The Murder Of Dominique Dunne?

Question

In 1981, after working on Poltergeist, Dunne met and later moved in with a popular Los Angeles chef, John Thomas Sweeney, who was working at the restaurant Ma Maison. After a short and abusive relationship, Dunne ended her relationship with Sweeney. A few weeks later, Sweeney strangled Dunne in the driveway of her home after she refused to reconcile with him. She died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California a few days later, at the age of 22.

Sweeney was convicted of manslaughter and was sentenced to 6½ years in prison. He served less than four years before his release, having been given credit for time served before conviction.

It was murder. He was convicted of manslaughter. He served 4 years of a 6.5 years sentence. She was only 22.

I have never understood this. How do you strangle someone and spend 4 years in prison only to resume your life soon after?

Who's at fault?

John Thomas Sweeney.

A Weak System of Justice.

Answer 1

A weak system with too many loop holes out. Too many courts willing to accept a "plea" just to speed things up clearing a heavy docket.

Problem is, there is nothing we have on hand that's better. PEOPLE need to become far more vocal to bring about change. He should never have gotten such a light sentence. She sure didn't.

Answer 2

I am unaware of the case itself, but from what you have written, there are problems with your facts. First, manslaughter is not murder. Look it up in Black's Law Dictionary. Second, how much time did he actually serve? What degree or kind of manslaughter was he convicted of? What mitigating circumstances were there?  Obviously, she didn't get strangled in the usual sense, or she'd have been dead in a few minutes at most. The fact that she died days later in a hospital could mean a lot. Did they have a fight, and she got the worst of it? Did she fall and strike her windpipe on something? Did the hospital contribute to her injuries through improper treatment, so that what was an injury became a death? Was he convicted after trial or did he plead out? Was either one of them a "head case"? All of these things and more could be at play, but you don't talk about them. Unless I saw the transcript of the trial, I wouldn't make a judgment.

Answer 3

what come first the chicken or the egg?

There are a lot of rules that come into play within the justice system and without listening or reading the court transcripts you never know what cr@p was spun to get off this charge if one of the elements is missing and that the case is not "beyond reasonable doubt" then it is sometimes reduced.  Also there is also discounts for not wasting the courts time, behaving in prison and generally for a variety of reasons.

  Think of the poor detectives that have worked the case probably for the good part of a couple of years and what for 4 years who is the joke on ................

Answer 4

Both...however if the taking of a life results in such a short sentence,it makes the justice system a joke...life should mean life...