Are You Kidding Me!?!?

From a Columbus Dispatch article,

KENTON, Ohio — Two teenagers who pulled a stunt last winter that left a man physically disabled and his friend brain-damaged will each spend 60 days in juvenile detention, but not before they finish the upcoming high-school football season.

....

Campbell and Howard each pleaded no contest last month to two charges of vehicular vandalism. They both also pleaded to juvenile-delinquency counts of petty theft and possession of criminal tools. Prosecutors say Campbell and Howard and three others who are awaiting trial stole a decoy deer last November, painted it with obscenities and then placed it in the middle of a darkened rural road to see what would happen when drivers approached.

....

In addition to the 60-day sentence, which will begin at the Logan County Juvenile Detention Center after football season, Campbell and Howard are on house arrest and will be for six months after detention; must pay fines and restitution; must write a 500-word essay on "Why I should think before I act"; and must complete 1,500 and 500 hours of community service, respectively.

McKinley suspended two, one-year terms of commitment to the Ohio Department of Youth Services for both boys, so if they violate their probation those sentences could be invoked.

My Take
Given the nature of the prank, I realize that these kids probably did not mean to harm anyone. In fact, they probably did not even think that something like this could happen. However, their prank still had consequences. Crimes by negligence are both legally and practically still crimes!

It's bad enough that 30 days at a youth facility, 6 months house arrest, and community service are these kids' punishment. To allow these kids a delayed sentence so they can play football is a slap in the face! Can the crippled man or the brain-damaged kid play football again?

(courtesy of made4theinternet)