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A ten-year-old boy confessed to his parents that he was playing with
matches on a windy day in October in southern California. The Santa Ana winds
were howling that day, and his carelessness resulted in the Witch fire. That
fire destroyed 18,000 acres of woodland and 12 homes. The total damage and the
cost of firefighting efforts were estimated at $25 million. Ironically, his
parents’ house was untouched by the fire.
The authorities did not immediately announce what they would do to the boy
or his parents. An official in the district attorney’s office said that,
probably, no criminal charges would be filed. But the parents would still be
liable for civil charges. That is, victims could sue for their losses and
rebuilding costs. Suing the middle-class family for millions would be the easy
part, though; collecting the millions would be unlikely.
Homeowners disagreed on what should be done. “I don’t have a house
anymore,” said John Ritter. “It will take at least two years to build a new
house, and my insurance is only going to pay about half the cost of the new
house. Ordinarily, I would say that the boy and his parents ought to be put in
jail for at least 10 years. But because their house didn’t burn down, I think
the law should just allow me to trade property with them. They can have my
burned-down house, and I can move into their house. That’s fair enough for
me.”
“We all make mistakes, especially when we’re young,” said Michael Richards,
another homeowner whose house burned down. “I remember setting my sister on fire
when I was about 10. I didn’t mean to do it, of course, and she jumped into the
lake, so she was okay. But it could have been a terrible accident. I think the
poor boy has learned a valuable lesson. People should forgive, rebuild, and get
on with their lives.” |
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发表于 2016-7-10 09:21:42