Family of Braylon Meade says justice was not served in deadly drunk driving incident

[Anonymous]

Wow, this is upsetting. I feel awful for Braylon’s family, can you even imagine someone getting 1 year of jail time for recklessly killing your child? DUI sentencing is such a joke in this country, but this is just beyond insulting to Arlington citizens. And I’m guessing charging as a minor will keep his name from being released. Dollars to donuts the perpetrator goes on to commit some other crime, he already had a history of drug use and 94 mph is insanely egregious. You have to be a sociopath to drive like that. I just can’t find myself hoping for his rehabilitation when he doesn’t even have actual significant consequences to deal with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, this is upsetting. I feel awful for Braylon’s family, can you even imagine someone getting 1 year of jail time for recklessly killing your child? DUI sentencing is such a joke in this country, but this is just beyond insulting to Arlington citizens. And I’m guessing charging as a minor will keep his name from being released. Dollars to donuts the perpetrator goes on to commit some other crime, he already had a history of drug use and 94 mph is insanely egregious. You have to be a sociopath to drive like that. I just can’t find myself hoping for his rehabilitation when he doesn’t even have actual significant consequences to deal with.

All part of the joy of the soft-on-crime country we now have. A slap on the wrist for killing someone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The prosecutor asked for three years in detention. The court gave one.

I'll be honest - I'd feel the exact same way if I was the victim's family. But the victim's family isn't the standard setter. To have any meaningful idea of whether this was appropriate you'd need to look at what sentence was given in previous cases.

We don't take drunk driving seriously enough in general.

She asked for *more* time.

The judge gave the sentence.

The VA sentencing commission defines sentencing guidelines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, this is upsetting. I feel awful for Braylon’s family, can you even imagine someone getting 1 year of jail time for recklessly killing your child? DUI sentencing is such a joke in this country, but this is just beyond insulting to Arlington citizens. And I’m guessing charging as a minor will keep his name from being released. Dollars to donuts the perpetrator goes on to commit some other crime, he already had a history of drug use and 94 mph is insanely egregious. You have to be a sociopath to drive like that. I just can’t find myself hoping for his rehabilitation when he doesn’t even have actual significant consequences to deal with.

I don’t think people should get severe sentences and especially not the sentence I would want in the throes of grief for my child. That’s not the kind of society I think we should have.

[Anonymous]

I think the criminal justice system failed the community in this instance. All the general public knows is that an almost-man got a slap on the wrist for a very adult crime that stole the life of someone else’s child. I’m not saying the answer is to lock up every teenager - or even this one - when they mess up. But most of us only know who the victims are, not the responsible parties, and we’re left with rumors that the driver comes from a wealthy family that was prepared to lawyer up or whatever. In reality, that family may be experiencing immense grief and hardship of their own, and the kid who did this may be deeply remorseful, but the community only sees certain very unsympathetic facts, and privacy practices leave us with no opportunity to evaluate the bigger picture. We just know one of our kids was killed under outrageous circumstances and there’s been almost no criminal consequences. That, and some of the prosecutor’s statements come across as dismissive of the legitimate retributive role of our Justice system. If my child had been killed under these circumstances, I would demand some heightened and visible accountability. As an Arlington resident, I think we all deserve something more than what we got.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the criminal justice system failed the community in this instance. All the general public knows is that an almost-man got a slap on the wrist for a very adult crime that stole the life of someone else’s child. I’m not saying the answer is to lock up every teenager - or even this one - when they mess up. But most of us only know who the victims are, not the responsible parties, and we’re left with rumors that the driver comes from a wealthy family that was prepared to lawyer up or whatever. In reality, that family may be experiencing immense grief and hardship of their own, and the kid who did this may be deeply remorseful, but the community only sees certain very unsympathetic facts, and privacy practices leave us with no opportunity to evaluate the bigger picture. We just know one of our kids was killed under outrageous circumstances and there’s been almost no criminal consequences. That, and some of the prosecutor’s statements come across as dismissive of the legitimate retributive role of our Justice system. If my child had been killed under these circumstances, I would demand some heightened and visible accountability. As an Arlington resident, I think we all deserve something more than what we got.

