Luke McCormick Club Captain at Plymouth Argyle!

[liam82]

CHOOSING to drink and drive is not a MISTAKE, 2 young lads paid the ultimate price for this selfish idiotic act. 4 years inside for that is a shameful joke.

 

[HawkTheSeagull]

To put the sentence into perspective, someone I know who fell in with the wrong crowd got 4 years for armed robbery and didnt injure any person physically.

The sentence is the issue most will have here, but you cant beat LM with that as he didnt chose the sentence, its the justice system in this country to blame.

CHOOSING to drink and drive is not a MISTAKE, 2 young lads paid the ultimate price for this selfish idiotic act. 4 years inside for that is a shameful joke.

I assume you have never done anything stupid when drunk then ? Drinking alcohol excessively causes you to make stupid mistakes.

 

[BN9 BHA]

Yes, obviously it is. But that's happened now, and you either have to deal with it and move on with your life, or get stuck banging that drum forever and not live life at all. It's a tragic loss for the family, anyone who has lost a kid will feel their pain. I'm lucky, I haven't. But if I ever did, I wouldn't want to still be carrying hatred a decade on.

Also, the outpouring of emotion on behalf of the people who actually suffered feels fake and irrelevant.

Maybe some people on here have lost loved ones or friends because of a drunk driver, I can understand if that's the reason some are upset.

 

[NorthStandSteward]

I assume you have never done anything stupid when drunk then ? Drinking alcohol excessively causes you to make stupid mistakes.

Driving when drunk goes beyond a drunken mishap.

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

The poor family loose

They loose.

 

[HawkTheSeagull]

Driving when drunk goes beyond a drunken mishap.

No, it doesnt. When your sober, you would never dream of drink-driving as the thought of it is enough to put you off. But when you've had a few drinks, you dont think about that and you think you will be ok, that is when issues start and it is the stupidest mistake of LM's life. It is a drunken mistake, whether you want to accept that or not. He didnt intend to drink-drive, nor kill 2 children in a crash.

 

[Acker79]

No, it doesnt. When your sober, you would never dream of drink-driving as the thought of it is enough to put you off. But when you've had a few drinks, you dont think about that and you think you will be ok, that is when issues start and it is the stupidest mistake of LM's life. It is a drunken mistake, whether you want to accept that or not. He didnt intend to drink-drive, nor kill 2 children in a crash.

The issue doesn't start when you've already had a few. It starts when you arrive at a bar, or in this case a wedding, by car and think "I'll have a drink. Now I'll down some sambucas" without thinking 'I drove here, how will I get home if I've had a few?'.

Of course, there's the added issue in this case of him ignoring friends telling him not to drive, and having a couple of near misses that he didn't think "hang on, maybe I should stop".

 

[£1.99]

Did he run away after the crash or was that someone else ?

 

[BN9 BHA]

No, it doesnt. When your sober, you would never dream of drink-driving as the thought of it is enough to put you off. But when you've had a few drinks, you dont think about that and you think you will be ok, that is when issues start and it is the stupidest mistake of LM's life. It is a drunken mistake, whether you want to accept that or not. He didnt intend to drink-drive, nor kill 2 children in a crash.

I think you are wrong, is this the way YOU think when you are drinking?
The last thing on my mind when I go drinking is to want to drive.

I accept this player didn't want to kill the children, but he knew what he was doing when he got into his car.

 

[Acker79]

Did he run away after the crash or was that someone else ?

That was Lee Hughes http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/3539290.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7654430.stm This is the McCormick case.

 

[Grombleton]

Im split over this.

Yes he made a terrible mistake and through his own stupidity, he killed 2 innocent children. But he also pleaded guilty, served his time and has rebuilt his life. No doubt he nearly ruined his own life as well.

Cant decide whether its a good or bad thing myself. Just because someone committed a crime, it doesnt mean their entire lives should be over - controversial and i know I will get some stick/thumbs down-ed for saying it. If Plymouth want to do it, then on their head be it.

I agree. He has served his time and any abuse he gets from the stands will probably be nothing compared to what he has given himself over the years. It is a touch insensitive of Plymouth but it's none of my business how they run their club...no doubt it was mentioned when discussing the captaincy anyway so i doubt they are oblivious to the ramifications.

 

[drew]

Which is the side im slightly coming down on. By all means sign him, but im unsure about being captain, especially so soon after re-signing.

He made a stupid mistake, like most humans will do in their lives - albeit not as severe. He paid the price and it will no doubt haunt him for the rest of his life as it is.

Have to agree with this. He should be allowed to get on with a career but shouldn't receive the honour of being club captain.

The issue doesn't start when you've already had a few. It starts when you arrive at a bar, or in this case a wedding, by car and think "I'll have a drink. Now I'll down some sambucas" without thinking 'I drove here, how will I get home if I've had a few?'.

Of course, there's the added issue in this case of him ignoring friends telling him not to drive, and having a couple of near misses that he didn't think "hang on, maybe I should stop".

Typical of the normal lynch mob mentality of most of those on here. He made a mistake, a catastrophic one for those two boys and their families but as has been said, it was a drunken mistake. He was at a wedding and was due to stay so Acker's comments aren't accurate. By all accounts, he had a row with his partner who wasn't at the wedding and then made the mistake of thinking he could drive home and sort out the problem. Nothing he can do for the rest of his life will bring those two boys back but what none of us on here know is what he does to make amends as best he can. He never tried to run and admitted responsibility, unlike Lee Hughes. He served the sentence given him and would probably have served longer if the courts decided.

