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Metrolinks Derail in Glendale

Punani

Punani

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 16, 2004
199
0
Los Angeles
Two Metrolink commuter trains derailed in Glendale today. At least 10 people have died. Apparently this was caused by a mentally unstable man who was planning to commit suicide by having the train run into his car, but bailed out before impact.

CNN.com Link
 
I've been watching this too. It's very sad. I'm glad they seem likely to charge him with homicide. If you want to off yourself, there are ways to do it without potentially putting the lives of others at risk.

I used to take the Metrolink to work everyday. It's very quiet and relaxing, and you see all the same people every day. I really hope the guy didn't get the idea from "24" last week, because there was a train wreck with similar circumstances on that show. That was actually the first thing I thought of when I heard what happened.

I wonder how people are getting home today? Last I heard at least two lines of service would be shut down all day.
 
My prayers go out to the family and friends. Unimaginable death of 10 innocent people and more than 100 injured. "Nightmare" hardly begins to describe what this must have been like. Such a heinous thing to have done. A real chicken to have done such a public disgrace. He needs to be in a mental institution on heave doses of anti-psychotics yesterday. :( :(
 
Wow, this guy tries to commit suicide and then doesn't even stay in his SUV for when the train hits it? And kills 10 other people in the process? Nice. I think he should get the death penalty. And how should he be executed? That's right. Death by train!

P.S. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of those who died or were injured as a result of this guy's stupidity.
 
dejo said:
Wow, this guy tries to commit suicide and then doesn't even stay in his SUV for when the train hits it? And kills 10 other people in the process? Nice. I think he should get the death penalty. And how should he be executed? That's right. Death by train!

P.S. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of those who died or were injured as a result of this guy's stupidity.
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I agree completely... this guy deserves a speedy death sentence.
 
I was following this in the news too; after getting out of his Jeep, the guy stood there and watched the whole thing unfold. If he didn't feel quite like killing himself before, I'll bet he does now, if he has any compassion.

Not to sound horribly coarse, but if this guy tries again soon and succeeds he will have saved taxpayers the money it will take to try him and victims the agony of a trial.

An awfully sad story.
 
dejo said:
I think he should get the death penalty. And how should he be executed? That's right. Death by train!
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The article did mention that the man was apparently mentally unstable. I do not support the death penalty, and quite frankly executing people not in their right mind is particularly unfair, in my opinion. However, his mental stability probably still need to be actually determined.

Even then, the case depends a lot on his state of mind at that moment, and quite frankly I'm not sure how people act when they are contemplating death like that.
 
Punani said:
The article did mention that the man was apparently mentally unstable. I do not support the death penalty, and quite frankly executing people not in their right mind is particularly unfair, in my opinion. However, his mental stability probably still need to be actually determined.

Even then, the case depends a lot on his state of mind at that moment, and quite frankly I'm not sure how people act when they are contemplating death like that.
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If you're going to kill yourself, you have an obligation not to inflict harm on anyone else. This case is even worse, because the coward left a ticking timebomb (his SUV) on a railroad track and then sat there and WATCHED it. He's no better than the person who lobs a boulder off a highway overpass, killing the person whose car it strikes.

I don't care what this guy's mental status was, he killed 10 people through his wanton disregard for human life. He should be executed, and quickly.
 
Punani said:
The article did mention that the man was apparently mentally unstable. I do not support the death penalty, and quite frankly executing people not in their right mind is particularly unfair, in my opinion. However, his mental stability probably still need to be actually determined.

Even then, the case depends a lot on his state of mind at that moment, and quite frankly I'm not sure how people act when they are contemplating death like that.
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I agree Punani but as you probably know the prejudice against people with mental health problems is extrodinary,its the old not like me so hang draw and quarter them brigade.
 
Punani said:
How does the execution of a life serve as justice? I really haven't figured this out.
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Consider the alternatives:

1. Lock the guy up for LIFE, at great expense to the taxpayers.
2. Try to cure his mental illness, again at great expense to the taxpayers. Upon being "cured", everyone gets to worry about whether it will happen again. (I do not believe in "temporary" insanity... if you go insane once, what's to stop it happening again? Once insane, ALWAYS insane in my book.)

