Royal Treatment: Saudi Prince Drives Drunk Without License and Kills a Man — Gets One Year in Converted Home in Martha’s Vineyard

In Martha’s Vineyard, they sure know how to punish a prince. Saudi prince, Bader Al Saud, 26, killed Orlando Ramos, 37, in a crosswalk while driving drunk without a valid license. His punishment was a year in a converted home and then he simply disappeared while on probation. He will not, however, be allowed to attend next year’s masked ball or “silly dress” event.

Prosecutors allowed the prince in 2005 to plead guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor motor vehicle homicide as part of a plea deal that allowed the prince to serve a one-year sentence on the island with another year of jail time suspended. He didn’t wait for the probation period. His lawyer says that he is driving happily in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

His attorney Arnold R. Rosenfeld insists that “It is my opinion that the defendant presents no risk to anyone and that his probation (requirement) can be dismissed.” It is certainly true that pedestrians are safe with the young prince mowing down commoners in Riyadh. What is astonishing is that Saudi will not let women drive despite the record of its male drivers, click here.

Saudi diplomats have had a certain record in fleeing home in the wake of criminal investigations — sometimes citing diplomatic immunity in the United States and in England.

Home confinement is a common practice for Saudi royals, it seems. In 2006, the wife of a Saudi prince was given six months at home for crimes involving illegal servants and mistreatment. For that story, click here.

For the full story, click here and here.