Thread: Nothing Constructive and Only Posted to Cause Controversy Again

Paintball shooter gets 25 months jail - National - NZ Herald News

Paintball shooter gets 25 months jail

A Whangarei man who pulled out a paintball gun and shot "rapid fire" at six people in a drive-by attack last December has been sentenced to 25 months in jail.

Shane Paraha, 18, appeared in the Whangarei District Court for sentencing after earlier pleading guilty to one charge of reckless disregard causing grievous bodily harm and five charges of assault with a weapon.

A female university student who was one of the six people shot at has lost an eye in the shooting and was forced to quit her studies.

The paintball shooting happened on the corner of Bank and Water Sts about 3.30am on December 18 last year.

Paraha shot up to 10 rounds at the six people from a moving car in an act of revenge.

Fair

Originally Posted by MSL

Fair

+1

The sentence seems light and the daily beatings with a cat of nine tails has been omitted.

Originally Posted by Rushy

The sentence seems light and the daily beatings with a cat of nine tails has been omitted.

Probably but I was meaning comparatively

its not that light . . . not when you consider what a gang member will get for handling stolen pistols ( real ones ) in the case we had recently, he got 18 months !

Bandidos 'courier' sent to jail after Dunedin gun theft | Stuff.co.nz

Originally Posted by MSL

Fair

Well no, fair would be an eye for an eye.

Im sure he did not mean to shoot someones eye out. In my mind, i think of a paintball gun as something i can use somewhat safely against someone who is tagging our fence.. It is a potentially dangerous weapon sure, but i can see it turning into a much more dangerous situation if i decide to approach and confront a bloke. My fist will hit harder than a paintball...

Yes he should have thought about the possible consequences. And thats why hes getting 25 months in jail. 25 months in jail is a long time..

Fair.... seriously?? how do you know...?

I don't know from what is posted... I assume that the judge thinks its appropriate and thats his job.... but fair?? who the heck knows

I do know however... if it was your otherwise normal good average 18 year old son with no previous history, that had that brain explosion and was now going to jail for 25 months... some of you might not be quite so quick to consider it "fair"

I reckon its OK to be less certain about things... it shows capacity to consider issues more broadly

It's all fun and games until somebody looses and eye.

Originally Posted by Sidney

Fair.... seriously?? how do you know...?

I don't know from what is posted... I assume that the judge thinks its appropriate and thats his job.... but fair?? who the heck knows

I do know however... if it was your otherwise normal good average 18 year old son with no previous history, that had that brain explosion and was now going to jail for 25 months... some of you might not be quite so quick to consider it "fair"

I reckon its OK to be less certain about things... it shows capacity to consider issues more broadly

Brain explosion? I believe that one does not simply have a brain explosion in this manner. this was a planned "attack", so to speak. I understand where you are coming from and agree with most of your points. But i do think rather than putting yourself in the shoes of the young mans parents, you should be placing yourself in the position of the young girl and her parents. This young man did not think of the consequences, and by the sounds of it, he recklessly shot a paintball gun into a group of people.. Hopefully he learns his lesson through the jail term determined by the judge as, hopefully, an appropriate penalty.

And yep that is perfectly OK

Of course its a brain explosion, who said that brain explosions have to be instantaneous... do you think he intended to shoot some girls eye out? 18 year old boy's frontal lobes don't fully develop till 25, all they have is testosterone and a lack of ability to forsee consequences...

The very fact that he used a paintball gun indicates he intended no serious harm...

Actually none of its perfectly OK... the fact that it happened and the fact that some 18 yr old kid is now being put into jail to be trained to be a serious criminal after using a paintball gun is a fricken human tragedy... not only for him but also for his future victims that this jail sentence is creating.

The fact that statistically that is now more likely to happen than not is an indictment on the system... and of course I am speaking in the abscence of knowledge about his previous history which may have had bearing on the sentence recieved....

So a little less of the complacancy when thinking about this stuff might be considerably smarter..... OK my arse

Originally Posted by Sidney

Fair.... seriously?? how do you know...?

I don't know from what is posted... I assume that the judge thinks its appropriate and thats his job.... but fair?? who the heck knows

I do know however... if it was your otherwise normal good average 18 year old son with no previous history, that had that brain explosion and was now going to jail for 25 months... some of you might not be quite so quick to consider it "fair"

I reckon its OK to be less certain about things... it shows capacity to consider issues more broadly

25 months or a lifetime without an eye? Hell if i was his parents id be asking for 30 and make him pay for any future medical costs. Not to mention the income lost from that girl not being able to study and limiting her job options

Originally Posted by Sidney

I reckon its OK to be less certain about things... it shows capacity to consider issues more broadly

sensible

Originally Posted by Sidney

Of course its a brain explosion, who said that brain explosions have to be instantaneous... do you think he intended to shoot some girls eye out? 18 year old boy's frontal lobes don't fully develop till 25, all they have is testosterone and a lack of ability to forsee consequences...

The very fact that he used a paintball gun indicates he intended no serious harm...

Actually none of its perfectly OK... the fact that it happened and the fact that some 18 yr old kid is now being put into jail to be trained to be a serious criminal after using a paintball gun is a fricken human tragedy... not only for him but also for his future victims that this jail sentence is creating.

The fact that statistically that is now more likely to happen than not is an indictment on the system... and of course I am speaking in the abscence of knowledge about his previous history which may have had bearing on the sentence recieved....

So a little less of the complacancy when thinking about this stuff might be considerably smarter..... OK my arse

So whats the solution then?
Can't lock him up, thats potentially going to make things worse.
Cuddles arn't the answer either, and anything in between probalby wont fix it too.
@Sidney, I like a lot of what you say as there is logic in your arguments but, I think you're wanting it both ways here.