Samaritan or Killer?
It’s possible to be a Good Samaritan.
But is it possible to be a not-good-enough Samaritan?
A Canadian woman was recently confronted with that question when two killers accused her of not doing enough to save a man they had beaten and left for dead.
The woman was driving her car when she saw the two men viciously kicking and stomping a third man in the street. The assailants then fled, leaving their victim—who they had robbed—lying unconscious in the road. The woman called 911. But before police or paramedics arrived, an unsuspecting driver ran over the victim. He died.
The woman testified in court, and the two men were convicted of manslaughter. The woman was hailed as a Good Samaritan.
But when the killers returned to court for a sentencing hearing, they stunned the Samaritan by claiming she was responsible for the victim’s death. Lawyers for the two men argued that the woman had a responsibility to get out of her car and pull the victim to safety. Had she done so, the lawyers insisted, the victim wouldn’t have died.
The Samaritan had previously testified that she was too scared to leave her car, even after the assailants fled. “You always want to try and help a person as much as possible,” she said. “But you also have to worry about what could happen to you.”
A judge considered and then rejected the argument, telling the lawyers they could raise the issue on appeal for the two men.
“The question is, should they be held responsible?” the men’s lawyers ask. “And we say no.”
The Samaritan was reflective: “In a situation like this, you always think back and wonder whether you could have done something different.”
Could she?
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Responsibility
The Samaritan did her part, why does society let people cause problems and then lay the blame on someone who is innocent of wrong doing??? I hope they have a judge with some common sense because there seems to be a lack of it in the world today!!!!
Anonymous | 1 year, 2 months ago
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Bankrupt justice
First, this should have insulted the judge and obviously didn’t. It also shows lawyer morals. I don’t think the last two words should be used together in a sentence. My favorite is Life Sentence. What the heck is life and parole? How about 2 lives? What genius.
Anonymous | 1 year, 2 months ago
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The lawyers are to blame
The two men who kicked this dude are completely responsible for the man’s death. He wouldn’t have been laying there to get run over if they hadn’t stomped him in the first place. Regardless of whether the lady with the cell phone had a responsibility to pull the man off the road, and my thoughts are that she doesn’t have that responsibility. She didn’t put the man there in the first place. Why didn’t the two fellows who stomped the dude in the first place pull him to safety? Where was their responsibility?
Anonymous | 1 year, 2 months ago
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Still furious!
The actual victim in this story was an elderly man, and this happened in Hartford, correct? Yes, she should have moved her car then to block him from being hit. I understand about fearing for your life and not wanting to get out of your car, but if you are brave enough to sit there in your car and wait for the police, why not move your car, and put on the blinkers while you are waiting? How can you be too scared to do that if you are already sitting there? Makes no sense to me, but at least she did call 911. All of the other people that were there and just stepped over that poor old man and let him die should all be ashamed of themselves, in fact, I just don’t know how they can sleep without nightmares of what they didn’t do. It sickens me to think of how cold and emotionless that we have become. Someone should have helped him. That was just wrong. Don’t forget who the real victim is here, AND, it was all caught on tape. Don’t forget that.
Anonymous | 1 year, 2 months ago
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You got to be kidding!!
How can anyone blame this woman? She did call the police. She did not have to do that. The fact is that if these “ 2 men,” the suspects, had not beaten and robbed the victim, the victim would not have been in the street in the first place and there would not have been a chance for him to be run over. There is no one to blame except the two men who attacked the victim. They put the victim in the street!!!!
Anonymous | 1 year, 2 months ago
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Wouldn't have.
If the 2 guys wouldn’t beaten the poor man up in the first place.
Anonymous | 1 year, 2 months ago
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The chair
Give the lawyer the electric chair. This is an example of what is going wrong with today’s society.
You have lawyers pushing the blame on someone who is pure of heart, scared out of her wits and trying to do the right thing yet she is at fault. What a crock! Why doesn’t he go a step further and blame the lady’s parents for giving birth to her because if they didn’t then she wouldn’t be there in the first place. How absurd!
I think lawyers should have a responsibility to society more then there clients in cases like this. It’s unforgivable that he could even think of putting a spin on the situation like this.
Send the lawyer to the chair! This is not a personal attack but a general view of how irresponsible lawyers should be handled and of how society is going down the toilet because of them. Have a great day.
Anonymous | 1 year, 2 months ago
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Probable cause
The victim in this case was placed in harms way not by the “Good Samaritan” but by the perpetrators. They, the perps, were not finally responsible for the unfortunate path of the unsuspecting driver but they definitely were responsible for leaving their apparently unconscious victim in the street in the first place. The “Good Samaritan” did exactly the right thing in immediately calling 911. I would guess that she was traumatized by the horrible death of the injured man she was trying to assist and this is to say nothing of the unsuspecting driver.
I see no grounds for reduction of manslaughter charges to, say, assault and battery which is probably what the lawyers were attempting because the matter of intent is clearly definable and attributable solely to the perps. Neither the woman nor the unsuspecting driver had any intention of harming the victim.
The woman’s comment that she wonders whether she might have done more is a common reflection for people who have found themselves suddenly in a situation of great stress, especially if they have no training or experience in that area.
In short, in the absence of any other information, I believe the charge of manslaughter should stand.
Anonymous | 1 year, 2 months ago
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Think of what you are saying
I was thinking of how this might affect those who read this story; will they think: “Man if this ever happens to me I will just leave rather than call since calling isn’t enough anyway.” Give it a rest. No one reacts the same way. Actually, the same person may react diffidently to the same situation the next time he experiences it.
My only advice to this woman should it happen again is call 911 while the crime is taking place. And to the lady I would like to say “I pulled a man that was unconscious from his car that had gone off of the road because there was fire coming out from the hood of his car and people standing around warned me not to do that because if he has a say spinal injury and you cause more damage by moving him you will be sued for everything that you have.” Well, I did not listen and he was fine and in the recent past I pulled a man out of his upside down pickup truck. I would like to see what those who are so ready to criticize your actions in the same situation. They probably would have moved the man to a safer place, after they ran the 2 cowards over as they left the crime scene.
Anyhow, all you BIG TALKERS, when your time comes to be John Wayne – we will see if you fall off your horse.
Anonymous | 1 year, 2 months ago
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Good Samaritan
Coulda, woulda, shoulda, all garbage words. The perps are responsible for the man being there in the first place, shame on them! Why didn’t THEY move him out of harms way, or stop beating him while he could still get up? Better yet, not bother him in the first place? Shame on lawyers who are willing to twist the laws and put blame on someone else to get their guilty clients off the hook. Perhaps we need to go back to kindergarten for a refresher course, and beware, what goes around DOES come back around again, heard of karma?
Anonymous | 1 year, 2 months ago
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