Posted on 05/09/2006 6:08:36 PM PDT by wjersey
Right. Of course there is a point when negligence becomes so gross-- the "willful disregard for life or limb" sort of thing-- that it can rise to a sort of malice of its own. But I would put a fairly high threshold on that. Somebody needs to have known the risk their actions pose in order to get there.
But somebody that takes an action that they have no idea carries with it any serious risk... and it turns out to be a really bad mistake that hurts people... then punishing that is just pointless.
I also see no point in punishing people when the punishment is inherent in the crime. The classic (and we'll start seeing them now as summer approaches) is the baby forgotten in the car. Stupid thoughtlessness results in the loss of their baby. Yes, it makes us angry that someone could be so negligent... but nothing can be done to them that is worse than what they themselves did.
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