Should The Law Be Blind?? Ref: Father Accidentally Shoots Son

A father and son hunting trip that ended in family tragedy has now triggered criminal charges. 45-year-old Kevin Kadamus was cited into court for manslaughter in the death of his 17-year-old son Jacob. Legal experts and the police say this is a case that underscores how the law must be blind --even when it increases the suffering for a father who must endure the pain of mistakenly killing his own son.

Four weeks ago when police arrived to investigate a reported hunting accident. They found 17-year-old Jacob Kadamus dead from a shotgun blast. They also found his father 44-year-old Kevin Kadamus who explained that he misidentified his son for a turkey -- and shot him. There was an outpouring of grief and sympathy for the family and a huge turnout at Jacob's funeral for the boy who had been a star athlete and popular student. Despite the loss and the family's grief -- state police say their investigation determined Kevin Kadamus must be charged with manslaughter for his son's death.

There's no exemptions under the statutes for a case of this circumstance even though you're a family member. There was a time in Vermont when hunters rarely faced charges if they mistakenly shot someone -- and never went to prison. That all changed four years ago when two teenage hunters killed people in separate incidents -- and they became the first to go to prison for manslaughter -- one year each. That established a precedent.

The tragedy of this case wasn't lost on the investigators or the prosecutor's office for that matter.

Bob Simpson/Former prosecutor: "The law can't punish a person any greater than a person's already been punished. I think the issue is deterrence." Bob Simpson was a prosecutor and defense attorney for twenty years and now runs the criminal justice program at Champlain Colege. He says cases like this demonstrate the law's inadequacies. He believes the prosecutor should present the case to a grand jury of common citizens to determine if Kevin Kadamus should be charged. Simpson says, "I understand the concept of an equal application, but I think that this is a case where maybe the prosecutor might be best served by going to the grand jury and getting a sense of what the public feels as well."

My Opinion, for what it is worth - I agree with Bob Simpson, Former Prosecutor.