government attempted to downplay this as much as possible because, even in the US, executing the mentally ill is forwned upon.
posted by mzurer at 8:36 AM on March 29, 2006
posted by mzurer at 8:36 AM on March 29, 2006
Crikey, it wasn't even a good picture of her.
That's spin fer ya.
posted by grubi at 8:42 AM on March 29, 2006
That's spin fer ya.
posted by grubi at 8:42 AM on March 29, 2006
More proof that hot chick > bad music.
Pfft. It's all about the music, man. She doesn't need to be hot to have a great career. She could get by on sheer talent.
See also: Jessica Simpson, Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Mya, Shakira...
posted by Gamblor at 8:55 AM on March 29, 2006
Pfft. It's all about the music, man. She doesn't need to be hot to have a great career. She could get by on sheer talent.
See also: Jessica Simpson, Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Mya, Shakira...
posted by Gamblor at 8:55 AM on March 29, 2006
I am profoundly disappointed that the "God" link didn't send me to God Told Me To.
posted by clockwork at 9:04 AM on March 29, 2006
posted by clockwork at 9:04 AM on March 29, 2006
More proof that hot chick > bad music.
[coughs]
Janis Joplin, Joan Jett, Chrissie Hynde, Bonnie Raitt, Irma Thomas, Tina Turner, Lisa Kekaula, Emmylou Harris, Kim Deal, Holly Vincent, Lita Ford, Tanya Donnelly and several other ladies would like a word with you....
posted by jonmc at 9:08 AM on March 29, 2006
[coughs]
Janis Joplin, Joan Jett, Chrissie Hynde, Bonnie Raitt, Irma Thomas, Tina Turner, Lisa Kekaula, Emmylou Harris, Kim Deal, Holly Vincent, Lita Ford, Tanya Donnelly and several other ladies would like a word with you....
posted by jonmc at 9:08 AM on March 29, 2006
Do you disagree with the assessment of being unfit to understand his actions, or do you disagree with the concept of being lenient to those who do not understand their actions? Either way, I don't see how this is a systemic problem.
I'm perfectly fine with allowing those who do not fully and truly comprehend their actions to have altered sentences. That makes sense. What doesn't make sense is that a drunk driver who kills two people is given such a reduced sentence (permanently revoking his license, a fine, etc). In my mind, he killed two people, he deserves to die. And that's only for the initial crime.
Now he's been found driving again, it's a tricky situation since he's obviously not mentally capable to understand what he's doing. Now the justice system needs to come into play. Should he be punished? Maybe not punished, but some change needs to happen.
He's a dangerous person, even if he doesn't mean to be. He's unfit for society. His parents have even voiced their agreement about that. If he's let off with nothing, this incident will probably happen again, maybe with more deadly outcomes. Something has to change so that this is prevented. But the Canadian justice system has no rules in this situation, so I forsee Matt being put into perhaps the Royal Ottawa Hospital until budget cuts cause the ROH to close. Then he's back in the public. Rinse, lather, repeat.
posted by Meagan at 9:37 AM on March 29, 2006
I'm perfectly fine with allowing those who do not fully and truly comprehend their actions to have altered sentences. That makes sense. What doesn't make sense is that a drunk driver who kills two people is given such a reduced sentence (permanently revoking his license, a fine, etc). In my mind, he killed two people, he deserves to die. And that's only for the initial crime.
Now he's been found driving again, it's a tricky situation since he's obviously not mentally capable to understand what he's doing. Now the justice system needs to come into play. Should he be punished? Maybe not punished, but some change needs to happen.