In the meantime, where's the justice for the families of those killed by this guy's actions? He killed their loved ones; they should at least get to see him die at the hands of the state. He doesn't have a leg to stand on... it's obvious what happened, so there should be no question, no lengthy appeals process, etc.

I'm not trying to convince you to be pro-death penalty... just explaining the logic in support of it. (In other words, this is all I have to say about it. :))
 
clayjohanson said:
Consider the alternatives:

1. Lock the guy up for LIFE, at great expense to the taxpayers.
2. Try to cure his mental illness, again at great expense to the taxpayers. Upon being "cured", everyone gets to worry about whether it will happen again. (I do not believe in "temporary" insanity... if you go insane once, what's to stop it happening again? Once insane, ALWAYS insane in my book.)

In the meantime, where's the justice for the families of those killed by this guy's actions? He killed their loved ones; they should at least get to see him die at the hands of the state. He doesn't have a leg to stand on... it's obvious what happened, so there should be no question, no lengthy appeals process, etc.

I'm not trying to convince you to be pro-death penalty... just explaining the logic in support of it. (In other words, this is all I have to say about it. :))
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That way lies Auswitchz.
 
Peterkro said:
That way lies Auswitchz.
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Godwin's Law is officially in effect on this thread. :)

But I wasn't talking about people who have mental illness but haven't killed anybody. I'm talking about people who'd be categorized as mass murderers. Why should mental defect be used as an excuse for killing 10 people?

Heck, we'd almost be better off letting the guy loose and see if he does himself in... it wouldn't cost too much (definitely less than a trial and incarceration would) to detail a couple of police officers to watch him to make sure he doesn't harm anyone else through his actions.
 
clayjohanson said:
I'm not trying to convince you to be pro-death penalty... just explaining the logic in support of it. (In other words, this is all I have to say about it. :))
Click to expand...
I understand what you're going at, but you also have to remember that people on death row can go through myriad appeals before they actually get executed. Many die before their scheduled execution because of this.

I'm not saying the guy shouldn't be punished, far from it, non compos mentos is not a ticket to be excused. However, there is very little proof to show that the death penalty is closure. In my opinion, it is just a legitimized honor system.
 
Fine try him if he's guilty lock him up. State murder I don't think so(although those in Saudi and China would probably sanction it along with the good old US of A).How many people have died because of corperate manslaughter(Bophal et al) and nobody got locked up.Your right Godwins Law is definately at work here.I'm too tired to go on kill the thread now.
 
Two people in my office were on that train this morning. As soon as I saw the news I was in a panic. Fortunately they're just bruised up, but I was terrified until I found out. My thoughts to all the families of the deceased and injured.

-Drew
 
My prayers go out to all the families affected by this tragedy. So very sad.

On the surface the death penalty seems right, but why give the guy what he intended to do already. I had heard reports that he tried to slice his wrists earlier in the day, and tried to stab himself.

Not sure what the right sentence is for him.
 
Saw the news this morning, and the reports are that he will be charges with 1st degree murder. I thought that 1st degree murder required premeditation. Just hope that the rush for vengeance does not compromise any trial that may happen.
 
Chip NoVaMac said:
Saw the news this morning, and the reports are that he will be charges with 1st degree murder. I thought that 1st degree murder required premeditation. Just hope that the rush for vengeance does not compromise any trial that may happen.
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i was wondering how they would charge him... maybe they contend that he knew trains would be coming and he willingly left his truck on the tracks?
 
gwuMACaddict said:
i was wondering how they would charge him... maybe they contend that he knew trains would be coming and he willingly left his truck on the tracks?
Click to expand...

The sherif I saw was saying something along those lines. That the guy had to have know that the train would have derailed. That is the flaw with the charge. If we were to do a poll of whether people thought that a train would derail once hitting a vehicle, I think most would think that the train would not derail.

I just hope that if this guy gets to trail (mental status may prevent that either short or long term) that he gets charged properly and gets an appropriate sentence.
 
i used to live in glendale about 6 years ago, and let me tell you, its a nice little town outside of los angeles.. sure the downtown part is quite metropoliton but the areas around sparr heights and montecito park are very nice places..
 
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