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Voices.IdahoStatesman.com
Probation,
What a travesy. I somehow think if this person were driving a geo metro when this accident occurred, she would be punished a bit more severly than this. I guess true justice doesn't apply to people that can afford for it not to.
It's All True
Money can buy you power.
Uhhh
It was a Hummer H3. Costs about as much as a Ford Explorer. I'm thinking it probably wasn't a money thing as much as it was a "prosecution doesn't wanna drag this out in court" thing.
Is this your first clue that money buys power?
Are you too young to remember Simpson's case. Come on - a poor black man would have never, ever walked away from murdering two white people... in fact a poor white man would never have walked away. Money money money it's so funny
it's a rich man's world.
So this is what it comes to..........
And now Mister Judge...shall we give Duncan a sentence of no television for the rest of his life for what he's done? Or how about if a someone who cold bloodedly kills another is forbidden to shoot his weapon of choice forever?
Admittedly I do not know any of the extenuating circumstances of this case. And I don't have to. I can only sit in my home and wonder what my life would be like if this woman had taken the love of my life from me. From her three children. I wonder Judge how you would feel if it was your wife...your Mother....your Daughter....Your sister. Life is much more precious than denial of driving privileges. Not good enough. And I shall remember you Judge if you are one of those that is elected. Or if I should ever sit in judgement upon you. Shame on you.
I think...
I think she got off with a kiss and a piece of candy. Those pills came with a warning and she had taken them before and knew what affect they had on her before getting behind the wheel. I am the person least likely to say lock them up. But this is one case where the person is getting off way to easy. This is not like driving into a bank in Fruitland, this woman's actions killed a human being.
If she drives in ANY STATE, in any state of being...
she should go to prison. I don't think I heard that nor do I understand. On the other hand is it likely that she will be alive herself in that time due to this disease?
She will never legally be able to drive again
Her information now goes into a national database that all police officers can access anywhere in that she is revoked from legally driving in any state. And your right this disease will likely affect her quality of life severely in the next ten years or so.
The value the criminal justice system puts on human life is sick
She willingly took drugs that she knew darn well would effect her driving. She willingly drove her SUV. The RN was killed waiting for a light at Eagle Rd and Overland headed east. That's flat and straight and an arrow. This woman must have been looped out of her mind on drugs, driving up on the sidewalk without using her brakes.
Everyone involved in this scam of justice is pure trash, low-life trash at that. We do not need scum looking down their noses at us citizens coming up with scams to allow murders to stay free.
What would it cost....
What would it cost to run over Freearth?
It would get to be AWFUL here...
Zekie would pick up the slack.
Slap on the wrist for killer and a casket for victim. Justice?
The fact that the judge in this case didnt have the gutts to send this woman to JAIL is why we will never see an end to horrible incidents like this.
What if she claimed that she smoked medical pot and lived in Oregon and that caused this accident? Would it be more of an offense than plain old knowly impaired driving because you had a prescription?
Until someone can 'draw the line in the sand' and make offenders and others who CHOOSE to drive irresponsibly(regardless their excuse) travestys like this will continue.
Does the judge not want to have the state take on the care of this physically sick person who had the cognition to drive knowing she was impaired just to cater to her child who needed a ride to school?
If the judge doesnt give this incredibily irresponsible woman a TON of community service in leiu to jail time, then the a message is sent to the community that if you want your own personal get our of jail free card, make sure your attorney gets this judge to hear your case.
Agreement with ADA Prosecutors?
WHAT?!!!Something stinks to high heavens in this case. The bicyclist was doing everything right and the perp, everything wrong.
A hint of irony?
Though her sentance should have been much more harsh, she may now have to begin riding a bicycle for transportation. Hopefully she will see just how dangerous cars and drivers can be.
Ridiculous
A ridiculous amount of 'punishment' for the crime committed. I would be outraged as a family member of the victim. The legal system here was finessed to the point that a criminal by all definitions of the word gets to walk free. She cannot drive for the rest of her life, wow, that'll show her!
Give it a try for a couple of months -
Give away your car keys and have someone drive you, catch a bus, walk, bike everywhere you want to go for the next few months. Tell us then how that effects your life.
I'm not defending what she did, or the sentence, but never being able to drive again in this part of the country that values individual independence and does not have virtually any public transit is a real punishment.
Dude...try December 26, 2005.
Not a DUI either. Too exprensive and it sucked but I didn't die.
You should be that lucky.
Who said she's never going to drive again?
Although there are some sites that say she lost her privileges for life, most sites say that she lost those privileges for life in IDAHO. There's the point about federal probation, but that's only for 10 years. Doesn't that mean that she can still move to another state in a decade and get a new driver's license? Or, does that mean that she can move to another state today and get a license but she just has to report to a probation officer?
