"Homicide by vessel"?

[Kyriakos]

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/man-convicted-of-homicide-in-death-of-ushers-stepson-20140221

A Georgia jury has found a man guilty of homicide by vessel in the Jet Ski collision that seriously injured a 15-year-old girl and led to the death of Usher's 11-year-old stepson in 2012. The 40-year-old man, Jeffrey Simon Hubbard, was also found guilty of serious injury by vessel, reckless operation of a vessel, unlawful operation of a personal watercraft and boat traffic violation, according to USA Today.

So this person got sentenced to 4 years, for "homicide by vessel". I would like to ask what that term means, given that i have not come across the phrase before. Is it a homicide if one is reckless but not on drugs/alcohol etc, and did not will to kill anyone?

Last year a policeman on a motorcycle accidently hit a very famous movie director here, resulting to that director dieing soon after (Theodoros Aggelopoulos). He was not sentenced cause it was an accident. Is it very different if someone mortally hits another with a small sea vessel, without intent or any unlawful behavior leading to that fatal hit?

The judge argued that the person operated the jet-ski in a "foolish" way. I still don't see what "homicide" has to do with all that, unless the term merely signifies that someone was killed (but then would it not also require a characterisation involving intent or lack of that?).

 

[Borachio]

Homicide literally does mean just killing someone, doesn't it?

 

[Kyriakos]

Yes, but this is a formal passing of sentence by a judge, so i thought they would use some adjective next to the homicide term. Not an explanation of what was used to bring about the death

 

[Borachio]

Well, this is US law. They just make it up as they go along, I think. Isn't that what common law is about? More or less.

 

[Dralix]

Homicide literally does mean just killing someone, doesn't it?

Yes

Yes, but this is a formal passing of sentence by a judge, so i thought they would use some adjective next to the homicide term. Not an explanation of what was used to bring about the death

Do Google search, find bill.

http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/Archives/19951996/leg/fulltext/sb111.htm

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Well, this is US law. They just make it up as they go along, I think. Isn't that what common law is about? More or less.

Says the country with no written constitution.

 

[Borachio]

That has long been considered a strength, though. Depending on who is doing the considering.

I see nothing intrinsically wrong with common law. Yet civil law works at least as well,

 

[Formaldehyde]

It wasn't intentional so it wasn't manslaughter.

Jet skis are frequently misused in a reckless manner such as this. He shouldn't have been anywhere near the pontoon boat, much less the inner tube with the kids. Perhaps a celebrity going to prison for four years will provide some badly needed publicity regarding this safety issue.

 

[Dralix]

That would be the "family friend" of a celebrity.

 

[Formaldehyde]

Oops.

 

[Rashiminos]

I wouldn't be sure about it, but I would think most states in the US that have adjective homicide laws use them to denote unintentional killings, rather than say murder or (voluntary) manslaughter.

 

[emzie]

If you kill someone while doing something unlawful, that's generally not considered an accident. If you're doing 150km/h where the speed limit is 80, and you hit another car and kill a passenger, that's not an accident.

Operating a jetski contrary to the law and killing someone is not an accident. It's unintentional but there should still be consequences.

 

[Formaldehyde]

It is generally considered to be negligence instead of intentional, which is what this particular law seems to address.

 

[Bugfatty300]

It wasn't intentional so it wasn't manslaughter.

Really? I refreshed myself a bit on this and it really seems as if some form of manslaughter could be applied here:

"Involuntary manslaughter usually refers to an unintentional killing that results from recklessness or criminal negligence, or from an unlawful act that is a misdemeanor or low-level felony (such as DUI). The usual distinction from voluntary manslaughter is that involuntary manslaughter (sometimes called "criminally negligent homicide") is a crime in which the victim's death is unintended.
...
Three elements must be satisfied in order for someone to be found guilty of involuntary manslaughter:
- Someone was killed as a result of act by the defendant.
- The act either was inherently dangerous to others or done with reckless disregard for human life.
- The defendant knew or should have known his or her conduct was a threat to the lives of others." link

 

[Formaldehyde]

Of course you are right. I was comparing murder to manslaughter instead of manslaughter to an even lesser charge.