I agree with this. The fashionable view among our political leadership seems to be that punishment is illegitimate, period, and the only role of the criminal justice system is rehabilitation. I understand the impulse, but it doesn’t work. It’s turned into a pathological disregard of victims and a narrow focus on the interests of offenders, rather than taking into account the victims’, and society’s in general, interest in seeing some measure of justice done. The long term consequence is continued erosion of the legitimacy of the system, more crime, and ultimately more ungovernable private retaliation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, this is upsetting. I feel awful for Braylon’s family, can you even imagine someone getting 1 year of jail time for recklessly killing your child? DUI sentencing is such a joke in this country, but this is just beyond insulting to Arlington citizens. And I’m guessing charging as a minor will keep his name from being released. Dollars to donuts the perpetrator goes on to commit some other crime, he already had a history of drug use and 94 mph is insanely egregious. You have to be a sociopath to drive like that. I just can’t find myself hoping for his rehabilitation when he doesn’t even have actual significant consequences to deal with.

All part of the joy of the soft-on-crime country we now have. A slap on the wrist for killing someone.

If you can find examples of a time when we levied harsher sentences for drunk driving that causes injuries, fatalities, or property damage, I would sure like for you to post that link. Because I don't think you can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, this is upsetting. I feel awful for Braylon’s family, can you even imagine someone getting 1 year of jail time for recklessly killing your child? DUI sentencing is such a joke in this country, but this is just beyond insulting to Arlington citizens. And I’m guessing charging as a minor will keep his name from being released. Dollars to donuts the perpetrator goes on to commit some other crime, he already had a history of drug use and 94 mph is insanely egregious. You have to be a sociopath to drive like that. I just can’t find myself hoping for his rehabilitation when he doesn’t even have actual significant consequences to deal with.

All part of the joy of the soft-on-crime country we now have. A slap on the wrist for killing someone.

If you can find examples of a time when we levied harsher sentences for drunk driving that causes injuries, fatalities, or property damage, I would sure like for you to post that link. Because I don't think you can.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, this is upsetting. I feel awful for Braylon’s family, can you even imagine someone getting 1 year of jail time for recklessly killing your child? DUI sentencing is such a joke in this country, but this is just beyond insulting to Arlington citizens. And I’m guessing charging as a minor will keep his name from being released. Dollars to donuts the perpetrator goes on to commit some other crime, he already had a history of drug use and 94 mph is insanely egregious. You have to be a sociopath to drive like that. I just can’t find myself hoping for his rehabilitation when he doesn’t even have actual significant consequences to deal with.

All part of the joy of the soft-on-crime country we now have. A slap on the wrist for killing someone.

If you can find examples of a time when we levied harsher sentences for drunk driving that causes injuries, fatalities, or property damage, I would sure like for you to post that link. Because I don't think you can.

What, of more than a year? I’m pretty sure we do that now in many jurisdictions. A quick google search just suggested to me that the average sentence for vehicular manslaughter involving DUI is more like 10 years, although i of course can’t vouch for the accuracy of such a quick search. Are you seriously claiming that one year is not extremely light for DUI manslaughter? The low sentence here is the result of a foolish policy decision that late teens who commit serious crimes should not be charged as adults, rather that inadequate criminalization of DUI in general.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, this is upsetting. I feel awful for Braylon’s family, can you even imagine someone getting 1 year of jail time for recklessly killing your child? DUI sentencing is such a joke in this country, but this is just beyond insulting to Arlington citizens. And I’m guessing charging as a minor will keep his name from being released. Dollars to donuts the perpetrator goes on to commit some other crime, he already had a history of drug use and 94 mph is insanely egregious. You have to be a sociopath to drive like that. I just can’t find myself hoping for his rehabilitation when he doesn’t even have actual significant consequences to deal with.

I don’t think people should get severe sentences and especially not the sentence I would want in the throes of grief for my child. That’s not the kind of society I think we should have.

Ok but sentencing should also be about more than simply trying to rehabilitate the criminal. There needs to be a deterrent effect (is it really a good thing for teens to know they can drive blazed out of their minds at 95 mph near a residential low speed area, kill someone, and receive a slap on the wrist and their name sheltered from the media so they can resume their normal lives in 1 year time)? There is also the sense of justice the public expects from those elected to enforce our laws when crimes are committed. Clearly a lot of people in this community who are the constituents of the Commonwealth’s Attorney do not feel justice has been served. There’s also public safety. I think keeping someone like this off the streets for a significant period of time would be in the interest of not getting other children killed. Because for all the prosecutor’s focus on the “child” defendant, there is little concern for the fact a child of our own county was violently killed by essentially a giant speeding missile. I would like to keep this person from killing other people’s children (and adults).

