soccer ref struck in face by player dies

[koshergrl]

If you lose control to a degree that you kill someone, might I suggest that you don't have sufficient control over yourself to dwell amongst regular, innocent humans?

 

[JakeStarkey]

Homicide by assault charge for teen in ref death

Friends and family hold signs and candles during a news conference to talk about the death of Ricardo Portillo, who passed away after injuries he sustained after an assault by a soccer player at a soccer game he was refereeing on April 27, in Salt Lake City on Sunday, May 5, 2013.

ASSOCIATED PRESS
SALT LAKE CITY -- A Utah teen accused of punching a soccer referee who later died was charged Wednesday with homicide by assault, a count issued when an attack unintentionally causes death.

Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced the charges, saying he will seek to try the teen as an adult.

Read more here: SALT LAKE CITY: Homicide by assault charge for teen in ref death - Other Sports - MiamiHerald.com

 

[thereisnospoon]

There's got to be more to have caused his death. People usually don't die from being punched in the face. Maybe he had a tumor and the punch ruptured it causing inflammation of the brain?

For sure the kid needs anger management and he'll probably get something, but I'm not convinced that he intended to kill him.

Incorrect.
There are several key areas on the human head that which if struck by a fist, butt of the palm( more energy that a closed fist), forearm or elbow can cause injury which can result in fatality.

 

[koshergrl]

Yup.

And the brain stem is exceedingly fragile. If you hit at a particular angle and jar the noggin on the top of the spine in just the wrong way, goodbye life, you've been decapitated for all intents and purposes...all your vital functions are going to cease right now.

I don't understand the mentality that thinks that a human being can't easily kill another human being with their bare hands. Talk to ER workers or EMTs some day, if you want an accurate depiction of the fragility of life.

 

[koshergrl]

Which is why parents, and coaches, need to take care that they constantly ride herd on adolescent boys with a lot of physical power.

I had the discussion with my boy the other day. He's 10 years old and was being fairly disrespectful. He also occasionally pushes or hits his sister. Not with all his force, and generally not even in anger...it's a control thing (and honestly, she usually brings it on herself, but it doesn't matter)...

Well in this instance, he'd flipped me off behind my back because...oh I don't remember. Something I said that he didn't like. Oh it was about HOMEWORK. He didn't do some project, and he was lying himself blue in the face regarding all the reasons why he didn't do it when he was supposed to, and I called him on it.

Anyway, we were going out to eat so he got to sit in the car with the dog for most of the meal. But I did go out to get him at the end, and explained to him that he was on the cusp of manhood, and it was really, REALLY important that he learn to be respectful, and to learn CONTROL, before he becomes a man...because it doesn't get easier with age...at least for the next decade or so....when his hormones hit, he will be stronger, and it will be harder for him to curb himself. So you teach them young the value of respect and the value of being RESERVED and in control of your emotions...including (especially) ANGER.

 

[JOSweetHeart]

Because the man who was punched isn't here anymore, the boy should get some type of punishment since he did not punch the man in self defense and if the boy is truly sorry for his action, he will say that getting punished is what he deserves.

God bless you and him and that man's family always!!!

Holly

P.S. The question is, what kind of punishment should anyone get when they do something accidental if they have to be punished at all?

 

[koshergrl]

It wasn't accidental.

 

[tyroneweaver]

Teen charged with Homicide by assault. Max sentence would probably be 5 years.


Teen charged with homicide by assault in death of soccer referee | ksl.com

 

[koshergrl]

Sounds about right.

Still more than he would get for killing a baby by bouncing it off a wall.

 

[Mertex]

There's got to be more to have caused his death. People usually don't die from being punched in the face. Maybe he had a tumor and the punch ruptured it causing inflammation of the brain?

For sure the kid needs anger management and he'll probably get something, but I'm not convinced that he intended to kill him.

Incorrect.
There are several key areas on the human head that which if struck by a fist, butt of the palm( more energy that a closed fist), forearm or elbow can cause injury which can result in fatality.

You can get a concussion if hit on the head pretty hard, but the ref didn't seem to have a concussion, and I've never heard of key areas that can be hit hard enough to cause death, with someone's hand, fist or otherwise.
Links?

11 Human Body Parts That Can be Fatal If Take a Hit | Health 2013

 

[JOSweetHeart]

It wasn't accidental.

The actual punch wasn't an accident, no, but the death very well could have been. I guess that it all depends on how the boy feels about what happened to the man because of his punch.

God bless you and him always!!!

Holly

P.S. I believe that if the boy really wanted that man to be gone, he would have done something to him a little more serious than a punch especially when it usually takes more than a punch to kill someone.

 

[newpolitics]

If you lose control to a degree that you kill someone, might I suggest that you don't have sufficient control over yourself to dwell amongst regular, innocent humans?

It is not at all commonplace for a punch to the face to result in death, therefore it is unlikely that the kid punched this guy with the intent of killing him. No one except a martial arts master has that kind of expectation from a single punch.

