The judge said that Mr Dean had displayed no remorse, and that his attitude showed a lack of respect for the value of life, hence the upping of the sentence.
It does mention at the end of the report that the judgment is still open to appeal.
Where? I didn’t see anything in the first article, unless you mean the night club’s video of their employee returning.[/quote]
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法院傳訊相關證人並調閱監視錄影畫面勘驗，認定林克穎酒駕開車撞死送報生。
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還有酒店監視器可證明少爺駕車離開沒多久
Again, I don’t know if both sentences are referring to the same evidence and I don’t know about the quality of the evidence. The media has done less than a shitty job covering this case.
It said they have video evidence that he was the driver. That is different than saying they have video evidence of him actually driving. Anyway, it’s Taiwanese media, notoriously lazy and unreliable.
Thanks, the second is the one I read. As HH says the first is ambiguous about what video is being referred to.
I won’t express any opinion on whether Zain Dean should have been found guilty or not, since I’m not privy to all of the evidence, and therefore cannot pass judgment on the case.
However, I am very glad to see a court imposing a heavier sentence on a defendant it has found proven guilty of causing death while driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In my opinion, four years is still far too low a sentence for such a crime, but it is at least a step in the right direction. I hope that any other driver convicted of such an offence in the future will receive a sentence of at least corresponding severity, though I’m not very optimistic that it will happen.
On a somewhat related note, rich and famous singer Randy Travis was just arrested in the US for DUI after the police found him lying drunk, naked and combative in the road beside his wrecked Trans Am.
abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wir … CM5bqPVvgE
I’ll be curious to see if he gets real punishment or just a slap on the wrist.
to MT
Only celebs get sent to rehab for 3 months and released. Everyone else gets 5 years minimum.
Here’s a translation of the [button]Apple Daily story,http://www.appledaily.com.tw/realtimenews/article/local/20120726/134298[/button]:
Drunk driver kills newspaper delivery man – UK businessman Zain Dean’s conviction changed to a 4 year heavy sentence.
July 26
NCL Media Taiwan CEO Zain Dean was convicted of a fatal hit and run crash while under the influence of alcohol which killed newspaper delivery man and filial son Huang Junde on March 25, 2010. Dean who has always protested his innocence claims he was asleep in the passenger seat and did not know who was driving the car or that an accident had taken place.
On the day of the incident, a valet at the bar initially drove Mr. Dean in his Mercedes, but the valet claims he was ejected from the car. The bar CCTV shows the valet driver returning very soon, walking alone back to the bar. The lower court did not believe Dean’s story and sentenced him to 2.5 years for manslaughter.
After appealing to the high court, Zain Dean again pleaded not guilty, and accused the police of collecting false evidence, and the media of manipulation and twisting the facts. The father of the deceased Huang Guoan, who went to the high court today to listen to the verdict, claimed Dean was unremorseful as the judge criticized him for not repenting and showing no respect for the value of life. Today his sentence was increased to 4 years. After serving his sentence he will be deported. He has the right to appeal.
[quote]The lower court did not believe Dean’s story and sentenced him to 2.5 years for manslaughter.
After appealing to the high court, Zain Dean again pleaded not guilty, and accused the police of collecting false evidence, and the media of manipulation and twisting the facts. The father of the deceased Huang Guoan, who went to the high court today to listen to the verdict, claimed Dean was unremorseful as the judge criticized him for not repenting and showing no respect for the value of life. Today his sentence was increased to 4 years. After serving his sentence he will be deported. He has the right to appeal.[/quote]
Two questions:
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Given that he was claiming innocence, why should he be expected to be remorseful or to repent?
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Why was his sentence increased? I thought this was an appeal.
[quote=“Chris”][quote]The lower court did not believe Dean’s story and sentenced him to 2.5 years for manslaughter.
After appealing to the high court, Zain Dean again pleaded not guilty, and accused the police of collecting false evidence, and the media of manipulation and twisting the facts. The father of the deceased Huang Guoan, who went to the high court today to listen to the verdict, claimed Dean was unremorseful as the judge criticized him for not repenting and showing no respect for the value of life. Today his sentence was increased to 4 years. After serving his sentence he will be deported. He has the right to appeal.[/quote]
Two questions:
-
Given that he was claiming innocence, why should he be expected to be remorseful or to repent?
