Playing with fire, prepare to face the consequences. The teenager pleaded guilty to a forest fire in 2017, this «fun» will cost a fortune. Yesterday, may 21, the district court hood river (Oregon) ordered the defendant to pay $36 million.
15-year-old resident of the state of Washington (whose name was not reported because he is a minor) admitted that on September 2, 2017 during a campaign trail at Eagle Creek (Oregon) he was lighting fireworks. One of the firecrackers caused the fire, which destroyed more than 48 thousand acres of forest.
Claim 11 claims by various departments and other entities and totaled $36 million — the amount that the lawyer Jack Morris called «absurd». According to counsel, the judge’s decision violates the 8th amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects defendants from «excessive fines and liens, as well as from cruel and unusual punishment».
In the opinion of district judge John Olson, his decision does not violate the Constitution. «The sum is clearly proportional to the crime, as does not exceed the financial damage done to a teenager state, the judge said. — This young person has committed a serious enough crime.»
Compensation, in particular, will have the parks Department of Oregon, Union Pacific railroad, Fire Department Oregon Department of transportation and the U.S. Forest service.
The defendant has the right to pay the fine parts.