OMG
This is unbelievable! People who just get a DUI in this state gets a harsher sentence than a woman who was proven to be intoxicated (drugs or alchohol no difference). I had a friend who was killed by a drunk driver here in Boise Heidi Johnson and her killer got 6 months in jail, no driving priviledges for 10 yrs and ordered to pay child support for her 3 surviving children to the age of 18. That I thought was walking away from murder but this takes the cake. I can't imagine this woman having a decent nights sleep nor the judge who passed sentence. Shame on the court system and my prayers for the family who has to live with the idea that their wife/mother's life had no more meaning that running an animal over.
Remember this name on election day
Wetherell , a judge who's not fit to serve on the bench.
Why?
Why's he not fit? Because he accepted a plea agreement that both sides came to? And then refused to allow her record to be purged if she's good? Seems to me he did the best he could. He took a deal both sides agreed to and that fell within the law, and then when she said "pretty please can I have with held judgment" he said NO.
What exactly did he do that's so wrong?
And everyone that's so quick to judge the "justice" in this case, did it ever occur to you that the prosecutor probably presented the plea deal to the victim's family to see if they'd be satisfied with it as well? I don't know if he did or didn't, but would it change your opinion if you found out her family signed off on it and was OK with it?
He took an oath
and didn't honor it.
Nice one sided spin job, by the way.
Ok
So what did he DO Watcher?
He didn't honor his oath. HOW? How did he fail to honor his oath?
You accuse me of a one sided spin job and yet you can't even back up your own claims. I'm man enough to admit when I'm wrong. So show me I'm wrong. Convince me of it and I'll admit it publicly.
wow skippy.........awesome! ru married? if ur, ur always wrong
:)
Thankfully no
I've managed to avoid that trap.
Even so, I'd still like to see Watcher actually back up his statements and attempt to justify his position.
The Prosecutor was satisfied with the plea deal. The victim's family was satisfied with the plea deal. The deal met the standards set forth by the law. So I'm still wondering how Watcher's gonna justify saying the judge violated his oath.
Skippy, I agree. Watcher is a wingbot, they only tell them what
to say, not how to think.
I R WRONG but I R my OWN wrong...
AMEN, WHATEVER AND EVER
This is why..........
He was elected to judge. Not make deals. He represents his constituancy. He does not represent the victim or the perp. He had a job to do and should have done it. What could he have done? He could have rejected any deal. He could have given this person what was deserved. He failed! He should be ashamed of himself!
And it does not make any difference whether the victims family signed off on a deal. No "deal or no deal" here. She did wrong. Very wrong. And she should get what's just. What message does this send our children? Imagine trying to discuss this in a drug education class with seniors who know what having to live with consequences is like.
What can you do? Write to this judge and tell him in no uncertain terms what you think of this travesty. Call his home. Send him email. Send him snail mail. Have a voice. Don't just sit there and take it.
This Judge supposedly represents you. Has he?
He didn't make the deal
He only accepted a deal that was presented to him. It met the standards of the law for the crime she was CHARGED with. He can't sentence her for a crime she's not being accused of. He can only impose sentence on what the prosecutor said she did.
Vehicular Manslaughter. That was what she's charged with. Given Idaho statutes she was punished fairly severely. (I still say she got off light but based on the law books it's a heavy sentence for the crime.) She got drugged up and killed someone. No malice involved even though someone died. It's not murder by Idaho law. She was charged and plead to Vehicular Manslaughter.
So... what exactly did he do wrong? He had a deal before him. He looked at it and it was in line with Idaho laws. The victim's family said they felt it was just, the prosecutor said HE felt it was just, the guilty party said SHE felt it was just. What should he have done? Forced them to go to a long lengthy trial that probably would have resulted in a less sever penalty?
The judge wasn't the deal broker. The prosecutor was.
Min. sentence
What is the minimum sentence for Vehicular Manslaughter? Just wondering ...
As I read the statutes
There isn't one.
I think "minimum sentencing guidelines" are probably pretty rare at the state level and generally don't exist in anything but drug and violent crime laws anyway.
So technically (assuming I read it right) she could have gotten off without so much as a slap on the wrist.
Driving to distorted conclusions?
Watcher, Shreksfiona, Gemstoneprincess: You should stop posting. Your ignorance is poisonous. Please refrain from idiotic conclusory statements that require even the slightest knowledge of the legal system. Two quick points: First, it is the job of the prosecution to bring charges and pursue a punishment, NOT THE JUDGE. You probably dont know the head prosecutor's name though. Second, has it ever occur to you that you might not have all the facts? There are so many facts in this case involving the kind of medication she was on and the nature of Cron’s disease (of which you know neither), my recommendation is that this forum would be better off without you. Ask a question or something. There are plenty of smart people in here, like MrSkippy, who probably can fill in some of the empty space between your ears.
Shiggs: Driving impaired is just that...