-
Why was his sentence increased? I thought this was an appeal.[/quote]
Even if he didn’t do it he should have acted as if he did. That’s Taiwan law. But really, I guess he should have shown sadness for the death of another person even if he wasn’t the cause of that death.
Appeals are not the same as back home. Every trial is a retrial. All evidence gets relooked at, and outcomes may vary.
[quote=“Chris”]
- Why was his sentence increased? I thought this was an appeal.[/quote]
Prosecutors can also file an appeal if they feel that the original sentence was too lenient.
Higher courts have greater sentencing powers and their judges are accustomed to handing down longer sentences.
That’s the nature of the beast, unfortunately.
[quote=“monkey”][quote=“Chris”]
- Why was his sentence increased? I thought this was an appeal.[/quote]
Prosecutors can also file an appeal if they feel that the original sentence was too lenient.
Higher courts have greater sentencing powers and their judges are accustomed to handing down longer sentences.
That’s the nature of the beast, unfortunately.[/quote]
Yeah, so he would have been better off not appealing, and he might be wise to not appeal again. After all, why would anything change third time around?
isn’t it the same everywhere. You go to appeal because you think you have a chance of reduction, but the reality is that a new judge may look at the evidence differently and increase the sentence. I know that’s happened in the UK.
Here’s a translation of the UDN story http://udn.com/news/SOCIETY/SOC6/7253154.shtml:
Newspaper delivery man killed in crash – British businessman Zain Dean sentenced to 4 years
UDN
July 27
British businessman Zain Dean, who hit and killed a newspaper delivery man while drunk driving, was accused of creating a public danger, fleeing the scene of an accident, manslaughter and other charges and sentenced to 2 years and 6 months by the lower court. Yesterday the Taiwan high court handed down a heavy sentence of 4 years and deportation after the sentence is served.
After personally hearing the verdict the newspaper delivery man Huang Junde’s father grudgingly accepted the sentence but said there would probably be another appeal. He said Zain Dean had yet to apologize or confess, and had a bad attitude. The father filed a civil suit for NT$10m in compensation but Zain Dean has not paid a cent.
In the early hours of one morning in March the year before last, while driving under the influence of alcohol along Taipei’s Zhongxiao E. Rd. Sec. 4, NCL Media Taiwan CEO Zain Dean crashed into and killed newspaper delivery man and family-breadwinner Huang Junde. During the investigation Zain Dean denied he was guilty, claiming the driver was a club valet, and he was asleep in the car unaware that there had been an accident.
The court heard relevant witnesses and reviewed CCTV footage, and judged that Zain Dean had killed the newspaper delivery man while driving under the influence of alcohol.
The Taiwan high court stated that in the two years since the incident, Zain Dean had accused the police of collecting false evidence and had even questioned their integrity, and claimed as a foreigner he was the victim of media manipulation. He had not come to an agreement with the victim’s family, or offered a verbal statement of regret. For his despicable behavior he was handed a heavy sentence.
Yeah - so technically not showing remorse is a crime punishable by a prison sentence.
If Zain Dean had told me a blue pig with pink spots was driving the car at the time of the accident, from personal dealings with the police and the courts myself I would be more inclined to believe Dean rather than the police. In my experience, the accusations of police collusion, hiding or producing false evidence and basically down-right dishonesty is very real and their readiness to participate in this behaviour is saddening and deplorable.
Of course, I wholeheartedly agree that severe punishments should be handed down to people who drink and drive.
Anyway, remember that taxi driver who ploughed into two school children last year, killing one of them; and then making off from the accident?
No?
Well, I can’t find follow ups on it either. No one knows about it because there is no evil foreigner involved. I made a point of trying to follow this case in the media and compare it to Dean’s case, but I never saw another article about it.
Same with that car of off-duty cops who hit a barrier and seriously injured a passer-by, all of whom were drunk - including the driver. Remember that case? No?
That bit of news vapourised as well.
