Lawyer: Parents of ‘balloon boy’ to plead guilty

MSNBC ^ | 11/12/2009 | The Associated Press

[GoldStandard]

FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The Colorado parents who reported their 6-year-old son floated away in a helium balloon in what authorities say was a hoax to drum up publicity for a TV show will both plead guilty to charges in the case, the attorney for the boy's father said Thursday.

[pnh102]

This type of crime really shouldn’t merit jail time if it is a first offense. Just make the family pay the costs of law enforcement involved and put them on probabtion for a few months.

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Is Balloon Boy by any chance related to Bat Boy?

[Notary Sojac]

And all the time the hoax was going on, the news networks (including Fox’s resident drama queen, Shep) were in nonstop OMGOMGOMG mode. Not one damn molecule of skepticism until it was all over. Ninnies.....

[randog]

I dunno. It’s kinda like setting a forest or brush fire—if you did it accidentally then you get to pay the fire crew costs. If you set it intentionally, then we’re talking about jail time. These people intentionally set the fire.

[reagan_fanatic]

Is Balloon Boy by any chance related to Bat Boy?

Or bubble boy?

[org.whodat]

DUH, fox news said the mother was a freaking illegal.

[Just mythoughts]

I would vote to not send them to jail because they did spare US global coverage of BamaKennedy’s first trip to New Orleans, using a child to ask him, why does everybody hate you?

Remember this was at the peak of ‘hate’ Rush for being ask to join an investment club to buy a football team...

[Graybeard58]

Fox’s resident drama queen, Shep

Fox should fire Shep and that other dumb ass, Geraldo and get Lou Dobbs and give him both their salaries.

[CharlesWayneCT]

No, she’s not an illegal. She is a legal immigrant from Japan.

But if she was found guilty of a felony, she would lose her legal status, and have to go home.

She confessed, but her husband had not. Her confession couldn’t be used against her husband, so they threatened her with a felony.

That forced the husband to plead guilty to a felony, in exchange for his wife being charged with a misdemeanor.

Now she can stay in the country.

[Poundstone]

She should remain in the country. She’s a wife and mother. There shouldn’t be catastrophic consequences for this stunt, however lame-brained it was, for God’s sake.

Plus, she’s Japanese, who make very good residents/citizens. We need more of them, not fewer.

[org.whodat]

A distinction without a difference.

[Oztrich Boy]

No it’s not. She would only be illegal after her legal immmigrant status was revoked for cause.

[org.whodat]

I was referring to the plea. She is as guilty as hell, but then there is no equity in justice anymore.