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Should perpetrators be treated any differently....; ....because they are Americans?
Topic Started: Oct 11 2006, 07:17 AM (201 Views)
1hp
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Fulla-Carp

2 Americans visiting Bermuda on a cruise ship attacked a 3rd American, breaking his jaw, and giving him general facial injury. They were sentenced to 90 days in jail. Now the families are whining. Earlier the judge made the comment that if 2 Bermudian males had done this, this is the sentence that they would have received. Why should he treat the 2 men any different because they are Americans.

Royal Gazette article

Do Americans really feel that they should be treated any differently when outside the country. The case that comes to mind is the one in Aruba of missing teenager Natalie Holloway. Was this case treated the same as any other missing teenager case in Aruba, of were more assets expected because it involved an American.

I've seen this happen before in Bermuda, where drug possesion results in jail time. There have been cases of US citizens entering the island with casual amounts of pot, who have been thrown in jail for possesion. Of course an uproar ensues because the US police take no action for such small amounts.

Reminds me of sitting in the gate area at the airport in Taipei where there are huge signs expressing "Drug trafficking is a capital offense in the ROC. The penalties are death".

There are 10 kinds of people in this world, those that understand binary and................
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Frank_W
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Resident Misanthrope
Anyone remember the American teen who was arrested for vandalizing cars, and was sentenced to be caned, in Taiwan? Remember the huge international furor that was ignited? Cripes... If you travel to a foreign country and commit a crime, my thought is that you are subject to the laws and penalties of that country. There is no "diplomatic immunity." What a load of crap.
Anatomy Prof: "The human body has about 20 sq. meters of skin."
Me: "Man, that's a lot of lampshades!"
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ivorythumper
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
"Don't do the crime if you can't do the time" --

Theme from Baretta
The dogma lives loudly within me.
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1hp
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Fulla-Carp

So now the appeal was rejected because, as the appeal judge stated:


But Mr. Justice Greaves said: "Did these men not know at the time they decided to assault a man that they were the sole providers of the household, that they had young children and if they got into trouble they could lose their job? Is that not a consideration that any right-thinking man would make?"
He said of his view of events: "When a man is going along the street, going back with his lady, they have followed him and beaten the stuffing out of him. What prompts anybody to feel so mighty that they can treat another human being like that? How can you reduce another human being to a state of nothingness and then complain the man treated them wrong when he locked them up for three months?"


So, what do Americans in foreign countries do next:

Donovan put his head in his hands and appeared to brush away a tear, while Pontieri looked stunned. An angry Thomas Donovan stormed out of court as his son was led back to the cells, saying: "What are we in, a communist country here? You get better law in China than in this goddamn place."
He added: "This is the way Bermudians treat tourists? When I go back to the States I will tell everybody about this country. You will never see me here again, I will never buy a British product and I plan on going to the British consulate in New York City about why I feel inhuman treatment is given in court. I will be contacting my Congressman, Senator and Hillary Clinton, although I don't think they can do anything. I will be contacting as many travel agencies as I can and letting them know about the unfair treatment."


One wonders what this man would be saying if it were his son who was attacked by local Bermudian men. I think the US Government should start inserting a huge statement in US Passports warning US citizens that they are subject to the laws of the country they are visiting, communist, Islamic, or otherwise.







There are 10 kinds of people in this world, those that understand binary and................
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ivorythumper
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
"This is the way Bermudians treat tourists?" What a buffoon -- was his son on some sort of assault and battery vacation package?
The dogma lives loudly within me.
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AlbertaCrude
Bull-Carp
Foreign nationals other than accredited diplomats, are subject to the laws of the host country. Normally however there is a bilateral provision permitting them limited consular access and services at the descretion of the host country in the event they fall foul of the law. Beyond that nothing.
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sue
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HOLY CARP!!!
Quote:
 
You will never see me here again

I doubt there will be many Bermudian tears shed over this.

Quote:
 
One wonders what this man would be saying if it were his son who was attacked by local Bermudian men. I think the US Government should start inserting a huge statement in US Passports warning US citizens that they are subject to the laws of the country they are visiting, communist, Islamic, or otherwise.

You'd think that would be obvious, but I suspect you are right; it needs to be in BIG PRINT for some people.
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