In Taiwan, if the police say you killed someone, you’re supposed to give the family of the deceased money. This is known as being remorseful. If you give the family enough money, then everyone says ok, and nobody goes to jail for long if at all.
[quote=“Super Hans”] Remember that taxi driver who ploughed into two school children last year, killing one of them; and then making off from the accident?
No?
Well, I can’t find follow ups on it either. No one knows about it because there is no evil foreigner involved. [/quote]
You’ve been in Taiwan long enough to know that people die everyday in Taiwan due to bad driving; only a bit makes the news, and follow up articles are done for extreme cases, unless there’s a white person who caused the accident. Then in that case it’s like 9/11 all over again and Taiwanese people are suddenly outraged.
I don’t have time to translate these, but here are some recent examples.
[quote]台灣酒駕致死判刑案例
2012/05/10
送貨員黃允良酒後開車逆向行駛，撞死摩托車駕駛員古新森，黃坦承犯行但未和解。桃園地院判刑1年。
2012/03/30
大貨車司機林鈺喬酒駕違規回轉，撞死摩托車駕駛員林縈婕，林坦承犯行並和解。桃園地院判刑1年4月，緩刑4年。
2012/01/20
臨時工劉文山酒後駕駛小貨車撞死摩托車駕駛員顏琮州，劉坦承犯行但未和解。宜蘭地院判刑1年6月。
2011/06/23
吊銷執照的遊明宏酒駕且超速，撞上也酒後肇事停車的林進宏、歐佩吟，導致2死。台灣“最高法院”判1年10月定讞。[/quote]
It does seem that settling and expressing remorse results in lower sentences. The Makiyo case had a similar result in that settlement and remorse kept them out of jail. However, that case also involved the mysterious disappearance and reappearance of key video tapes that made me much more suspicious about the Zane Dean case.
Yeah, no matter how egregious it seems, this is probably the most succinct and accurate statement of judicial practice in these discussions to date.
Oh, that, and don’t challenge authority figures unless you’re prepared for a ROYAL reaming.
The new decision on this appeal to increase the sentence is pretty much on record as having been made based on the defendant’s flagrant disregard for these two principles.
Sort of like if you asked a bunch of 10-year-olds to make up a criminal justice system.
Wikipedia says:
[quote]
Acceptance of responsibility is a provision in the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines providing for a decrease by 2 or 3 levels in offenders’ offense level for admitting guilt and otherwise demonstrating behavior consistent with acceptance of responsibility, such as ending criminal conduct and associations. It amounts to a sentence reduction of about 35%.[1] The 3-level reduction is only available to defendants with an offense level of 16 or greater, and it requires a timely guilty plea. Federal plea agreements usually include a stipulation that the government will support granting the defendant the acceptance of responsibility reduction. The guideline states, in reference to the 2-level reduction:[2]
“ This adjustment is not intended to apply to a defendant who puts the government to its burden of proof at trial by denying the essential factual elements of guilt, is convicted, and only then admits guilt and expresses remorse. Conviction by trial, however, does not automatically preclude a defendant from consideration for such a reduction. In rare situations a defendant may clearly demonstrate an acceptance of responsibility for his criminal conduct even though he exercises his constitutional right to a trial. This may occur, for example, where a defendant goes to trial to assert and preserve issues that do not relate to factual guilt (e.g., to make a constitutional challenge to a statute or a challenge to the applicability of a statute to his conduct). In each such instance, however, a determination that a defendant has accepted responsibility will be based primarily upon pre-trial statements and conduct. ”
Because the vast majority of federal criminal cases are settled by plea bargains, the application of this reduction is extremely common and has a great impact on the amount of prisoner-years served altogether throughout the U.S. justice system. Research indicates that the offender’s race/ethnicity, controlling for offender and offense characteristics, has a significant influence on the sentence reduction for acceptance of responsibility.[3] The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has held that “lack of remorse” and “acceptance of responsibility” can be separate factors and that a district court may consider each independently of the other.[/quote]
Yeah, that makes sense. If the court believes you are guilty and you act without remorse that won’t look good even if you insist you are innocent. After all, lots of guilty people insist they are innocent and that the police were out to get them.
I guess the crappy part if when you really are innocent you are going to be doubly screwed.