Looking for some input here as this discussion has hit a wall with those involved.
On Friday 4th December, my uncle had a heart attack and passed away. He was at work, as a driver for private hire cars, and was having a disagreement with his passenger over the fare. My uncle called his office whilst the passenger was still in the car and all those involved in the conversation tried to resolve the problem. However, half way through the phone call, the line went quiet and the person in the office heard the car door slam. They tried to call my uncle back but there was no answer. The office called the police who went to my uncles location (thank you GPS) where they found him dead in his vehicle.
It has transpired that my uncle had a heart attack during the phone call to his office and the passenger got out the car and left him. A port mortem has shown that if an ambulance was called, my uncle would probably still be alive.
The passenger has been questioned and held over the incident and now faces charges of misdemeanor manslaughter.
I want to point out at this juncture is that I hold no formal qualifications in any legal field. All I know is what I have read over the years.
I have asked for the charges to be upped to involuntary manslaughter.
Whilst the misdemeanor charge is valid because the passenger was only trying to dodge paying his fare, the involuntary one is even more valid because he witnessed the heart attack and bolted rather than calling an ambulance.
Would you push for the tougher crime or accept the lesser one?
On Friday 4th December, my uncle had a heart attack and passed away. He was at work, as a driver for private hire cars, and was having a disagreement with his passenger over the fare. My uncle called his office whilst the passenger was still in the car and all those involved in the conversation tried to resolve the problem. However, half way through the phone call, the line went quiet and the person in the office heard the car door slam. They tried to call my uncle back but there was no answer. The office called the police who went to my uncles location (thank you GPS) where they found him dead in his vehicle.
It has transpired that my uncle had a heart attack during the phone call to his office and the passenger got out the car and left him. A port mortem has shown that if an ambulance was called, my uncle would probably still be alive.
The passenger has been questioned and held over the incident and now faces charges of misdemeanor manslaughter.
I want to point out at this juncture is that I hold no formal qualifications in any legal field. All I know is what I have read over the years.
I have asked for the charges to be upped to involuntary manslaughter.
Whilst the misdemeanor charge is valid because the passenger was only trying to dodge paying his fare, the involuntary one is even more valid because he witnessed the heart attack and bolted rather than calling an ambulance.
Would you push for the tougher crime or accept the lesser one?