Stunt
Don’t be fooled by the headlines: Charges dropped against Dinius. Yes, the corrupt DA did indeed drop manslaughter charges, but it is little more than a PR stunt, designed to fool a public that is starting to pay attention, but only reads headlines. Dinius is being railroaded, the DA is guilty of misconduct, and the entire case is a sham. Mr. Swordfish had a superb take on it:
- Just so everyone is clear on the current status:
- Hopkins has dismissed Count 1 – vehicular manslaughter.
- Hopkins is continuing to prosecute Count 2 – felony BUI causing injury to another person.
- This lesser charge carries a slightly shorter jail term, but not by very much.
In order to prove Count 2, Hopkins must prove the same thing as he would have needed to prove for count 1. The only difference is whether a death was involved. Since no one is disputing the fact that Lynn Thornton died as a result of the incident, if he can prove guilt for count 2, the same argument would work for count 1.
This is why his dropping the manslaughter charge is illogical, despite his statement that "justice demands" it being dropped. If he were to be consistent, he’d drop both.
So, really, this is just legal slight of hand to get the word "manslaughter" out of the case, the rest of it is essentially unchanged. He’s still blaming Dinius for the accident, and Dinius still goes to jail if found guilty. It’s a PR move, and nobody should be fooled by it. Jump in the thread and contribute.
