UConn Hit-And-Run Passenger Sentenced

If she told him to jump off a bridge and he did it would she be prosecuted for murder. He hit the woman and he made the decision to drive away. What she did shows poor judgment and probably character flaws but I really don't see why this girl is going to jail.

It is called conspiricy to commit murder. She knowingly and purposfully did it. Yes, he is guilty because he pressed the gas and ran away but that doews not make her less responsible, does it

ewk wrote:

If she told him to jump off a bridge and he did it would she be prosecuted for murder. He hit the woman and he made the decision to drive away. What she did shows poor judgment and probably character flaws but I really don't see why this girl is going to jail.

If you can't see why she's going to jail then get some glasses IMMEDIATLY!!!!!! She is just as responsible for having knowledge that Carlee was hit and not taking responsibility!!! She chose to hide in her dorm room with all of those signs from police posted CLEARLY on campus looking for who was responsible. How did she sleep at night???? She can reflect on her "poor judgement" and "character flaws" in jail. 6 months isn't long enough but it is what it is.

I am no lawyer, but I belief she hindered the driver from doing the right thing (stopping) and that you can go to jail for...not long...but some jail time.

This whole thing makes me wonder..these people are getting off with 6 to 3 years in prison for a hit and run (while drunk). What would they get for just hitting the girl but not driving away? You would think even less time than 6 months to 3 years.

Mike from Hartford wrote:

It is called conspiricy to commit murder. She knowingly and purposfully did it. Yes, he is guilty because he pressed the gas and ran away but that doews not make her less responsible, does it

Last I knew about this case, the two drunk students did not purposly try to kill the victim so it wasnt murder. It was involuntary manslaughter, or "where there is no intention to kill or cause serious injury but death is due to recklessness or criminal negligence." I dont think lawyers were able to prove the driver got behind the wheel drunk so that he can kill someone.

I understand why the parents are angry and want the harshest punishment they can get, but Michelle Hall had nothing to do with the events that lead up to the death of Carlee Wines. Regardless of whether Hall told Alvino to stop or not, it would not have kept their daughter alive. There were four people in that car, and only one of them hit and killed Wines, and only of them chose to drive away.

The parents seem to be spraying their anger in every general direction, and that's understandable, but not the most effective.

What is up with the prosecutors of this case. The kid was driving drunk and killed an innocent pedestrian. The girlfriend did nothing to help. And the parents hid the kids, instructed them not to say anything, and got the SUV fixed. Why is the state not pursuing this more vigorously. This group of people lack any soul, any morals. This group of privilaged, spoiled brats are just as bad as the dirtbags hanging out on the street corner selling drugs and killing innocent people. Nothing will bring back Carly but come on, how about some justice for her and her family.

Jon wrote:

I understand why the parents are angry and want the harshest punishment they can get, but Michelle Hall had nothing to do with the events that lead up to the death of Carlee Wines. Regardless of whether Hall told Alvino to stop or not, it would not have kept their daughter alive. There were four people in that car, and only one of them hit and killed Wines, and only of them chose to drive away.
The parents seem to be spraying their anger in every general direction, and that's understandable, but not the most effective.

Telling him to drive away is definately not "having nothing to do with it". Also, had they stopped it is POSSIBLE that Carlee might have gotten help sooner and MIGHT have survived. ALL the people in that car showed a BLATANT DISREGARD for human life when whether or not they would get in trouble for drinking under age became more important than a human beings life.

Hopefully, new friends in jail will help her make an attitudinal adjustment.

We should be pushing for mandatory federal sentincing for these types of crimes. No less than 5 for being caught drunk driving and life sentences for killing someone. End of story. I've had it with these drunk drivers and had it even more with the lax punishments that keep them on the roads. When are we as a country going to wake up and realize this is an epidemic?

ewk wrote:

If she told him to jump off a bridge and he did it would she be prosecuted for murder. He hit the woman and he made the decision to drive away. What she did shows poor judgment and probably character flaws but I really don't see why this girl is going to jail.

Then you are clueless!