He's a dangerous person, even if he doesn't mean to be. He's unfit for society. His parents have even voiced their agreement about that. If he's let off with nothing, this incident will probably happen again, maybe with more deadly outcomes. Something has to change so that this is prevented. But the Canadian justice system has no rules in this situation, so I forsee Matt being put into perhaps the Royal Ottawa Hospital until budget cuts cause the ROH to close. Then he's back in the public. Rinse, lather, repeat.
posted by Meagan at 9:37 AM on March 29, 2006
THIS guy?! I went to the same middle school as Brian Lebreton Holmes and I remember when that accident happened... I never thought I'd have to hear about him ever again. If he's this mentally unstable - and given his history - I see no reason to release him back into the public.
posted by Menomena at 9:37 AM on March 29, 2006
posted by Menomena at 9:37 AM on March 29, 2006
Janis? Janis was sad, not hot. She was the Kate Smith of hippiedom.
posted by jfuller at 9:41 AM on March 29, 2006
posted by jfuller at 9:41 AM on March 29, 2006
he's obviously not mentally capable to understand what he's doing. - Meagan
How is this obvious?
From the article:"The 33-year-old man told psychiatrists that he knew the legal repercussions of his actions"
posted by raedyn at 9:43 AM on March 29, 2006
How is this obvious?
From the article:"The 33-year-old man told psychiatrists that he knew the legal repercussions of his actions"
posted by raedyn at 9:43 AM on March 29, 2006
A guy who thinks Shania is helping him drive obviously isn't operating in the same reality as you and I even if he tells you he is.
posted by Mitheral at 9:46 AM on March 29, 2006
posted by Mitheral at 9:46 AM on March 29, 2006
Janis? Janis was sad, not hot.
Janis was a sad case in many ways. But she was also sexy as hell, at least to me.
posted by jonmc at 9:48 AM on March 29, 2006
Janis was a sad case in many ways. But she was also sexy as hell, at least to me.
posted by jonmc at 9:48 AM on March 29, 2006
That Hinckley link says "Hinckley saw the movie [taxi driver] at least fifteen times, read and re-read the book it was based upon,". WTF? It wasn't based on a book as far as I know. Anyone know what they're talking about?
posted by dobbs at 9:54 AM on March 29, 2006
posted by dobbs at 9:54 AM on March 29, 2006
"a mental disorder that makes him believe female celebrities are controlling his actions." what a funny argument! That is a good execuse for any bad thing you do:)
posted by matthewchen at 9:55 AM on March 29, 2006
posted by matthewchen at 9:55 AM on March 29, 2006
Guess I missed that sentence, raedyn. In that case, this should be an easy judgement.
posted by Meagan at 10:20 AM on March 29, 2006
posted by Meagan at 10:20 AM on March 29, 2006
This wouldn't have been a problem had he let Jesus take the wheel.
I just want to know why his belief wasn't considered religious. Would it make a difference if he also thought that Shania created the universe? Would it suddenly become metaphysics, beyond the reach of any psychiatrist to censure or judge?
posted by dreamsign at 11:55 AM on March 29, 2006
I just want to know why his belief wasn't considered religious. Would it make a difference if he also thought that Shania created the universe? Would it suddenly become metaphysics, beyond the reach of any psychiatrist to censure or judge?
posted by dreamsign at 11:55 AM on March 29, 2006
A guy who thinks Shania is helping him drive obviously isn't operating in the same reality as you and I even if he tells you he is.
Give my love to Xenu.
posted by dreamsign at 11:56 AM on March 29, 2006
Give my love to Xenu.
posted by dreamsign at 11:56 AM on March 29, 2006
My old kleptomania was a Parliafunkadelicment thing; please don't use that to arrest George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Blackbyrd McKnight, or Sir Nose D'Voidoffunk.
posted by elr at 12:05 PM on March 29, 2006
posted by elr at 12:05 PM on March 29, 2006
Something that could prevent him from drinking (report him if he does)
antabuse, perhaps, or were you thinking more along Clockwork Orange lines, only with Shania instead of Ludvig Van?
posted by Sparx at 2:12 PM on March 29, 2006
antabuse, perhaps, or were you thinking more along Clockwork Orange lines, only with Shania instead of Ludvig Van?
posted by Sparx at 2:12 PM on March 29, 2006
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posted by Dr-Baa at 5:37 AM on March 29, 2006