What makes them exempt from regular convictions, even when the evidence is overwhelming and sometimes even videotaped?

First there was the incident where Paris Hitlon was videotaped by paparazzi doing a drunken hit and run, which is of course multiple felonies and nothing happened.

But I think this latest news item has crossed the line...

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/134906/brandy_involved_in_los_angeles_car.html

Quote :

"Actress and R&B singer Brandy Norwood, was involved in a fatal four-car crash Deceber 30th of last month, on a Los Angeles Freeway. This accident started when Brandy's SUV hit another car, police said on Wednesday. Brandy was not injured, but the driver of the car that she rear ended was fatally injured. The victim was identified as 38 year old married mother of one, Awatef Aboudihaj. There were no charges or arrests made in connection with the accident, and there is no news of what may have caused the crash, which was first reported by the celebrity news website TMZ.com, and Brandy was reported to be in her vehicle alone, with no alcohol or drugs present, or involved at the time of the crash. Brandy had told police that she was driving approximately 65 mph before the crash occurred. CHP spokesman Leland Tang reported that all four vehicles were impounded and are awaiting the mechanical inspection outcome, which should be in by today or tomorrow, and will show if there were any mechanical difficulties with Brandy's SUV. Tang also said, "It is very possible that Brandy is the one most at fault for the crash." The singer/actress wishes to publically express her condolences to the family of the departed, and ask that the media give the family, and everyone who was involved, their privacy concerning this matter"

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this the very definition of vehicular manslaughter?

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/appndxa/penalco/penco192.htm

Quote :

" Penal Code 192 Manslaughter is the unlawful killing of a human being without malice. It is of three kinds: (a) Voluntary—upon a sudden quarrel or heat of passion. (b) Involuntary—in the commission of an unlawful act, not amounting to felony; or in the commission of a lawful act which might produce death, in an unlawful manner, or without due caution and circumspection. This subdivision shall not apply to acts committed in the driving of a vehicle. (c) Vehicular- (1) Except as provided in subdivision (a) of Section 191.5, driving a vehicle in the commission of an unlawful act, not amounting to felony, and with gross negligence; or driving a vehicle in the commission of a lawful act which might produce death, in an unlawful manner, and with gross negligence. (2) Driving a vehicle in the commission of an unlawful act, not amounting to felony, but without gross negligence; or driving a vehicle in the commission of a lawful act which might produce death, in an unlawful manner, but without gross negligence. (3) Driving a vehicle in connection with a violation of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 550, where the vehicular collision or vehicular accident was knowingly caused for financial gain and proximately resulted in the death of any person. This provision shall not be construed to prevent prosecution of a defendant for the crime of murder. This section shall not be construed as making any homicide in the driving of a vehicle punishable that is not a proximate result of the commission of an unlawful act, not amounting to felony, or of the commission of a lawful act which might produce death, in an unlawful manner. “Gross negligence,” as used in this section, shall not be construed as prohibiting or precluding a charge of murder under Section 188 upon facts exhibiting wantonness and a conscious disregard for life to support a finding of implied malice, or upon facts showing malice, consistent with the holding of the California Supreme Court in People v. Watson, 30 Cal. 3d 290."

So why hasn't she been arrested and charged with a felony? It's obvious that she hit the car, and then the person in the car she hit died.... regardless of whether she was speeding or not (which I am betting she was) her actions or lack of actions resulted in the death of a person....

1/28/2007 10:39:31 PM

maybe because the investigation hasnt been completed? way to jump the gun asshat.

1/28/2007 11:28:48 PM

It is my understanding that you have to do something

Quote :

"with gross negligence; or driving a vehicle in the commission of a lawful act which might produce death, in an unlawful manner, and with gross negligence."

and rear-ending someone might amount to negligence or gross negligence depending on what you were doing.

People make mistakes while driving and it sometimes ends in death, but it doesn't always end in criminal proceedings unless you're doing something retarded, like driving drunk or driving with your feet while you dance to the YMCA.

