An Attorney General Won't Serve Any Jail Time For A Crash That Killed A Pedestrian
Source: NPR-AP
FORT PIERRE, S.D. South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg pleaded no contest Thursday to a pair of misdemeanor traffic charges over a crash last year that killed a pedestrian, avoiding jail time despite bitter complaints from the victim's family that he was being too lightly punished for actions they called "inexcusable."
Circuit Judge John Brown had little leeway to order jail time. Instead, he fined the state's top law enforcement official $500 for each count plus court costs of $3,742. Brown also ordered the Republican to "do a significant public service event" in each of the next five years near the date of Joseph Boever's death granting a request from the Boever family. But he put that on hold pending a final ruling after Ravnsborg's attorney objected that it was not allowed by statute.
Ravnsborg said in a statement after the hearing that he plans to remain in office. The plea capped the criminal portion of a case that led Gov. Kristi Noem a fellow Republican and law enforcement groups around the state to call for his resignation. But he still faces a likely lawsuit from Boever's widow and a potential impeachment attempt.
Ravnsborg's statement accused "partisan opportunists" of exploiting the situation and said they had "manufactured rumors, conspiracy theories and made statements in direct contradiction to the evidence all sides agreed upon."
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2021/08/27/1031638625/jason-ravnsborg-south-dakota-deadly-crash
question everything
(47,265 posts)pazzyanne
(6,518 posts)A son of a friend of mine was killed when US Rep Bill Janklow struck and killed a Minnesota motorcyclist in August, 2003.
"On August 16, 2003, Janklow was involved in a fatal traffic collision while driving his car, when he failed to stop at an intersection near Trent, South Dakota. Janklow ran through a stop sign, and collided with motorcyclist Randy Scott.[16] Scott, a 55-year-old Minnesotan, was thrown from his motorcycle and killed instantly. Janklow's vehicle traveled 300 feet beyond the point of impact and hit a sign in a field. He suffered a broken hand and bleeding on the brain. In the ensuing investigation, officials determined Janklow was driving at least 70 miles per hour in a 55 mph zone and that he ran a stop sign at the intersection where the crash occurred.[17]"
"Most of Janklow's previous driving record was suppressed at the trial,[19] but the superintendent of the state highway patrol reported publicly that Janklow had 16 traffic stops during his last term as governor for which he was not ticketed, out of both "respect for his authority" and a "fear of retribution".[22] From 1990 to 1994, Janklow had 12 speeding tickets, with fines totaling $1000.[22][23] Two troopers were allowed to testify that they had stopped Janklow for speed in excess of 80 miles per hour while driving on rural roads, but had opted to issue him written warnings rather than traffic citations.[19]"
from Wikipedia
He was convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced to 100 days in jail. The Scott family was awarded $1,000,000 in a wrongful death lawsuit.
CBHagman
(16,968 posts)...of violations. It boggles the mind. A life might have been saved if they'd held Janklow to account for any of those offenses.
SoCalDavidS
(9,998 posts)It's astounding what some in this country are able to get away with.
But, it's South Dakota, so he'll probably be re-elected, along with their Dipshit Governor and Dipshit Senators.
GB_RN
(2,267 posts)ck4829
(34,977 posts)Maru Kitteh
(28,303 posts)So why couldn't you hit and run in SD?
Thomas Hurt
(13,903 posts)RVN VET71
(2,686 posts)It wasnt a crash that killed a pedestrian.
It was this heartless, soulless scum bag who killed the man.
And lied about it.
He would rot in hell, were there a hell for him to rot in.
bucolic_frolic
(42,676 posts)Case should be cited in similar incidents nationwide for decades.
We have not only privileged justice, we have unequal justice.
This doesn't pass the smell test. Heck it doesn't pass the waft test.
sinkingfeeling
(51,277 posts)NH Ethylene
(30,793 posts)Which can happen.
But it was definitely a hit and run, which is a serious crime. It is inexcusable that he was not charged with a felony and punished appropriately.
Luciferous
(6,067 posts)NH Ethylene
(30,793 posts)I just reread the article and saw it.
Wow, he really got away with murder!
On edit - I just saw post #10. Very shocking!
babylonsister
(170,963 posts)https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/08/how-a-deadly-crash-upended-south-dakota-politics#intcid=recommendations_vf-hive-trending-legacy_c1b1efdf-ed06-4554-9400-c8c5b24b91eb_popular4-1
snip//
. His face was in your windshield, Jason, one of the agents said, after noting that Boevers eyeglasses had been found in Ravnsborgs car. Think about that. The investigators were incredulous that Ravnsborg didnt realize he had hit a person, and that he failed to notice Boevers body in the immediate aftermath. I was in a meeting with a group of investigators and I said, How many of you hit a deer? Every single one in that room, one of the investigators said. I said, How many of you did not know you hit a deer? Every single one of them knew they hit a deer.
Cell phone data, the investigators said, showed Ravnsborg had walked by the corpse, which was less than two feet off the road and about 60 feet behind where the damaged Ford Taurus was parked. One of the agents said that Boevers lifeless body, which had been stripped of clothes in the crash, was lily white and almost certainly would have been illuminated by the cell phone flashlight Ravnsborg used to search the area. The agents also pointed out that Boever had himself been carrying a flashlight, which wound up on the edge of the grass. When they recreated the scene, the agents said they walked on each side of the road to give Ravnsborg the benefit of the doubt. The flashlight, one said, was like a beacon. Throughout the interview, Ravnsborg was emphatic as he repeated a variation of the same line: I did not know it was a man until the next day.
no_hypocrisy
(45,774 posts)Vehicular negligence
greenjar_01
(6,477 posts)on the anniversary for just five years, and he still has his lawyers saying "Nah, you can't make us do that."
