Don't Try This Yourself

Rick Ehlert is a 44 year old California man who owns a 50-ft yacht and has boating experience. Last November he was aboard the Holland America Ryndam, enjoying several cocktails.  In this frame of mind he stepped through a door that was clearly marked "Authorized Personnel Only" and found himself at the stern of the ship where the mechanism to raise and lower the 18-ton anchor is accessed.  Ehlert then spent the next 12 minutes going through an elaborate process that he knew would result in a free-fall for the anchor.  

Ehlert didn't know what was going to happen after the anchor dropped, but it could have been catastrophic. The anchor could have caught in hard ground on the ocean floor and caused the ship to turn suddenly - tipping radically and causing furniture, glassware, china and people to topple over throughout the ship. Or the ship's hull might have ripped open, flooding at least one compartment and doing millions of dollars in damage. The anchor could have destroyed miles of coral reefs, or it could have just reached the end of its chain and broken off.   

Everything Ehlert did was caught on a surveillance camera - and so there is no way for him to deny his actions. His only excuse is that he was drunk, but he knew what he was doing.  Now Ehlert has thrown himself upon the mercy of the court by agreeing to plead guilty to a felony charge of attempting to damage the ship. The plea agreement means that Ehlert could face as many as 20 years in prison and/or a fine of $250,000.  (How about some court mandated alcohol counseling?)

Fortunately there was no damage to the ship, which carries 1260 passengers and 560 crewmembers. Crewmembers were able to restore it to its proper position within a matter of minutes. 

Is being drunk an excuse for his actions? It took him 12 minutes to accomplish this deed. He wasn’t too drunk to protect himself with gloves, find a wrench and operate the system.  But he was drunk enough not to consider the possible catastrophic consequences, in terms of both lives and property, of his actions. 

What do you think?