Less time than he'd get for robbing a gas station.
VW engineering executive sentenced to 40-month prison term in diesel case
41–50 of 227 posts
Re: VW engineering executive sentenced to 40-month prison term in diesel case
#42Great news! Now everything goes. Executives doesn't need to have moral obligations to oversee their employees. Any problem, send them to jail.
He just happens too be the first person sentenced - there are many others, and the execs above him are facing higher fines and longer sentences.
Re: VW engineering executive sentenced to 40-month prison term in diesel case
#43The worker goes to jail? What about the exec
Every single boss that the engineer had ( all the way to the CEO ) should be go to jail for that if that engineer went to jail.
From having read the article I know that exactly that situation is likely the case. This guys some kind of executive engineer and several other executives were charged and just haven't gone all the way through processing yet.
Re: VW engineering executive sentenced to 40-month prison term in diesel case
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
Every single boss that the engineer had ( all the way to the CEO ) should be go to jail for that if that engineer went to jail.
Why? Is Pizza Hut's CEO criminally responsible if I run a red light to deliver a pizza because I'm afraid of being late? Edit: Please explain how the VW case is any different than my analogy
If the CEO ties your employment to unrealistic expectations of delivery speed and builds a culture of recklessness, sure.
Re: VW engineering executive sentenced to 40-month prison term in diesel case
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
Your cynicism apparently outweighs your reading skills: Quoting directly FTA: "U.S. prosecutors have charged eight current and former Volkswagen executives in connection with the diesel emissions cheating probe. Liang is one of the lowest-ranking executives charged so far. Another VW executive, Oliver Schmidt, has pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced in Detroit on Dec. 6. Under a plea agreement, Schmidt co…
The article flatly says that this person an executive and that several other executives were charged. This thread is fulling of people who didn't read a tiny well written article.
Oliver Schmidt is a low level manager in the Detroit office.
Not what would come to people's mind when "executive" is mentioned.
But I'm sure VW wants you to think their high level executives are being punished.
Re: VW engineering executive sentenced to 40-month prison term in diesel case
#46Aren't the ones in charge (e.g. executives, managers, etc.) responsible for the wrongdoing and not the workers carrying out the criminal activity? I'm surprised his lawyer didn't make a claim that he was just "following orders." There have been countless recreations of Stanley Milgram's obedience experiment and its results have been consistent. People are willing to obey and comply to authority figures, even if it's…
Just "following orders" doesn't even work for soldiers, let alone criminals.
And it can't, because that would enable a huge loophole.
Re: VW engineering executive sentenced to 40-month prison term in diesel case
#47How do we the title changed so it says this guy was an executive?
At the time I write this post many comments are claiming the execs will go free and this guy just took a fall. The article clearly says this guy was a low ranking executive, other executive were charged and this guy plead guilty, implying he rolled on them (but not stating that).
Re: VW engineering executive sentenced to 40-month prison term in diesel case
#48Shouldn’t there be a distinction between the person writing the code and the person who chooses to use the code? An engineer shouldn’t be responsible for knowing the law and doesn’t have access to corporate lawyers that executives do. You could argue that there are legitimate reasons to write code that’s illegal for research purposes but never implemented. Why should an engineer be responsible for that?
I'm in favor of punishing the people in charge, but I'm reluctant to overlook rank-in-file just because they were just following orders. It feels hypocritical, as an engineer, for me to say that engineers should be recognized not just for raw technical experience but for their ability to be creative artists and humane leaders, and then argue that senior engineers and their ideas and work have no agency or worldly responsibility beyond a requirements document.
According to the OP:
> Federal prosecutor Mark Chutkow countered that Liang was a "pivotal figure" in designing the systems used to make Volkswagen diesels appear to comply with U.S. pollution standards, when instead they could emit up to 40 times the allowed levels of smog-forming compounds in normal driving.
This wasn't just someone who wrote some code that he didn't intend to be misused. This is someone who used his expertise to direct the implementation of an unlawful system. To be successful in that, it seems you'd have to have a decent understanding of the law that you intend to break.
Re: VW engineering executive sentenced to 40-month prison term in diesel case
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why? Is Pizza Hut's CEO criminally responsible if I run a red light to deliver a pizza because I'm afraid of being late? Edit: Please explain how the VW case is any different than my analogy
I do not understand?, if vw post huge profit the execs will all get fat bonus .in the case poor sob did all this behind his managers back ?.
If the customer is happy and all the pizzas get delivered on time the Pizza Hut execs will get fat bonuses too.
However, no matter how unrealistic the delivery estimates are, the execs are not responsible if I run red lights or speed to meet those requirements. There is obviously no legal liability on the CEO unless he explicitly instructed or encouraged me to do so.
Re: VW engineering executive sentenced to 40-month prison term in diesel case
#50Corporations aren't democracies, closer to tyrannies (Chomsky). You refuse work, look for new one...
Waiting for his boss to get 400 months, and 10x until CEO level. They killed people ffs.