http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-north ... d_eag.html
Ordering a teenager without any money to pay more than $36 million "frankly is on its face absurd,'' Morris said. He criticized the state's restitution law for removing any discretion from a judge, particularly in a juvenile case, calling it "cruel and unusual punishment'' akin to mandatory minimum sentences for crimes under Measure 11.
Meanwhile:
"I get to look at torched Angel's Rest every day. It will never be the same," gorge resident Paul Smith said at the courthouse before the hearing.
HA HA HA HA HA. Glad to see the Oregonian trotting out pity quotes from random bystanders.
Angel's Rest has definitely never caught fire before.
Smith said he's disappointed the teen isn't serving any time in custody. "I was raised there are consequences for your actions," he said.
This is stupid. And you already lost the right to have an opinion with your lament for Angel's Rest, which barely looks different than it did before. (Driven east lately, Paul Smith?)
Jeff Bonebrake, investigator and cost recovery coordinator for the Oregon Department of Forestry, said his agency usually doesn't ask for a lot or get a lot of money through restitution in criminal court but recovers costs regularly through the civil process.
..."We want to hold people accountable when it's justifiable,'' Bonebrake said.
God, what a monumental waste of everyone's time. I'll bet the Forest Service has spent $36M on plastic fencing and all the people sitting in parked cars guarding the trailheads 24-7 while we wait for them to finish the hypothetical repairs they're doing.