How would you feel?

A reckless driver impulsively tries to pass another vehicle on a narrow road, veering into the opposite lane and killing the teenage driver whose car he smashes into. One stupid move by an impatient 25-year-old vs one life ended for an innocent 19-year-old.

What happens next?

In the old days (last year), the 25-year-old guilty driver would be spirited away by his very powerful employer--the US armed forces--leaving the family of the 19-year-old with nothing but their grief. This time, the guilty driver had to go to court, where it was decided that the life of the boy--whose life was abruptly terminated at age 19--was worth 18 months of the other guy's time. That's all??? The guilty man argued that 18 months out of his life was too much to spend.


This is the first time ever to see even a slight nod to the civil rights of the Okinawan people whose land has been taken over by foreign armed forces.

(There is a longer story about this in The Japan Times Online)


Friday, Sep. 21, 2012


Civilian U.S. base worker loses appeal in fatal Okinawa hit-and-run

AFP-Jiji


The Fukuoka High Court on Thursday upheld the prison term of an American who was working for the U.S. Air Force during a fatal car crash that killed a teenager in Okinawa, marking the first time a domestic court has incarcerated a U.S. civilian base employee.