A man lived jumping over Niagara Falls and he had boasted for years that he could survive the event. Is he a genius or just a wild and crazy guy?

Niagara Falls Jumper Told Kin He'd Live
Michigan man charged in Niagara Falls stunt

What I don't get is why he is being jailed for doing this.

If he wants to jump off a bridge, let him. If he wants to go over the Falls, let him. Just don't expect anyone else to pay the funeral costs (or hospital bills).

One of the reasons is that he put the lives of many rescue workers at risk my doing this. It is not fair to those people or their families to subject them to a life threatening situation because you are a daredevil or an idiot. (My vote is for the latter).

The guy was not in need of "rescue". He was on the shore when the "rescuers" arrived.

Society, in trying to protect everyone from themselves, is fighting a losing battle.

From the second article.

It is illegal to do this, because there is a chance that rescue workers might have to risk their lives to save you. Our police and fire fighters rescue people even if they are stupid and even if the rescue is dangerous.

Putting a $10,000 fine on J walking is trying too hard to "protect everyone from themselves". Making riding over Niagara with a helmet on illegal is not. It's a matter of practicality.

You can argue philosophical roles of government till you are blue in the face, but the fact of the matter is, it is practical and useful to have a laws that penalize morons like this guy.

Yes, this guy was on shore when the rescuers got there. It's not always the case. many times these fools get caught in currents that keep them near the base of the falls, and force rescue workers to risk their lives to retrieve the body. The fine, and maybe even some jail time (30 days) are more than appropriate in this case.

I can agree that someone who is rescued can be (and should be) responsible for the cost of their rescue, especially if they were reckless in their actions.

In this case, the guy was only slightly hurt, was not calling for help, did not ask for help, and was not in danger.

As a side note, the guy is unemployed and will be unable to pay any fine. Putting him in jail serves no useful purpose other than to incur further cost to the taxpayer.

I am certain that no one contemplating going over niagara Falls finally makes his decision with the statement : "Nah, it's illegal". They may say its dangerous, they may say its stupid, I doubt they think of it as something that is illegal.

The government cannot protect the stupid from themselves. Where is the practicality of making an act committed by a mere 15 people over the past decade (out of millions of visitors) illegal?

Telling people this is illegal will not prevent others from trying to do it. Emphasizing that this guy is lucky to be alive might.

That's actually a good point and you have convinced me. You are right. Those laws do not deter anyone from going over the falls. If they're going to do it they are going to do it. Perhaps a better (although not feasible) solution is to put up a sign that informs those people that public rescue workers will not be available for their usage unless the are, say, 300 meters down stream from the falls. (Or whatever a safe distance is.) They might not be deterred, but at least public servants would not be in danger.

Then again, I suppose you can classify that as "attempted suicide." Whether or not the man had those intentions can be considered irrelevant, but as suicide is a crime , I suppose he can be jailed.

I would have to agree entirely with Amlord on this one. We can't legislate stupidity. If he had endangered the lives of rescue workers, they should have the right to bring a civil action against him for reckless endangerment or something, but to make idiocy illegal would empty Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court.


EDITED TO ADD:

Wait a minute - did I just say "I would have to agree entirely with Amlord"?? Could some kindly moderator please delete this post?