1/29/2007 12:07:43 AM

I love a good Y-M-C-A.

1/29/2007 2:32:20 AM

another article mentioned that the police determined she wasnt on her cell phone or anything like that. was driving 65 (speed limit?). no one else in the car. no drugs or alcohol in her system or in the car.

1/29/2007 12:11:48 PM

sounds like she just had a case of being a woman

1/29/2007 12:18:16 PM

sounds like she just had a case of being a woman

1/29/2007 12:30:14 PM

^^While hilarious, that stereotype is actually incorrect. We men are more likely to cause a crash, even after controlling for number of hours driven.

1/29/2007 12:54:36 PM

^Actually, men statistically cause the most damage. Women get in more bump-ups, but men tend to be involved in the majority of major crashes.

1/29/2007 1:31:47 PM

Quote :

"So why hasn't she been arrested and charged with a felony? It's obvious that she hit the car, and then the person in the car she hit died.... regardless of whether she was speeding or not (which I am betting she was) her actions or lack of actions resulted in the death of a person...."

its because the person she killed is an Arab (judging by the name) so they just figure she did what countless soldiers do in Iraq...she brought the war on terror home

1/29/2007 1:38:55 PM

Quote :

"So why hasn't she been arrested and charged with a felony? It's obvious that she hit the car, and then the person in the car she hit died.... "

police are probably still investigating the accident/writing the report before formal charges are made

and

Quote :

"regardless of whether she was speeding or not (which I am betting she was) her actions or lack of actions resulted in the death of a person...."

that's what civil suits/torts are for even if she's not charged in criminal court

1/29/2007 3:02:48 PM

Authorities recommend charging Brandy in crash

"The California Highway Patrol recommended Monday that actress-singer Brandy be charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in a freeway crash that killed a woman motorist last month, a city attorney's spokesman said.

The CHP referred the matter to the city attorney's office for review, said spokesman Nick Velasquez.

"The office is currently reviewing the case and determining whether the evidence warrants the filing of a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter," Velasquez said."

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/01/29/cel.us.brandy.ap/index.html

You may have jumped the gun on this one.

1/29/2007 3:11:10 PM

While she may likely be liable for the death, I don't see why she should be criminally liable. Someone doesn't have to be punished every time something bad happens. This isn't the Code of Hammurabi.

1/29/2007 3:19:23 PM

I think what God was getting it is that if a regular joe citizen had been in Brandy's place they would be more likely to be charged

although God is supposed to be omnipotent? So why does he ask any questions at all?

1/29/2007 3:35:50 PM

What does God need with a star ship?

Quote :

"First there was the incident where Paris Hitlon was videotaped by paparazzi doing a drunken hit and run, which is of course multiple felonies and nothing happened."

In all fairness, its impossible to charge someone with drunk driving solely by video evidence.

1/29/2007 3:50:54 PM

^ ok, but what about the hit and run? if she was drunk or not, hit and run is still illegal

1/29/2007 3:53:17 PM

"Impossible is nothing."

-Duke lacrosse players

1/29/2007 3:54:09 PM

shit, on parisexposed.com they show them snorting coke of some dudes chest and Paris is smoking pot

nothing ever happens to that bitch like what would happen to someone like me

she also recently went to court for her dwi and she got a slap on the wrist

1/29/2007 4:05:51 PM

as much as it saddens me to say it, most people just get a slap on the wrist for DWIs, but thats a whole different topic.

1/29/2007 4:06:56 PM

Quote :

"Stay On-Topic - Try to stick with the topic. If you have something important to say that doesn't relate to the topic, then start a new topic. If you have something useless to say, keep it to yourself."

1/29/2007 4:28:23 PM

Quote :

"Actually, men statistically cause the most damage."

perhaps Im mistaken, but I think this is due to the fact that flat out, there are more male drivers than female drivers, but proportionately, females fuck up more.

