Carlos Tevez sentence makes me furious

[drjohnsonscat]

here

I can hardly imagine a more serious driving crime than driving without insurance and driving while disqualified. It's a total disregard for the rule of law and the rights of others. For this he gets a fine of £1000 which is a few minutes of work for him. And 250 hours community service. Please explain to me why hugely privileged, wealthy people get treated this way. They have the option to get a taxi, get a train, get a chauffeur driven car ffs. Instead they put all of us in danger with their cavalier disregard for rules and get nothing more than a gentle rap on the knuckles as punishment.

[NiceTabard]

they can afford fantastic lawyers is teh answer.

[SucksToBeMe]

In Argentina they don't even have driving lessons, and to get their driving licence they just go to the civic offices,queue up,have their photo taken, attached to laminated card,pay the fee and off they go.
I was .

[sensesworkingovertime]

The whole thing about fines really annoys me, surely it should be done on a % of earnings basis or it's totally unfair. This is pocket money to Tevez. That aside, can't wait to see him sweeping the crap off the streets.

[CloudsAndTrees]

You cannot base punishments for crimes on people's earnings!

I can see that £1000 is nothing to him, but he has been banned from driving for another six months and he has to do quite a lot of community service. I'd say the punishment fits the crime, but even if it didn't, it has to be the same for everyone that commits the same offence.

It would be ridiculously unfair if the fine system was done based on a percentage of earnings. Someone earning NMW would end up barely being punished at all. As it is, they already work out your payment schedule based on you income and outgoings, which is fair enough.

Also, I'd have said driving without care and attention and driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol were far more serious driving crimes than what Tevez has done.

[NiceTabard]

Cloudsandtrees if you fine everyone the same amount for a crime then the rich get off scott free (hardly a dent in their wallet) while the poor find themselves unable to pay and into further trouble because of that and potentially prison for non payment. That is hardly "fair".

Further, a mere mortal who could not afford super top lawyers might expect to be jailed for this crime, while this man has a fine and community service.

[HorryIsUpduffed]

The punishment doesn't fit the crime. Flagrant and repeated flouting of a country's traffic laws isn't a minor thing. Other offenders have been given jail terms.

As a more general point, fines that are equivalent to eg "a week's wages" still disproportionately affect the poor, but are fairer. Tevez will have earned his fine in less time than the sentencing hearing.

[TheDevilsGherkins]

I think the 250 hours of community service will be more of a punishment to him than hundreds of thousands, actually.

[HorryIsUpduffed]

Not as much as six weeks inside.

[TheDevilsGherkins]

hundreds of thousands of POUNDS, i mean

[TheDevilsGherkins]

But I agree about the six weeks inside, Horry

[HappyJustToBe]

Fines are calculated on a percentage of your earnings but there is an upper limit.

The unpaid work us the real punishment.

The sentence sounds like he has been treated like every other disqualified driver, tbh.

[sensesworkingovertime]

Sorry Clouds, I thought Tevez had been caught speeding at some point - what is that if not part of 'driving without due care and attention'? Am I misunderstanding something?

[Mum2Luke]

I think he should learn to speak English! I am a Manchester City fan and he has been here for a number of years, long enough to have started learning the lingo.

If he would like to do his 250 hours community service he could coach our Under 11s team and I would gladly pick him up and take him back to Aldeley Edge ;). he might even pass for an 11 year old and play a game for us, at the moment we blooming need a goal!

[CloudsAndTrees]

Senses, perhaps you missed this

I can hardly imagine a more serious driving crime than driving without insurance and driving while disqualified

From the OP, which is what I was responding to.