Posted on 06/07/2011 8:44:19 PM PDT by TheDingoAteMyBaby
The hit-and-run conviction of Ryan LeVin, a wealthy Florida man, is generating controversy due to what some say is an unusually lenient sentence.
On Friday, LeVin pleaded guilty to killing two businessmen in 2009 with his Porsche 911 but received a sentence of house arrest after agreeing to pay an undisclosed amount to the widows of the victims, the Chicago Tribune reports.
The son of a family that ran a direct-sales jewelry company, LeVin is on probation for a 2006 crash in which he drove into a police officer; court records show that he has more than 50 traffic violations and a history of drug abuse, the Tribune reports.
He will serve two years of house arrest in his parents’ Florida condo for the 2009 hit-and-run, but LeVin can exercise in the building’s gym and attend church services, according to the Tribune. Sentencing guidelines call for a sentence of up to the 45 years.
“It is an unbelievably light sentence,” Michael Seigel, a University of Florida law professor and former federal prosecutor, told the Tribune. “It is very disturbing.”
But the victims’ widows supported the sentence, and the judge in the case declared Friday that the “the need for restitution does outweigh the need for prison.”
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.wsj.com ...
Not even a suspended sentence which would kick in if this loser (who can well afford his own chauffeurs) ever drives again? In any state of the Union?
Man, what a deterrent to rich men who give little thought to their driving. /s of course
Maybe the Judge believes in Sharia law. They had a story recently about how under Sharia, anybody that commits a criminal offense against another person can make a monetary offer to the victim or the victims family and if the offer is accepted, all charges are dropped.
A poster on a local news forum made a great point about this ruling. Say I wanted to kill my husband, and I could get someone to “accidentally” run him over or such. When sentencing time comes, I claim that the driver of the car has made satisfactory restitution to me and the driver gets nothing more than house arrest.
How about restitution AND prison. A twofer.
This kind of crap just boils my blood.
Sounds like the Saudi version of Sharia. Banana republic?
Beat me.
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