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Degree of risk not license for recklessness A Colorado jury last week convicted 21-year-old Nathan Hall of manslaughter for a fatal 1997 collision on the slopes of Vail. It marks the first-ever jury conviction in Colorado for manslaughter based on reckless skiing. Perhaps more important, however, the case marks a turn toward personal responsibility. Hall was skiing too fast under poor conditions when he slammed into the late Alan Cobb, 33, who died of massive head injuries. He could be sentenced to as many as six years in prison. Skiing collisions traditionally have not resulted in prosecution, but attitudes clearly have changed. The jury that convicted Hall was made up entirely of skiers and snowboarders. It's a most welcome change. While many sports, including skiing, involve a degree of risk, the existence of risk should not give license to anyone to behave so recklessly that a mishap is likely to harm others. When participants in any sport harm others as a result of recklessness, then they must bear the responsibility and the full consequences of their actions. That includes, when the harm is serious, prosecution. It is a crime to recklessly harm another person with a hunting weapon, a car or many other things. A pair of skis should be treated no differently. |