It does not matter why this woman was driving impaired as she killed this mother and nurse. Her poor judgment and actions killed this woman.
The fact that she has Chrons disease is not the issue here.
The issue is that she knowingly got behind the wheel of a car when she knew she was impaired and it was her actions that caused a death.
The fact that the prosecution provided their case with everything they could and the offenders attorney played the sympathy card to the max was pathetic.
Driving is a PRIVILEGE. To knowlingly drive impaired is to tell everyone else that your right to drive regardless your inability to do so safely is more important that the safety of anyone who might end up in your way.
If our Governor C. L. Butch Otter had to do jail time and MAJOR community service because he knowingly drove impaired, why not this woman? Butch just used poor judgment; he didnt even kill anyone. Since when this woman above the law?
And none of what you said
has anything to do with the Judge being unfit for his roll as Watcher suggested.
Nobody is defending this woman. (Well, besides her attorneys) Personally I think she got off light. But I'm man enough to admit that I don't know all the details and I'm willing to accept that for whatever reason, a plea bargain was reached and accepted. I don't care why she did it or what her mitigating circumstances were, she ran someone over and killed her. That the victim was a nurse is irrelevant as well. She could have been a hooker or a crack head and it still would be just as bad. The criminal ran her down because the criminal was selfish and lacked forethought.
But that she got off light has nothing to do with the judge. He didn't have anything to do with the plea bargain.
I don't...
disagree with your statement but did you mean Crohn's disease?
Spell check is not the isssue here..driving impaired is.
Thank you for your spell check. I appreciate that you thought it was so important to correct my spelling. Gold star for you.
But lets keep our eye on the ball here. This is not about something trival like spelling errors.
The issue is personal responsibility and being accountable for your actions.
Driving a car is an adult behavior that comes with adult privileges and responsibilities. That is balanced with the accountability for your adult actions-responsible or not.
Enough said for me.
Shiggs
was pointing out that the posters did not know what they were talking about, yet couldn't properly identify the disease. If you live in a glass house, don't throw stones. The reply was meant for Shiggs, but thanks for being so self absorbed!
touché.
Exelent wurk on corekting a mispeling. Completely discredited, I cede to your superior intellect.
Here to back up shiggs
...
I see you liberal baby killers don't vaule life at all
Bottom line: The judge has takng a oath to honor the State's laws. He didn't take an oath to honor deals that do not serve justice that fits the crime.
This judge made the courts and justice look cheap and even cheaper than human life. I personal am going to take an interest in this judge to see what can be done reelection time. I believe this judge has show very poor judgement and should not be reelected due to a lack of values and poor jugement.
I'm sure some radio ads around election time about this ruling will give the folks a chance to know whom that they are voting for.
SHUT UP!!
There, I feel better.
Not as good as I did flagging.
So quick to judge.
Do YOU value all human life, or just that of victim/innocent?
Do you consider yourself a good Christian, complete with the charge not to judge another and to forgive everyone?
Was this sentence illegal? In other words, was it within the guidlines set forth by our UN-LIBERAL state legislature?
P.S.- I decided to do some deep inquiry regarding this Judge. Turns out, he's considered one of the MORE strict judges and is often disqualified by defense attorneys in an attempt to get thier clients a less-strict sentence.
And your uninformed snap judgments would take a Judge who is hard on violent crime and repeat offenders off the bench. DO SOME HOMEWORK.
STFU!
Ooh that does feel good..
FLAG!
You can do it better.
Do tell
How did he NOT uphold the states laws? If the punishment agreed to was within the confines of the law, how exactly did he fail to uphold that law?
When a plea agreement is reached, a judge can choose to refuse to accept it, but he needs a REAL good reason. One would be that the plea violates the law. Does the plea in some way violate the law?
Again, you can SAY he failed to uphold his oath as loud and as many times as you want. But saying it doesn't simply make it true Watcher. How did he fail? What did he do wrong?
I don't care what you're going to do. All you ARE doing is blowing hot air and not backing up your statements.
Paranoia Is A Self-Defeating Mental Impairment That, As A Final
result, renders Watcher (and many others on this board that whimper their cases so loudly) totally impotent. That's why they fight so hard to be right. Ignoring hurts them more than arguing with them. Diminishes their phony bravado.
You get the justice you can afford
What a crock......high, wealthy and self important......prison is where she belongs.
Things to come
What a tragic loss of life those who preach for a legalization of all drugs should remember this will put all of us at the mercy of those who use a drug that will impair their ability to perform or drive in a safe manner we will have to trust their judgement to act resposibly and stay off the roads
Illegal Drugs
What does this article or case have anything to do with illegal drugs?
"Police and prosecutors say Hanson, 44, was impaired at the time of the colllision by narcotic prescription drugs, including oxycodone, or Oxycontin."