Fine and dandy people. Glad you think its ok. If you have kids beware. If this tragedy happened to my child the law would be taken in my hands. Legal or not.

despicable animals the whole lot of them

Well, it's about time...this should have happened months ago.

mtbone wrote:

<quoted text>
Telling him to drive away is definately not "having nothing to do with it". Also, had they stopped it is POSSIBLE that Carlee might have gotten help sooner and MIGHT have survived. ALL the people in that car showed a BLATANT DISREGARD for human life when whether or not they would get in trouble for drinking under age became more important than a human beings life.

Rock on mtbone. All four in that SUV had ample opportunity to come forward way before they were tracked down. Way before any motel meetings with the scum parents in New York. That alone makes them guilty (evading responsibility, duh). And to Jon, obviously you have never lost a child or sibling to reckless behavior. Reckless in the sense that had those kids stopped, Carli Wines may be alive today. Yes Carli's parents are spraying anger, rightly so as it's all they have left to do after the state prosecution made bargains. You know, Carli Wines was a person ... a human being. Carli means something more than a bargain. My heart goes out to the Wines' just as my heart has gone out to my parents for the last 30 years. To the Wines'-may you find peace in your hearts.

Mike from Hartford wrote:

It is called conspiricy to commit murder. She knowingly and purposfully did it. Yes, he is guilty because he pressed the gas and ran away but that doews not make her less responsible, does it

No. It's not even close to conspiracy to commit murder. First of all, it wasn't even murder. Second, there was no conspiracy. Don't throw out legal terms unless you know what they mean.

Carl Winslow wrote:

<quoted text>
Last I knew about this case, the two drunk students did not purposly try to kill the victim so it wasnt murder. It was involuntary manslaughter, or "where there is no intention to kill or cause serious injury but death is due to recklessness or criminal negligence." I dont think lawyers were able to prove the driver got behind the wheel drunk so that he can kill someone.

YOu may be correct about the murder, perhaps involuntary manslaghter. Bottopm line is that although theuy did not mean to do it, they did and should be punushed accordingly

mtbone wrote:

<quoted text>
Telling him to drive away is definately not "having nothing to do with it". Also, had they stopped it is POSSIBLE that Carlee might have gotten help sooner and MIGHT have survived. ALL the people in that car showed a BLATANT DISREGARD for human life when whether or not they would get in trouble for drinking under age became more important than a human beings life.

I don't disagree with you, and I don't disagree with the fact that this girl is going to jail for breaking the law. And I certainly didn't mean to make it sound like I was sticking up for her. All I'm saying is that a lot of statements that were made make it sound like Michelle Hall helped her boyfriend run over and kill Carlee Wines, and that's simply not true.

The act of hitting and killing Wines and the act of running away after are 2 different sets of crimes, and it's easy to group them together, but from a legal standpoint, they can't be. It's also easy to be mad at Hall for what she did, but what if she told her boyfriend to take off and he, instead, stopped to help. Did Hall still break the law? No matter how you cut it, Alvini is the ONLY one who killed Wines and therefor, should be the ONLY one held responsible for her death.

Wine's 6 month sentence for hindering an investigation is fair, because she assisted her boyfriend in getting away with a crime HE committed. The other two passengars in the car should be charged with similar crimes. But NONE of them can be charged with crimes related to the death of Carlee Wines.

Also, it was my understanding that Wines was assisted to quickly after the accident and lived for a couple days after.

Hey now wrote:

Fine and dandy people. Glad you think its ok. If you have kids beware. If this tragedy happened to my child the law would be taken in my hands. Legal or not.

i agree 100%. for some crimes, you can't rely on the system for justice.

This girl should crawl back to Long Island, count her blessings, and stay away from any coaching jobs in the future.

What happened to the "aiding and abetting" charge of evading responsibility? Did she use the old "I didn't think he'd take me seriously when I told him to just leave" arguement?

And shouldn't alcohol have played a greater role in the courts decision for punishment? An accident, in my mind, is really just an accident; unless alcohol (or other mind altering substances) are involved. Then it's no longer just an accident. One shouldn't be able to argue: "Well, if it wasn't for the alcohol..."

These people CHOSE to drink. These people CHOSE to drive. These people hit a person and CHOSE to run. These were irresponsible, albeit unfortunate choices, but the end result was not an accident, in my mind. It could have, and should have, been avoided.