 

[Acker79]

Typical of the normal lynch mob mentality of most of those on here. He made a mistake, a catastrophic one for those two boys and their families but as has been said, it was a drunken mistake. He was at a wedding and was due to stay so Acker's comments aren't accurate. By all accounts, he had a row with his partner who wasn't at the wedding and then made the mistake of thinking he could drive home and sort out the problem. Nothing he can do for the rest of his life will bring those two boys back but what none of us on here know is what he does to make amends as best he can. He never tried to run and admitted responsibility, unlike Lee Hughes. He served the sentence given him and would probably have served longer if the courts decided.

I don't consider myself part of the lynch mob. I don't know how I feel about the balance between being given a second chance and a sense of 'proper' justice (whatever that means).

But excusing drink driving as 'well, he was drunk he didn't know better' is wrong, imo. There is a moment with all drink drivers when they are sober and make a choice, either the decision to start drinking, or to drive to wherever they are going. Being drunk doesn't and shouldn't absolve you of any action you take.

In this case he was at a wedding, had a couple of hours sleep, so the idea that it was just the alcohol doesn't hold water. He had two hours sleep and should have been sober enough to make a better judgement. Even if he wasn't at that point, he then ignored please from friends to pull over at service stations and stop driving. He also ignored the warning signs of other near accidents.

At 0.073 his judgement shouldn't have been impaired enough that the knowledge you've had two hours sleep after downing beers and sambucas, and have friends telling you not to drive while also have near misses you don't actually stop.

I'm not saying he needs to be strung up, or never be allowed to do anything that gives him some sort of happiness, but he does have to own the decision to drink and drive, and people shouldn't be absolving him of it.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Buy a breathalyser and test yourself the morning after the night before. It's quite scary how much one can consume in a short space of time and then feel fit to drive the next day.

 

[Withdean South Stand]

Not fake in this household, the story has angered me.

I'm glad that you are able to forgive and forget, you are obviously a very level headed and sensible person. I'm pleased for you.

I'm sorry for any offence my comments may have caused, this is a very emotive subject and will mean far more to some people than to others.

Maybe some people on here have lost loved ones or friends because of a drunk driver, I can understand if that's the reason some are upset.

Your outlook on life will always be shaped by your experiences.

 

[willyfantastic]

he served his time - dont see the problem

 

[drew]

I don't consider myself part of the lynch mob. I don't know how I feel about the balance between being given a second chance and a sense of 'proper' justice (whatever that means).

But excusing drink driving as 'well, he was drunk he didn't know better' is wrong, imo. There is a moment with all drink drivers when they are sober and make a choice, either the decision to start drinking, or to drive to wherever they are going. Being drunk doesn't and shouldn't absolve you of any action you take.

In this case he was at a wedding, had a couple of hours sleep, so the idea that it was just the alcohol doesn't hold water. He had two hours sleep and should have been sober enough to make a better judgement. Even if he wasn't at that point, he then ignored please from friends to pull over at service stations and stop driving. He also ignored the warning signs of other near accidents.

At 0.073 his judgement shouldn't have been impaired enough that the knowledge you've had two hours sleep after downing beers and sambucas, and have friends telling you not to drive while also have near misses you don't actually stop.

I'm not saying he needs to be strung up, or never be allowed to do anything that gives him some sort of happiness, but he does have to own the decision to drink and drive, and people shouldn't be absolving him of it.

I'm afraid I think you have well and truly missed the point. Firstly, no one, as far as I can see in any post, is excusing drink driving. Secondly, you need to go over the circumstances again. He wasn't intending to drive back when he did. It wasn't a case of 'I'll go to the wedding, get pissed, have two hours sleep before heading back. He obviously was intending to stay as it the case refers to his room mate. I do agree that under normal circumstances he may well have made the correct decision but he had been drinking, had little sleep and had a series of texts and conversations with his partner who had been accused of cheating on him. None of it condones what he chose to do but it is fair to say that he wasn't thinking straight.

The fact that you think you are sober enough after just two hours sleep could raise questions as to what state you are in following a nights sleep after a session!

 

[Buffalo Seagull]

At .07, it's quite possible that he honestly felt that he was ok to drive a car. When I learnt to drive in the mid 90s, the legal limit was .08

 

[Leekbrookgull]

I dont know whether L/M is full of genuine remorse and i guess like many here i hope he is,so with that in mind just maybe he could be the right choice as a captain in as much (and i would imagine PAFC are basically running on young players'YTS etc) he can get over the message of don't D&D ?

 

[Gullflyinghigh]

Whilst, obviously, nothing will ever make up for the loss of two boys I don't really see what the issue is here.

Outside of the sentencing issue, which isn't exactly something that LM could take the blame for, he served his time and now has to live with what happened, and the stupid decision he made, for the rest of his life.

I imagine that will be of small sympathy to the family affected but if he is considered to be captain material by his club, or anything else for that matter, then there's no reason they shouldn't make that decision (barring the bad publicity). They must surely have been aware of the possible ramifications of their choice before it was announced.