Poor mom...

[Guernicaa]

Party Host Mom Set for Va. Jail Term

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Ryan Kenty, 20, and his brother Brandon, still a sophomore in high school, plan to drive their mother to jail Monday morning before heading back to her rented apartment to move the rest of her belongings into storage.

Their mom, Elisa Kelly, and her ex-husband, George Robinson, are paying the price for hosting Ryan's 16th birthday party -- more than two years in jail each. Ryan had asked his mother to buy his friends some beer and wine, as long as they all spent the night.

"No one left the party," said Kelly, 42, who collected car keys that night almost five years ago to prevent anyone from leaving. "No one was hurt. No one drove anywhere. I really don't think I deserve to go to jail for this long."

But Albemarle County Commonwealth's Attorney James L. Camblos III, who prosecuted the parents, said it was the worst case of underage drinking he has had to deal with in 15 years. "Not only were they serving alcohol to 15- and 16-year-olds, they misled parents who called to ask about alcohol, and they tried to get the kids to cover it up after police got there," Camblos said.

In this season of senior proms and graduation parties, the story of the couple is a cautionary tale for parents if they plan to serve alcohol -- or look the other way. It comes at a time of increased concern about the effects of drinking and driving and underage binge drinking, which is on the rise. Although 27-month sentences are rare, parents are increasingly being held criminally responsible for underage drinking under their roofs, even if they are not aware that it is going on.

"In a lot of cases, the parents are the problem," said Diane Eckert, a prevention specialist in the Safe and Drug-Free Youth section of Fairfax County schools. "The majority of our youth say they obtain their alcohol in their parents' homes."

Eckert recently helped launch an awareness campaign in the county called Parents Who Host Lose the Most. She said parents have to realize that it is illegal for those under 21 to drink and against the law for adults to provide them with alcohol.

"A lot of our parents were able to drink when they were 18, and we're in a culture that endorses drinking as a rite of passage," Eckert said.

Kelly and Robinson -- the boys' stepfather -- were charged with nine misdemeanor counts each of contributing to the delinquency of a minor resulting from the August 2002 backyard birthday bash. Both were originally sentenced to eight years, but the sentences were reduced to 27 months. The case was appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court and then the U.S. Supreme Court, which recently declined to hear it.

Robinson's attorney, Jonathan Wren, called the jail time the "harshest sentence of its kind by a long shot." Wren said his client declined to comment.

About 30 kids were at the Robinson property on remote Bleak House Road in Earlysville, Va., when police arrived about 11 p.m. after receiving a call about underage drinking. Many of the kids scattered into the nearby woods after one of them yelled, "Cops!"

The couple initially were charged with 16 misdemeanor counts, but seven of the partygoers had no alcohol in their systems. Of the nine who did, all were below the legal limit for intoxication, according to Wren.

"I made a big mistake. I know that," Kelly, a stay-at-home mother, said this week. "I am so sorry." Her son Ryan was so distraught that he dropped out of school and wants to serve her sentence for her.

Kelly said she believed the kids were going to drink regardless. She reasoned that supplying the alcohol and keeping them home would be safer than having them out drinking and driving. Court records show she spent $340 on beer and wine for the party that night. She said she made a deal with her son that no one could leave.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...l?hpid=topnews

Theres no reason for her to go to jail for two years.
She was doing a favor by providing a safe area for the kids to drink, and made sure than none of them were going to drive anywhere.

In Europe, kids begin to drink when they're 12...sometimes younger.

Here in the US, we put a parent in jail for letting someone whos 16 drink?
Its bull shit.

[shattered]

Theres no reason for her to go to jail for two years.
She was doing a favor by providing a safe area for the kids to drink, and made sure than none of them were going to drive anywhere.

In Europe, kids begin to drink when they're 12...sometimes younger.

Here in the US, we put a parent in jail for letting someone whos 16 drink?
Its bull shit.

She's doing a favor by allowing underage drinking? She's doing a favor by hiding it from the other parents?

