re: Timeline: Stunning details in Penn State fraternity pledge death (Update: charges dropped)

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You're a fricking adult, and you need a chapter president's blessing to call an ambulance? I guess you can buy friends, but you can't buy sense

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They are adults and will pay an adult price. But everyone of us on this board who had a hard partying college experience saw this. Not to this level. Nobody died. We all had a buddy pass out and fall down. We mocked him wrote on his face with liquid paper.

The timeline is absurd. I think I'd have had sense to wake up the next day and find him laying around STILL incoherent and bleeding and I'd have been out. Snuck off and used my cell to call 911 if an active was being a dick.

These guys are screwed. There is a "drinking to death " story every year.

BTW. The backpack? That's genius. Never did we think to put a backpack on a dude to keep him from aspirating vomit. Any of you hear of that? Shows how hard these guys partied that this was a "thing".

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Overview of Pennsylvania Involuntary Manslaughter Laws

Involuntary manslaughter, unlike other homicide charges set by Pennsylvania law, does not require an intent to kill. Rather than rely on the defendant's intent, the charge of involuntary manslaughter penalizes unintentional killings. By pursuing involuntary manslaughter, the state seeks to prevent and punish activities that happen with disregard for human life.

To prove involuntary manslaughter, a prosecutor must show that the defendant caused the victim's death by reckless or grossly negligent conduct while engaging a lawful or unlawful activity. A lawful act such as driving a car may be the basis for involuntary manslaughter if the defendant drove recklessly. The prosecutor must show a causal link between the defendant's reckless or negligent conduct and the victim's death. If the chain of events leading to the homicide does not trace back directly or substantially to the defendant, the state may have difficult time with proving involuntary manslaughter.

A prosecutor can establish gross negligence or recklessness by comparing the defendant's actions with an established standard of care that a reasonable person would follow. The prosecutor might also look at whether the defendant purposefully ignored a known danger or continued an activity even when significant risks became obvious.

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Again, this is what they should be charged with. They could maybe plea down to criminal negligence, although I don't think you should be charged with negligence if there is a loss of life.

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Negligence Basics

Negligence is used in many ways to determine if someone has acted reasonably, compared to how others would have acted in a similar situation. There are many different standards used for different situations, and in some cases, a person can be negligent regardless of how others act. For example, if it is common practice to clear a walkway of ice every day, and a store owner does not clear that walkway which causes someone to slip and fall, that store owner may be negligent. This is because they "breached" the "standard of care" of clearing ice from the walkway every day.

Doctors and other professionals are held to higher standards of care than the general public. A doctor is supposed to provide medical care up to the standard of other similar doctors. This means that prescribing two types of medicines that are harmful when taken together may be negligent if other doctors would not do that. However, if a general practitioner is forced to care for someone in an emergency, like being the first to arrive at a car crash, they may not be required to provide medical care at the same level that a trauma surgeon would be required to provide in the same situation.

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They forced someone to pound drinks and then were all drunk themselves. If there was anyone remotely sober around that was mildly responsible he would of been taken to the hospital. The issue was most likely not wanting to stay out of trouble, the issue was not having someone sober enough to know there was an issue.

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Did you even read the account?

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11:51 p.m.: A brother is shown on tape examining Piazza and making animated gestures. He later tells the grand jury he saw a bruise on Piazza's chest and that he was thrashing and making weird movements. He stressed Piazza needed medical care, but another member shoved him into a wall and told him to leave. The brother confronts the chapter's vice president, who also dismisses his concerns.

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brother

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Right.


I haven't read anything but the 1st page, but does this meet the standard of 2nd degree murder for some of these guys? Manslaughter? Conspiracy to commit murder? I'm also assuming this chapter will no longer exist on this campus--if it even still does--and the national organization will be sued into oblivion?

Frats really have no business on college campuses.

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Frats really have no business on college campuses.

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Why?

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It's wrong and there's no excuse for it

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You are so butt hurt because this was a frat. Do you realize most college organizations do crap like this? Club Rugby was just as bad if not worse, men's club athletics of all kinds did crap like this.

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But frat blaimint is laughably ignorant. You put 20+ college age men together in anything and they will do some stupid crap like this.

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Does not check out.

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You are so butt hurt because this was a frat. Do you realize most college organizations do crap like this? Club Rugby was just as bad if not worse, men's club athletics of all kinds did crap like this.

It's wrong and there's no excuse for it. But frat blaimint is laughably ignorant. You put 20+ college age men together in anything and they will do some stupid crap like this.

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Except 9/10 stories like this involve a frat