Parents of Other Victims Applaud Joy Riding Verdict

RIYADH, 26 February 2007 — After hearing the death sentence passed down last week to a young Saudi who killed three young men and injured two others while driving his car recklessly for sport in 2005, the parents of the victims of a similar incident have called for the head of that perpetrator.

Joy riding, as it is called, has become an alarming trend among bored, car-owning Saudi youths who use public streets as stages for high-speed stunt driving. A young man who is being cited in the local media by his nickname Al-Hanooti (“The Undertaker”) is in the process of being tried for killing four young men during a joy-riding incident in 2006 in Riyadh.

This Arab News pieces says that, at least for the parents and families of victims, the recent death sentence handed out for killing others while stunt driving was deserved. And it should be repeated.

It’s understandable how family members might feel this way, but it’s not at all clear whether Saudi society as a whole would. The sentence is harsh by Western standards as most homicides resulting in death penalties include the critical element of premeditation. Reckless and negligent behavior resulting in death isn’t punishable by death. Things would be a lot easier to understand if there were codified laws that spelled out what crime deserved which punishment. At present, that’s not the case, of course.

Meanwhile, Saudi Gazette carries this piece: Hot-Rodder to Appeal Death Sentence