1/29/2007 4:54:52 PM

Quote :

"While she may likely be liable for the death, I don't see why she should be criminally liable. Someone doesn't have to be punished every time something bad happens. This isn't the Code of Hammurabi."

If you say that, then I guess I can go molest a kid and then saw him in half... and then not be criminally liable for it?

Oh and here's the Paris Hilton video:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hY8oLrJE5Qw

Quote :

"Hilton then exits the public parking structure without leaving a note with her contact information, which is a misdemeanor under California law, punishable by as much as six months in jail."

1/29/2007 6:03:59 PM

^^In the studies I've seen that say men are shittier drivers, they controlled for hours on the road. Meaning that men won't be penalized for having more drivers or more frequent drivers.

1/29/2007 6:20:46 PM

Quote :

"What makes them exempt from regular convictions, even when the evidence is overwhelming and sometimes even videotaped?"

I'll tell you why. Because they give us love. Celebrities have been picked on enough. They give us regular people so much. They sing and dance and get interviewed on Jay Leno. Without them, who would go to gala opening nights?

They take precious time out of their day and tell us how to live better lives with those little "You Ought to Know" ads. They show us that wars make people hurt each other.

Sure they make a lot of money, but they're not greedy like those rich businessmen and CEOs. The celebrities care more about stuff than anyone else.

So what if they kill a few non-celebrities once in a while. They didn't mean it. What's a few dead unimportant people compared to the joy our celebrities bring to our lives?

1/29/2007 9:09:24 PM

if you keep the bitter anger rolled up into a tiny ball at the bottom of your stomach and you can hide it away where no one will ever see it.

1/29/2007 10:07:27 PM

i think its young men wreck more than young women, but older (>~27) men drive safer then older women

1/30/2007 4:02:16 AM

so it looks like now they are going to charge her but black leaders are turning it into a race issue and say that she is a political prize

wtfing shit, how the flying holy fuck is this a god damn flipping race issue

1/31/2007 12:42:33 AM

because the people saying it is a race issue use "reverse" racism for political gains

notice i bolded the quotation marks since theres no such thing as reverse racism unless it meant to strongly attempt to build bonds with different people from yourself

1/31/2007 12:46:54 AM

Can't a black woman kill someone in this country without The Man puttin her down?

We need to leave her alone and let her get back to the business of entertaining America. Maybe she'll do a song about how the accident made her feel sad...and she'll donate some of the profits to the children.

1/31/2007 10:29:56 AM

Quote :

"wtfing shit, how the flying holy fuck is this a god damn flipping race issue"

Because blacks have to turn everything into a race issue.

1/31/2007 10:50:17 AM

the family wants to sue Brandy for $50 million now

actually they have already filed the lawsuit...parents of the woman killed http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/entertainment/gossip/16583193.htm

[Edited on January 31, 2007 at 11:06 AM. Reason : .]

1/31/2007 11:02:25 AM

dominated.

1/31/2007 11:05:30 AM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070201/ap_en_tv/people_garrison

2/1/2007 4:15:31 PM

Celebrities have money.

Who gives a fuck as long as they pay for it?

If you dont like it, dont support them.

2/1/2007 4:40:33 PM

^^I was wondering what was gonna happen with that. A 26-year-old picking up some high schoolers in a store, buying booze for their party, going to their party, and then leaving the party drunk to drive to get more booze for their party and bringing a few kids along for the ride... Am I missing something?

2/1/2007 5:43:13 PM

she must have been going pretty fast to have killed this woman and on the hwy no less, and how in the hell do you think killing a person and saying " ooops my bad " is an reason not to convict the person for unintentional vehicular manslaughter. She deserves to pay for her recklesness which I undoubtedly assume is the reason why she has killed this lady.

oh and

Quote :

"sounds like she just had a case of being a woman "

2/1/2007 6:22:02 PM