Suspended jail for husband that killed wife in avalanche
Started by Bandit in Avalanche Safety 17-Jun-2012 - 27 Replies
Ranchero_1979
reply to 'Suspended jail for husband that killed wife in avalanche' posted Jun-2012
John987
reply to 'Suspended jail for husband that killed wife in avalanche' posted Jun-2012
SwingBeep
reply to 'Suspended jail for husband that killed wife in avalanche' posted Jun-2012
When he triggered the avalanche she tried to rescue herself by heading into a more thickly wooded area but disappeared in a cloud of snow. She was found under a metre of snow with severe head injuries and a mouth full of snow, after a 2 hour search by the rescue service. They pronounced her dead at the scene.
The court seems to have decided, on the basis of an opinion from an avalanche expert that the husband should have known that the slope might avalanche and should have prevented his wife from skiing it. The fact that her transceiver was switched off and in her rucksack doesn't seem to have been an issue, it wouldn't have saved her anyway.
It would appear that the court decided that the husband was the de facto leader and was therefore responsible for his wife's actions.
The Austrian mountaineering organisations are worried that this conviction could lead to a flood of similar cases.
"Light" sentences seem to be the norm these cases. This is probably because of the differing legal systems, the UK has an adversarial system, whereas mainland European countries have inquisitorial systems, apart from Italy which has a bit of both.
http://www.wsl.ch/info/mitarbeitende/schweizj/publications/Schweizer_Harvey_Legal_consequences_ISSW2006.pdf
Dave Mac
reply to 'Suspended jail for husband that killed wife in avalanche' posted Jun-2012
The views of the"expert witness" are concerning. Also, given your analysis, where was the defence expert witness?
Snapzzz
reply to 'Suspended jail for husband that killed wife in avalanche' posted Jun-2012
SwingBeep wrote:
It would appear that the court decided that the husband was the de facto leader and was therefore responsible for his wife's actions.
IMHO that is crazy.
Ranchero_1979
reply to 'Suspended jail for husband that killed wife in avalanche' posted Jun-2012
Bandit
reply to 'Suspended jail for husband that killed wife in avalanche' posted Jun-2012
Snapzzz wrote:SwingBeep wrote:
It would appear that the court decided that the husband was the de facto leader and was therefore responsible for his wife's actions.
IMHO that is crazy.
I have been put in this de facto leader position within a group, with me having inferior skiing ability, but superior local knowledge. It's bloody uncomfortable. The people I was with got hissy when I showed them a slope but said I would not go down it because of the time of day (aspect/exposure).
I don't think it's crazy, but commonsense. He had the most experience.
Edited 1 time. Last update at 18-Jun-2012
Andyhull
reply to 'Suspended jail for husband that killed wife in avalanche' posted Jun-2012
I can see why they held him responsible, however there has to be an element of personal responsibility here surely? She was experienced enough to know she was acting irresponsibly.
I'm almost scared to ask this, given the bobble brigade on here, but was she wearing a helmet?
Topic last updated on 26-June-2012 at 23:09