Rest In Peace Kyle Sharbonno

Within this past Thursday’s Minnesota Daily, I was drawn to the article “2

students face possible prison time” on page 3A. The article concerns two upper-

class University of Minnesota students, Michael McCullough and Brandon Overlie, who

served alcohol to 19-year-old Kyle Sharbonno at their house last April. After the

party, Kyle and some friends walked to Burger King and then headed to the third

level of the Oak Street parking ramp. There, Kyle sat on the ledge of the ramp and,

according to a witness the Daily spoke to, fell about 10 seconds later. Kyle died

of brain injuries caused by the fall. On a side note: I knew Kyle. We both resided

at the same dormitory hall last year and became acquaintances, saying hello to one

another whenever we passed in the hall or sitting at the same table for lunch with a

group of people. So, as one may assume, it was a huge shock to find out about his

death last school year. Not only was it upsetting to me but also the two gentlemen

that served Kyle the alcohol that night, for they had a stronger relationship with

Kyle than he and I; they were friends. Now, McCullough and Overlie are facing

prison time for “‘furnishing alcoholic beverages to a minor resulting in a

death.’” These two guys who were already in complete agony because of their

friend’s death are now looking onward to a future in prison. Is this justice? I,

for one, am struggling with this question. I see the wrongdoing of people supplying

alcohol to individuals under the age of 21, but it is difficult not to consider the

fact that whether or not you are 19, in Kyle’s situation, or 21, the same incident

could occur. Kyle was not naive going to the party. He knew there would be

alcohol, and he knew he was going to be drinking it to have a good time. It was his

choice to attend the party; it was his choice to drink the alcohol being supplied;

and, unfortunately, it was his choice to sit on the ledge of the parking ramp. As

melodramatic as this might sound, could an incident like this be compared to a car

accident? If a person chooses to buy a car, drives it, and falls asleep behind the

wheel resulting in their death, should we penalize the people that supplied the car

to that person? Of course not, and why? Because that person chose to buy the car,

chose to drive the car, and chose to get into the car while sleep-deprived. These

are all accidents, and pointing the blame on other people because of another

person’s unwise decision is not always the answer. This was a huge misfortune, and

as tragic as it is, I don’t believe Kyle would be asking the law to put his two

friends behind bars because of it. I know it’s the law, but prison should be for

people that purposely try to hurt others, not people that are trying to give their

friends a good time. That may sound somewhat ridiculous, but putting these two guys

in prison sounds more ridiculous to me. Kyle’s death has been and should be the

biggest price McCullough and Overlie have to face.


http://www.plamerican.com/node/1635