I think I just saw a near Solomonic act of wisdom

[Stinky The Clown]

The young man who was the band manager for the awful Rhode Island nightclub fire was just sentenced to 4 years in prison.

The judge, prior to sentencing, read a lengthy statement outling his views.

I need to abosrb what I saw, but my immediate gut reaction was quite simply .....

Such a tragedy.

My heart is totally with the survivors and the victims' loved ones. But I cannot bring myself to vilify the young man.

No joy ..... not even a sigh of relief.

I think the judge did the best he could.

edit to add new story link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10704044/

[BrklynLiberal]

1. It was a horrible tragedy from which no one could walk away unscathed.

[reichstag911]

2. How emotional was it?

From the Chicago Sun-Times account ( http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-club10.html ):

"As one speaker stood at the podium, (Great White tour manager) Biechele's lawyer, Peter DiBiase, cupped his face in his hands and wept. At another point, the judge's clerk became so overwhelmed that she could not announce the name of the next speaker and the judge had to do it for her."

[cyberpj]

3. I cried as I read it. What a tragedy. What about club mgr? Overpeopled?

Trying to remember but wasn't the club way over it's legal people limit? Seems that owner or manager bears a huge responsibility here as well...

Tragic.

[ProudDad]

4. FUCK THAT SHIT

The judge just made it worse. That bastard Darigan (the judge) is more damaging to society than that poor fuck Biechele.

Someone like Biechele who is just as sick and in pain as anyone else about this accident (maybe more than some, can you imagine having 100 dead people on YOUR conscience?) doesn't deserve to spend a fucking hour in one of those houses of pain and abuse.

I wish every fucking judge and every fucking DA had to spend an indeterminent amount of time in a jail or prison as just another inmate before being allowed to prosocute or judge ANYONE else. I wish every one of those fucking judges and DA's could spend some nights listening to the noise, getting but-fucked in the shower, eating jail swill and treated like so much meat by the guards and the more powerful inmates (who, after all RUN the prisons).

Those shits don't have a clue about what those places are like and how ANTITHETICAL to any notion of justice they are. They're so fucking GLIB about sentencing others, oh so detached and "judgemental" about the fate of people they don't have a clue about. Fuck em.

Someday, maybe the collection of human ANIMALS may grow up and tear down those fucking places brick by brick and stone by stone. Useless places!!!!

Fuck that SHIT!

[rocktivity]

5. Both the tour manager and the club owners were derelict in their duties

It's the tour manager's responsibility to find out if pyrotechnic permits are needed, and whether or not a technician is required, for each venue. And it was club owners' responsibility to obey state law by getting a permit for EACH pryro show and ensuring that a technician was on hand. But since the club didn't have a sprinkler system or flame-retardant soundproofing or furniture, it should have been a moot issue anyway.

:(
rocknation