Fucking trash bag of a person.
dsc
(52,130 posts)but upon realizing that wasn't going to happen they asked for the community service.
Martin68
(22,671 posts)justice.
Javaman
(62,439 posts)one for the rich and well connected and the other for the rest of us.
there never was any such thing as "equal under the eyes of the law".
bluestarone
(16,722 posts)Investigated! How can this continue?
AZLD4Candidate
(5,558 posts)Republican convicted of killing someone than running away from it. Crickets, then no resignation
Can we please stop eating our own?
Bengus81
(6,907 posts)Maru Kitteh
(28,303 posts)the very same day I quit voting for Dems.
How far do you expect the Democratic party to get without women?
AZLD4Candidate
(5,558 posts)LudwigPastorius
(8,944 posts)It's OK If You Are A Republican!
stillcool
(32,626 posts)or was that too much of a punishment?
Kid Berwyn
(14,651 posts)BY TOM KLUDT
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TERRY A. RATZLAFF
Vanity Fair, AUGUST 25, 2021
Excerpt
As he passed through Highmore, Ravnsborg considered stopping for gas before opting to press on for the final 46 miles to Pierre. It was around there, he said later, that he turned the radio off after hearing the Twins collect the final out in their win over division rival Cleveland several minutes earlier. At 10:20, according to cell phone data obtained by the investigators, he unlocked his phone and signed into his Yahoo email account. From there, Ravnsborg scanned headlines before landing on an article published by a right-wing website about Riding the Dragon, a documentary billed as an exposé into the secret world of Joe Biden and his familys relationship to China and the sinister business deals that enriched them at Americas expense. At 10:22, prosecutors determined he locked his phone. A minute later, Ravnsborg veered into the right shoulder, where Boever was walking, sending his head through the windshield.
What happened in the moments before the crash and in the subsequent 12 hours has consumed South Dakotas political class, and even caused a rift between two Donald Trump allies. Governor Kristi Noem, a Republican star and potential 2024 contender, urged Ravnsborg, a self-described pro-life, pro-2nd Amendment, pro-business conservative, to resign. And yet Ravnsborg continues exerting his power in deep red South Dakota and beyond, from joining a 17-state legal effort in December to overturn Trumps 2020 defeat to teaming up last month with Republican attorneys general hoping to declare a New York state concealed carry gun law unconstitutional. Meanwhile, his predecessor has announced plans to run for attorney general again next year, despite Ravnsborg still being eligible to seek another term.
Snip
Cell phone data, the investigators said, showed Ravnsborg had walked by the corpse, which was less than two feet off the road and about 60 feet behind where the damaged Ford Taurus was parked. One of the agents said that Boevers lifeless body, which had been stripped of clothes in the crash, was lily white and almost certainly would have been illuminated by the cell phone flashlight Ravnsborg used to search the area. The agents also pointed out that Boever had himself been carrying a flashlight, which wound up on the edge of the grass. When they recreated the scene, the agents said they walked on each side of the road to give Ravnsborg the benefit of the doubt. The flashlight, one said, was like a beacon. Throughout the interview, Ravnsborg was emphatic as he repeated a variation of the same line: I did not know it was a man until the next day.
Snip
But should that be true, Ravnsborgs chosen course of action after the crash was one guaranteed to arouse suspicion. I think everyone is very colored by the post-accident reaction. He got in a car and he drove away, said a former gubernatorial chief of staff in the state. If he responds in the moment and has the sheriff run it down and they find out that he hit a guy, I do feel like peoples reaction to this would be different. What flips people over the edge is that he left the scene.
Source: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/08/how-a-deadly-crash-upended-south-dakota-politics
Cryptoad
(8,254 posts)Mysterian
(4,524 posts)The investigation showed the victim was hit well off the roadway. The victim's glasses were found in the passenger compartment of Ravnsborg's car.
Such is to be expected in the republican nirvana of South Dakota.
ashredux
(2,593 posts)Joinfortmill
(14,247 posts)RayStar
(417 posts)No other persons would get a slap on the wrist like this. I hope he has nightmares NIGHTLY!
dlk
(11,435 posts)America has a long history of not holding connected, white men accountable. This latest travesty is just more of the same.
Cheezoholic
(1,967 posts)I dont care the asshole was fucked up and is getting away with it. Done.
malthaussen
(17,066 posts)I am astonished that they only charged him with a couple of misdemeanors.
I recollect a celebrated case in Philly some years ago, where the wife of a local sportscaster, while drunk, hit and dragged a homeless person with her SUV, which the couple then tried to sell off in Jersey. Discovered, the woman was lightly slapped on the wrist despite her glaring negligence and the couple's criminal attempt at cover-up. But hey, she was "remorseful."
-- Mal
FreepFryer
(7,077 posts)Guilty af
ck4829
(34,977 posts)Champp
(2,114 posts)He'll probably blame Hillary's emails for his own foul driving.