June 28, 2003

Windshield Death

ABCNEWS.com : Woman Gets 50 Years for Windshield Death

Fifty years?

I don't know much about the different variants of death, negligence, and sentences, but this feels a bit excessive. She was driving under the influence of drugs and I think I heard that the pedestrian had the right of way when she hit him. This led to his death. On top of that was her negligence in not reporting the accident in the one to two hours after the impact. It just seems weird to call it murder, when she had no intent before the accident, and when her role in his death afterward was in doing nothing to actively physically bring about his death. But maybe death through negligence really is murder according to the law. I don't know.

That said, I don't understand prison in this regard. I can't really suggest a better alternative; I'm not sure one exists... but she's not really the type that society needs to be protected against. She wouldn't make a pattern out of this. Her punishment is entirely punitive. Using prison for purely punitive reasons seems wrong, when they're full of people that society needs protection against. I don't know. Something about this is all wrong.

Posted by Curt at June 28, 2003 01:20 AM

Comments

Perhaps burning the car seat and dumping the body in a park had something to do with it. Doesn't sound like drugs was influencing her ability to act when she did that.

Posted by: Deborah at June 28, 2003 08:34 PM

Nah, that's evidence tampering and coverup, all after death. Doesn't make it add up to murder. Also, I never tried to make the point (nor do I believe it) that her drug use is some sort of excuse.

Posted by: Curt at June 28, 2003 09:01 PM

Yeah, don't send her to jail. Take away her license. Then she can do all the drugs she wants and the only thing we need to worry about is her addiction to cartoons and Nintendo.

Posted by: Pete at June 28, 2003 10:43 PM

You are giving me nightmares! I just woke up from a dream where someone was choking me to death and she said she knew Curt so she would get away with it

Posted by: at June 29, 2003 05:02 AM

She knew what she had done and she never reported it. I can't believe she left him to die in the windshield. Can you imagine the pain he was going through.Poor man. I just read that they done a Csi episode based on it but it amazed me when i watched it.

Posted by: Lola at March 23, 2005 06:52 PM

She left him to die on the windshield, checked on him twice! Went inside, had sex, came out and checked again. From what was said at the trial, she checked on him several times and left him begging her to save him. She knew she could have dome something to save this man without giving too much of her situation away but chose not to.

Fifty years is just fine to me; besides, she was a druggie and working in medicine...two things that really don't mesh. Besides, it is high time (no pun intended) that those who choose to get in the car under the influence get nailed to the wall when they kill someone other than themselves.

Posted by: kittymom at May 13, 2005 07:54 PM