 

[JakeStarkey]

The inability to prove intent is why the teen was charged with homicide by assault: all the DA has to prove is the kid assaulted the victim. Five years max if tried as an adult.

 

[Jackson]

The kid should get some time. But remember, he will have a felony on his record for the rest of his life as well. He will be explaining that Homicide to employers for the rest of his life while the family of the victim goes without a husband and father for the rest of theirs.

What a waste of a single act of anger.

 

[freedombecki]

Which is why parents, and coaches, need to take care that they constantly ride herd on adolescent boys with a lot of physical power.

I had the discussion with my boy the other day. He's 10 years old and was being fairly disrespectful. He also occasionally pushes or hits his sister. Not with all his force, and generally not even in anger...it's a control thing (and honestly, she usually brings it on herself, but it doesn't matter)...

Well in this instance, he'd flipped me off behind my back because...oh I don't remember. Something I said that he didn't like. Oh it was about HOMEWORK. He didn't do some project, and he was lying himself blue in the face regarding all the reasons why he didn't do it when he was supposed to, and I called him on it.

Anyway, we were going out to eat so he got to sit in the car with the dog for most of the meal. But I did go out to get him at the end, and explained to him that he was on the cusp of manhood, and it was really, REALLY important that he learn to be respectful, and to learn CONTROL, before he becomes a man...because it doesn't get easier with age...at least for the next decade or so....when his hormones hit, he will be stronger, and it will be harder for him to curb himself. So you teach them young the value of respect and the value of being RESERVED and in control of your emotions...including (especially) ANGER.

The only other thing I could add to that is that when sports and the conditioning needed to be good players is done right, people are much stronger than they would be otherwise. In primitive times, a young man's ability to kill was encouraged to protect the tribe. Today's expectations are completely different, yet we have the same training programs to up people's prowess to include lethal strength.

I don't know what went wrong in this kid's mind, but he needs correction. He is also very young, but what he did was abuse the privilege of his strengthened condition to strike out at an authority figure who was merely interested in keeping the game viable by everyone playing fairly when he was punched out.

The time he is sentenced should be long enough to ensure he never commits another murder with his bare hands, but short enough to give him another chance. 25 years with parole available no sooner than 2018 if he takes coursework in anger management while incarcerated. If not, he needs to be in much longer than 10 years.

 

[koshergrl]

If you lose control to a degree that you kill someone, might I suggest that you don't have sufficient control over yourself to dwell amongst regular, innocent humans?

It is not at all commonplace for a punch to the face to result in death, therefore it is unlikely that the kid punched this guy with the intent of killing him. No one except a martial arts master has that kind of expectation from a single punch.

Bullshit.

Read this article:

One Punch Can Change Your Life ? And Hundreds Of Others | The Global Mail

It may not be "common' for people to be killed by one blow, but neither is it rare.

 

[koshergrl]

My brother felled a guy with one blow, as did my son.

The victims were unconscious before they hit the ground, and they hit hard. My son didn't do any lasting damage...but the guy my brother felled was in a coma for days, and he was looking at murder charges if the guy died.

Maybe the coma was caused by hitting the ground...maybe it was caused by the blow. Nobody cared. Dead is dead.

 

[JakeStarkey]

The time he is sentenced should be long enough to ensure he never commits another murder with his bare hands, but short enough to give him another chance. 25 years with parole available no sooner than 2018 if he takes coursework in anger management while incarcerated. If not, he needs to be in much longer than 10 years.

The max for homicide by assault is five years.

 

[newpolitics]

If you lose control to a degree that you kill someone, might I suggest that you don't have sufficient control over yourself to dwell amongst regular, innocent humans?

It is not at all commonplace for a punch to the face to result in death, therefore it is unlikely that the kid punched this guy with the intent of killing him. No one except a martial arts master has that kind of expectation from a single punch.

Bullshit.

Read this article:

One Punch Can Change Your Life ? And Hundreds Of Others | The Global Mail

It may not be "common' for people to be killed by one blow, but neither is it rare.

Uncommon and rare are synonymous. If I say it is uncommon or rare that a punch leads to death, that is virtually the same thing.

The human head is simply stronger than this, and humans, in general, aren't that easy to kill. If we were, we would not have survived our natural upbringing and made it to civilized society as a species... Also, if killing a human were this easy, Capital punishment might simply consist of some guy punching the criminal in the face (less painful than electrocution.) ...Also, suicide would be a much easier task (it is very difficult, because the human body is incredibly resilient).

Point is, I reject any notion that a single punch to the face is ever meant as a lethal act, or that it is ever conceived of as a high probability outcome.

 

[koshergrl]

You're wrong. A sudden jolt can result in bruising of the brain, which can lead to death. Heads are not "strong". And if you read the article, then you are aware that young men count on that attitude to allow them to get away, literally, with murder.