Europe's laws are their own. She resides in the US, and is subject to US laws. US laws state that you may not legally drink until you're 21. (Personally, I think the law should be 18, since if you're old enough to join the armed services, and defend this country, you should be old enough to buy a beer).

As a parent, you don't get to make the judgement call on who elses minor children are allowed to drink.

If *I* were the parent of one of the kids she gave $350 worth of booze to without my permission, I'd slap her with a lawsuit so fast her head would spin.

[avatar4321]

What is so poor about her? She broke the law. She lied to other parents about it. She is exactly where she deserves to be.

Im seriously disgusted when you guys try to defend people who commit actual crimes while being so damn proud of your witch hunt on republicans. its completely messed up.

[shattered]

Wait a minute, Obama.. I'm confused as hell..

You think Paris is a **** who's getting what she deserves...

But, this "poor mother" who broke the law is getting far too harsh of a sentence?

Please explain.

Or, did I misread one of your posts?

[darin]

Driving age should be 21, drinking age 16 w/ a parent around.

[shattered]

Driving age should be 21, drinking age 16 w/ a parent around.

That woulda sucked.

I'd have been legally old enough to drink, but I couldn't drive myself to work after school?

[5stringJeff]

Theres no reason for her to go to jail for two years.
She was doing a favor by providing a safe area for the kids to drink, and made sure than none of them were going to drive anywhere.

In Europe, kids begin to drink when they're 12...sometimes younger.

Here in the US, we put a parent in jail for letting someone whos 16 drink?
Its bull shit.

It's called Minor in Possession laws. Frankly, what she did was stupid. She should have instead told her kids not to drink or face the consequences of getting their butts beaten.

And on top of it, she was lying to other parents about whether or not there was alcohol around?!? If she had done that with my kid(s), I would have beaten her myself.

[LiberalNation]

My mom has allowed me to have a few drinks while she was there, wouldn't let other peoples kids tho without permission which is the problem I'd have here. Telling people not to do something that others can just makes them want to do it so your just say no policy I don't think does work or will.

[MtnBiker]

Theres no reason for her to go to jail for two years.
She was doing a favor by providing a safe area for the kids to drink, and made sure than none of them were going to drive anywhere.

In Europe, kids begin to drink when they're 12...sometimes younger.

No reason, violating the law is no reason?

And Europe;

One in four deaths in young men in Europe due to alcohol
The WHO Global Burden of Disease 2000 Study

This comparative risk analysis, based on data from the WHO Global Burden of Disease 2000 Study¹, by Jürgen Rehm et al. presents preliminary findings on alcohol and young people. The analysis focuses on mortality rates, the effects of drinking patterns and unrecorded consumption.

One in four deaths in males aged 15-29 years in Europe is attributable to alcohol.
Proportions of male deaths attributable to alcohol in different parts of Europe vary from 13% to 32%. Each year over 55 000 young Europeans die owing to alcohol.
Transport accidents, poisonings, self-inflicted injuries (suicide) and homicide were the main alcohol-related causes of death of young people in Europe in 1999.For the group aged 15-29, there is no beneficial overall effect of alcohol in any country.
The effect of alcohol consumption relates to average volume of (recorded) alcohol consumption, patterns of drinking and unrecorded consumption.
Mortality rates in people aged 15-29 vary widely between males and females and between European Union and former socialist countries in the WHO European Region.
Alcohol consumption seems to explain a considerable portion of these differences.

http://www.euro.who.int/mediacentre/...001/20011001_2

[chum43]

the law is the law...

with that said this is just another example of stupid parents overreacting... so their kids drank, obviously they would never have gotten their hands on any alcohol ever if she hadn't done it, yeah right... parents now a days are overprotective assholes, the kids were 16 and knew what they were doing, stop babying them by acting as if the mother force fed them cyanide for god sakes... I'm not saying she shouldn't do some jail time, but this isn't a big deal, it's kids with some alcohol and no one got hurt, she was responsible enough to make sure they didn't drive anywhere drunk, let her get off with some community service or something, this is ridiculous... if she had handed them bottles of whiskey through the driverside door as they were leaving, then your ridiculous claims about "how could she do this to other peoples kids" crying would be justified, but teenagers drink, she made sure they did it responsibly, go home, punish your kids, and stop crying.

