Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The media in U.K. is full of the story of the U.S. citizen, wife of an alleged U.S. diplomat or spy, who last August, allegedly drove for 400 metres on the “wrong” side of the road in Northamptonshire, and collided with a 19 y.o. m/cyclist, resulting in his death.
She subsequently allegedly told the police that she had no intention of leaving U.K., a few days later, she flew back to the U.S.
The words Diplomatic Immunity are being bandied about, whether that’s why she was flown back I don’t know.
A lot of the natives over here are restless about this, personally I think it was a momentary lapse of concentration, which ended tragically.
Many’s the time I’ve had to hammer it into my brain when I’ve just got off a plane in the U.S., “REMEMBER, they drive on the other side here, GOT IT?”
Any comment from your side guys?
One's status depends on their level of diplomatic immunity. The higher your rank, the more diplomatic immunity you possess.
Who's the woman? We need to know. It's an important factor.
The fact is, none of us created that DI rule. I personally think diplomatic immunity stinks, but there are many laws that I think stink. Who cares? It's the law!
Again, it all comes down to who that woman is and what ranking she has.
I personally don’t like immunity laws especially if a person was harmed or killed, I didn’t see any information of was she new to the country, so maybe she was confused or a dui or possibly distracted. I don’t know the reason, but tragically a young man lost his life and a family is left heartbroken. May he Rest In Peace and condolences to his family.
Diplomatic immunity should protect people from arbitrary & politically motivated charges, not everyday crime. She should be forced to return to the UK and face charges as appropriate to the incident.
The media in U.K. is full of the story of the U.S. citizen, wife of an alleged U.S. diplomat or spy, who last August, allegedly drove for 400 metres on the “wrong” side of the road in Northamptonshire, and collided with a 19 y.o. m/cyclist, resulting in his death.
She subsequently allegedly told the police that she had no intention of leaving U.K., a few days later, she flew back to the U.S.
The words Diplomatic Immunity are being bandied about, whether that’s why she was flown back I don’t know.
A lot of the natives over here are restless about this, personally I think it was a momentary lapse of concentration, which ended tragically.
Many’s the time I’ve had to hammer it into my brain when I’ve just got off a plane in the U.S., “REMEMBER, they drive on the other side here, GOT IT?”
Any comment from your side guys?
I can’t see how the accident happened. It happened to Matthew Broderick decades ago when he killed someone in Ireland the same way. Problem I have with her is lying to the police about her intentions and then taking off. I think she needs the book thrown at her for that and I hope diplomatic immunity does not come into play.
If this is truly an accident and not a situation where there was extreme negligence, such as a DUI situation or something like that.. It's difficult to see a crime, at least a serious one that would result in any jail time or anything of that nature.
Civilly, she might have some liability, but I just don't see it criminally.
Remember that 400 meters is 1200 feet, ballpark. Which is just a smidge longer than a football field. 130 yards or so
That's really not that far. It's not like we're saying she went miles driving on the wrong side of the road. At 40 mph, that's about the amount of time one might need to figure things out if there wasn't other traffic around.
One's status depends on their level of diplomatic immunity. The higher your rank, the more diplomatic immunity you possess.
Who's the woman? We need to know. It's an important factor.
The fact is, none of us created that DI rule. I personally think diplomatic immunity stinks, but there are many laws that I think stink. Who cares? It's the law!
Again, it all comes down to who that woman is and what ranking she has.
I can’t see how the accident happened. It happened to Matthew Broderick decades ago when he killed someone in Ireland the same way. Problem I have with her is lying to the police about her intentions and then taking off. I think she needs the book thrown at her for that and I hope diplomatic immunity does not come into play.
The thing is, did SHE decide to play the D.I. card, or did someone higher up the food chain decide to play it for her, due to the alleged importance of her husband’s position?
At the time that she allegedly told the police that she had no intention of leaving the U.K., perhaps that was true.
Last edited by Jean-Francois; 10-09-2019 at 08:31 AM..
Reason: Changed text tense
If this is truly an accident and not a situation where there was extreme negligence, such as a DUI situation or something like that.. It's difficult to see a crime, at least a serious one that would result in any jail time or anything of that nature.
Civilly, she might have some liability, but I just don't see it criminally.
Remember that 400 meters is 1200 feet, ballpark. Which is just a smidge longer than a football field. 130 yards or so
That's really not that far. It's not like we're saying she went miles driving on the wrong side of the road. At 40 mph, that's about the amount of time one might need to figure things out if there wasn't other traffic around.
Wouldn’t be a big deal probably. Matthew Broderick ended up with Careless Driving and had to pay $175 fine. And he killed two people, a mother and daughter. But he stayed to face the consequences he didn’t run away. Again it’s the taking off to me that should be the crime.
Status:
"“If a thing loves, it is infinite.”"
(set 13 hours ago)
Location: Great Britain
27,161 posts, read 13,449,232 times
Reputation: 19454
Quote:
Originally Posted by ocnjgirl
Wouldn’t be a big deal probably. Matthew Broderick ended up with Careless Driving and had to pay $175 fine. And he killed two people, a mother and daughter. But he stayed to face the consequences he didn’t run away. Again it’s the taking off to me that should be the crime.
By claiming diplomatic immunity, she has caused all kinds of problems.
Firstly the Vienna Convention is for those operating from Diplomatic Missions such as Embassy's and Consulates and not Military Intelligence bases such as RAF Crughton.
Secondly her husband Joanthan Socoolas, by all accounts has never worked for the State Department but is an NSA Technical Officer and not a Diplomat.
Thirdly Anne Socoolas is merely a dependent and it's questionable as to whether she is immune or whether Jonathan Socoolas are covered by the Vienna Convention, although there has been rumours of some secretive immunity deal between the NSA and GCHQ.
Finally what laws are these peoplebeing protected by, as they are not US Visting Forces and subject to US Court Martial or British Court, whilst they are not subject to the Vienna Convention and don't seem subject to much in terms of US Courts with the exception of a possible civil case, which may well be against the US Government.
There needs to be answers, and it's going to be politically embarrasing for both US and UK Authorities and has uncovered quite a shadowy world of secret deals.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