And yes to some extent I think the victim’s family deserve some sort of sense of the victim experiencing adequate consequences for their crime. One year for taking a life in a willful manner (which is what driving drunk at 95 mph is) is an absolute joke of a sentence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the criminal justice system failed the community in this instance. All the general public knows is that an almost-man got a slap on the wrist for a very adult crime that stole the life of someone else’s child. I’m not saying the answer is to lock up every teenager - or even this one - when they mess up. But most of us only know who the victims are, not the responsible parties, and we’re left with rumors that the driver comes from a wealthy family that was prepared to lawyer up or whatever. In reality, that family may be experiencing immense grief and hardship of their own, and the kid who did this may be deeply remorseful, but the community only sees certain very unsympathetic facts, and privacy practices leave us with no opportunity to evaluate the bigger picture. We just know one of our kids was killed under outrageous circumstances and there’s been almost no criminal consequences. That, and some of the prosecutor’s statements come across as dismissive of the legitimate retributive role of our Justice system. If my child had been killed under these circumstances, I would demand some heightened and visible accountability. As an Arlington resident, I think we all deserve something more than what we got.

I agree with this. The fashionable view among our political leadership seems to be that punishment is illegitimate, period, and the only role of the criminal justice system is rehabilitation. I understand the impulse, but it doesn’t work. It’s turned into a pathological disregard of victims and a narrow focus on the interests of offenders, rather than taking into account the victims’, and society’s in general, interest in seeing some measure of justice done. The long term consequence is continued erosion of the legitimacy of the system, more crime, and ultimately more ungovernable private retaliation.

Sounds very MAGA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, this is upsetting. I feel awful for Braylon’s family, can you even imagine someone getting 1 year of jail time for recklessly killing your child? DUI sentencing is such a joke in this country, but this is just beyond insulting to Arlington citizens. And I’m guessing charging as a minor will keep his name from being released. Dollars to donuts the perpetrator goes on to commit some other crime, he already had a history of drug use and 94 mph is insanely egregious. You have to be a sociopath to drive like that. I just can’t find myself hoping for his rehabilitation when he doesn’t even have actual significant consequences to deal with.

I don’t think people should get severe sentences and especially not the sentence I would want in the throes of grief for my child. That’s not the kind of society I think we should have.

Ok but sentencing should also be about more than simply trying to rehabilitate the criminal. There needs to be a deterrent effect (is it really a good thing for teens to know they can drive blazed out of their minds at 95 mph near a residential low speed area, kill someone, and receive a slap on the wrist and their name sheltered from the media so they can resume their normal lives in 1 year time)? There is also the sense of justice the public expects from those elected to enforce our laws when crimes are committed. Clearly a lot of people in this community who are the constituents of the Commonwealth’s Attorney do not feel justice has been served. There’s also public safety. I think keeping someone like this off the streets for a significant period of time would be in the interest of not getting other children killed. Because for all the prosecutor’s focus on the “child” defendant, there is little concern for the fact a child of our own county was violently killed by essentially a giant speeding missile. I would like to keep this person from killing other people’s children (and adults).

And yes to some extent I think the victim’s family deserve some sort of sense of the victim experiencing adequate consequences for their crime. One year for taking a life in a willful manner (which is what driving drunk at 95 mph is) is an absolute joke of a sentence.

It’s many things, but not “willful”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it true that this defendant has already been to rehab several times?

If true, I hope the victim’s family sues the parents who allows their known train wreck of a child to access their vehicle. I’d love to see a lawsuit that names the adult parents so this family doesn’t get off without any public shaming whatsoever. I’m tired of rich people getting to hide behind their money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it true that this defendant has already been to rehab several times?

If true, I hope the victim’s family sues the parents who allows their known train wreck of a child to access their vehicle. I’d love to see a lawsuit that names the adult parents so this family doesn’t get off without any public shaming whatsoever. I’m tired of rich people getting to hide behind their money.

I completely agree. Someone has to know who he and his enabling parents are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have juvenile court for a reason. It's good to see a prosecutor who acknowledges that.

This. We don't know all the details, since the other person was a juvenile. It's a really hard thing. But trying 17 year olds as adults isn't going to solve the world's crime problems. That's proven.

This is a sad case and my heart does ache for this family who lost their bright, young son way way too soon.