[shattered]

the law is the law...

with that said this is just another example of stupid parents overreacting... so their kids drank, obviously they would never have gotten their hands on any alcohol ever if she hadn't done it, yeah right... parents now a days are overprotective assholes, the kids were 16 and knew what they were doing, stop babying them by acting as if the mother force fed them cyanide for god sakes... I'm not saying she shouldn't do some jail time, but this isn't a big deal, it's kids with some alcohol and no one got hurt, she was responsible enough to make sure they didn't drive anywhere drunk, let her get off with some community service or something, this is ridiculous... if she had handed them bottles of whiskey through the driverside door as they were leaving, then your ridiculous claims about "how could she do this to other peoples kids" crying would be justified, but teenagers drink, she made sure they did it responsibly, go home, punish your kids, and stop crying.

And what if someone *had* gotten hurt?

She can give her own kid booze, in her own house, and probably not be subjected to more than *maybe* a fine.

She had no right to give ANY child that was not hers ANY illegal (to them) substance. She choose to take parenting, and the law into her own hands.

[Gaffer]

In Ohio a parent can go into a bar and grill and buy a beer and hand it to their son or daughter to drink. The bar tender can't serve the minor but the parent can buy it and hand it to them. Same if they want to do that at home. But they cannot give any other minor alcohol.

[shattered]

In Ohio a parent can go into a bar and grill and buy a beer and hand it to their son or daughter to drink. The bar tender can't serve the minor but the parent can buy it and hand it to them. Same if they want to do that at home. But they cannot give any other minor alcohol.

And this I agree with 100%.

[chum43]

And what if someone *had* gotten hurt?

She can give her own kid booze, in her own house, and probably not be subjected to more than *maybe* a fine.

She had no right to give ANY child that was not hers ANY illegal (to them) substance. She choose to take parenting, and the law into her own hands.

if we were talking about actual "children"(lets say maybe 14 and under) I would agree with you, and I'm not arguing it wasn't against the law, I'm just saying if you are complaining about a parent giving other people's 16 year olds beer at a party in a way that got them home safely than you are overreacting, 16 year old kids drink at parties, it's a fact, they get the beer somehow, making sure they are safe and responsible about it is not adding insult to injury, it is against the law, so the law has to do something about it, but 27 months in jail and parents in the community being outraged is just silly and really shows how much of a retarded stigma we have on not only alcohol, but our poor little helpless "children"... these are basically adults, I can see having a slight protection for them, as is the case with the law, but to act as though these were toddlers is insane.

[avatar4321]

the law is the law...

with that said this is just another example of stupid parents overreacting... so their kids drank, obviously they would never have gotten their hands on any alcohol ever if she hadn't done it, yeah right... parents now a days are overprotective assholes, the kids were 16 and knew what they were doing, stop babying them by acting as if the mother force fed them cyanide for god sakes... I'm not saying she shouldn't do some jail time, but this isn't a big deal, it's kids with some alcohol and no one got hurt, she was responsible enough to make sure they didn't drive anywhere drunk, let her get off with some community service or something, this is ridiculous... if she had handed them bottles of whiskey through the driverside door as they were leaving, then your ridiculous claims about "how could she do this to other peoples kids" crying would be justified, but teenagers drink, she made sure they did it responsibly, go home, punish your kids, and stop crying.

No, its not parents overreacting. The woman lied to them and supplied their children with dangerous intoxicating substances. They have every right to be pissed that she broke the law by intoxicating their children.

And no, teenagers dont drink unless morons like this woman give them alcohohl.