He blew a .09 according to the article at Reply #24. That’s legally drunk in California and many other states.
Do we know the law in Romania? By what standard would the marine be measured?
The allowed B.A.C. is zero, as per the same article.
What are the rules of evidence there? Is the accused allowed an attorney? If found guilty, what is the penalty? Would you agree to have a serving member of our armed forces tried and sentenced according to sha'ria law, for instance?
Romania is a European, Christian country and an ally. Their laws are what they are. I am of the opinion that unless we are occupying a country by force and engaged in combat (e.g. Afghanistan and Iraq) our military and diplomatic personnel should be treated just like everyone else is. No immunity.
IF drunk driving was the cause of this unfortunate death, then the marine should be held accountable in the United States and punished to the full extent of the law, if guilty. To do otherwise is to set a very dangerous precedent.
As I stated in Reply #22, the presence of alcohol creates a presumption of liability in Romania. I don’t have a link for this observation as it is derived from my personal experiences there. When you say “to the full extent of the law” whose law do you mean? The Marine was operating a vehicle on Romanian streets and a Romanian citizen was killed. I think a dangerous precedent would be set by failing to respect their sovereignty. Would you feel differently about where this Marine faced justice if the accident had occurred in Canada, Australia, or the U.K? Why should we treat Romania differently?
I think a dangerous precedent would be set by failing to respect their sovereignty. Would you feel differently about where this Marine faced justice if the accident had occurred in Canada, Australia, or the U.K? Why should we treat Romania differently?
No, I would feel no differently if the accident had occurred in Canada, the UK or Australia. Romania, nor any country, including those you named, should be treated any differently. The dangerous precedent is that by opening this door, we cannot reasonably be selective. I'm sure there are countries with whom we have diplomatic relations where someone could receive the death penalty merely for being drunk, even had no accident occurred. Or, countries whose penalties for guilt would be considered inhumane or barbaric by our standards. Countries who wouldn't allow proper legal representation, or have unjust standards of evidence or burdens of proof by our standards. Kangaroo courts.
I don't see this issue any differently than the international military tribunal. If US diplomats or US armed forces commit crimes in other lands according to US law, let them be returned to the US for prosecution and sentencing according to US law.