30 days' jail for drunk vehicular homicide? WTF?!

[TXlib]

Judge: Drunk driver must carry victim's photo

Wednesday, January 14, 2004 Posted: 7:32 AM EST (1232 GMT)

BUTLER, Pennsylvania (AP) -- A woman who was drunk when she killed a man in a head-on collision must carry a photograph of the teacher in his coffin as part of her five years of probation, a judge ruled.

Jennifer Langston pleaded guilty in September to vehicular homicide, reckless endangerment and reckless driving.

Prosecutors said Langston was drunk and talking on a cell phone in June 2002 when she crossed the center line and hit a pickup truck carrying Glenn Clark and his pregnant wife, Annette. He died, his wife remains in a coma and their son, born by Caesarean section five months after the crash, is being raised by relatives.

A judge sentenced Langston to 30 days in jail, plus house arrest and probation, and ordered her to carry a picture of Glenn Clark.

But when Clark's mother provided the photo of Clark in a casket, Langston, 27, objected. Her attorney said the "spirit of the agreement" was that the photo be of Clark when he was alive.

"This makes no sense to me. Requiring Jennifer to carry a picture like that defeats the whole purpose if the purpose is to look and remember," said Langston's attorney, Michael Sherman. "Who in their right mind will look at such a picture?"

Butler County Judge George Hancher ruled Tuesday that Langston would have to carry the coffin photo.

Clark's mother, Rosellen Moller, has been unapologetic.

"That's where she put him -- in a casket. That's what she did for him. I'd just shut my mouth if I was her," Moller said.

Original Story

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Is it just me, or is this sentence so light it shocks the conscience? This drunk bitch killed one man, put his wife in a coma (and after 18 months, it's unlikely she will regain consciousness, I think), and effectively orphaned their child.

And for this crime, she gets 30 fucking days in jail, and five years of probation? What the FUCK?! And this unmitigated bitch has the fucking temerity to whine that she has to carry a picture of the man she killed in his coffin?

If I were a member of the family of the victim, I would be utterly outraged! There had better be a huge wrongful death suit against her, and if I were her, I'd hope nobody decided to take the law in their own hands to see that true justice were served.

[Skittles]

1. it is difficult to figure out who you hate more

drunks . . . . . or women.

[TXlib]

2. Sorry, this story really got my dander up.

I hate drunks who kill. "Bitch" was applied because this woman apparently felt that having to carry his picture was a gross injustice, after killing him, and getting ONLY 30 FRICKIN' DAYS for it. It's not a term I apply to many people.

Next time I want to dehumanise somebody, I'll use gender-neutral language. :D

[VelmaD]

5. While I agree with your basic sentiment...

you and I will have a little talk about your language later. :evilgrin:

:spank:

[TXlib]

7. OK, OK

I recognise that "bitch" is a term that many regard as unacceptable under any circumstances... Next time I want a general term of abuse, I'll use "sod", or "waste of life", or some other gender-neutral term! :P

[Lady Freedom]

15. If you as me....

,and I know you didn't,you used the proper term for that murdering winch.

[TXlib]

17. Huh?

[Lady Freedom]

19. She is a...

bitch.

[VelmaD]

23. Don't even try...

to decipher Lady Freedom's spelling. Stronger men than you have tried and failed. :-) It'll just make your head hurt.

[Mikimouse]

3. I think that the real question must be...

WHO is the woman? I suspect that there is more to this story than simply the text. I remember an instance in Lubbock, TX. A young woman did not have her small child in a care seat, or belted in, and ran into the car in front of her (it was later stated the she had been tailgating the car in front of her). The child was killed, but the police decided not to press any charges against her because she "had suffered enough". Imagine that the same scenario involved one of us. The young woman in question was the wife of a fine upstanding member of the Lubbock community.

[pansypoo53219]

4. over the holiday season

5 people in SE WI were arrested for drunk driving. 2 HAD CHILDREN IN THE CAR and ALL had more than 3 arrests for drunk driving. when does DON'T DRIVE DRUNK mean ANYTHING?

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

20. People do EVERYTHING except the OBVIOUS

Rescind the person's right to drive, for life. And pay gobs of money to the victim's family. No need for lengthy jail sentences (that 30 days actually would be enough), nor stupid humiliation rituals.

Those people aren't dangerous walking on the street, only when driving cars. Take their cars away. Why don't they do that?

[TXlib]

22. 30 days would be enough?

Did you miss the point of the article? She didn't just drive drunk; she wiped out a family!

I agree with Cuban_Liberal:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=642687&mesg_id=642850&page=

[Loonman]

6. I fucking hate drunk drivers

Should be summarily shot.

[TXlib]

8. I think they do that in some countries...

However, if the maximum sentence for, say, capital murder is life without parole, then the sentence for drunk driving (if nobody is injured) should be far less than that.

In the instance of DUI with vehicular homicide, I think 10-20 years is probably the right punishment.

[jimbo fett]

9. They should seize the cars of drunk drivers, sell them and give the profit

to MADD.

[TXlib]

12. I agree. Make it really expensive for the drunk driver.

What if the car is not owned by the drunk? How about if the drunk is fined the value of the vehicle, in that case?

Or seize the car regardless, and let the owner sue the drunk for replacement value. Then people would be much more wary of lending their cars out.

[TXlib]

10. Furthermore:

I think that picture she carries shouldn't be a wallet photo; rather, an 8"x11" to be hung around her neck, outside any clothing or coats, at all times, with a caption explaining that she killed this man from DUI.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

16. No, nooooo....

make that 4 x 3 feet. On an iron slab 6 inches wide. With requirement to walk barefoot at least 10 miles a day, with a state employee (salary paid by her of course) walking in front, spreading broken glass. Besides, anybody who comes within 10 yards of her and does NOT spit on her should pay a $10,000 fine and receive 20 lashes in public. All her possessions, and those of relatives up to the 10th degree should be immediately confiscated and given to the victim's family.

If you disagree with ANY of the above, you are FOR DRUNK DRIVING!!!!!

[TXlib]

18. Satire applied with the subtlety of a sledgehammer...

[Cuban_Liberal]

11. What a joke of a sentence!

She's VERY lucky not to live in IL, because she would do hard penintentiary time. Almost any police officer, myself included, will tell you that drunken driving is and should be considered a felony, because the consequences of the act are often catastrophic. I fail to see how driving drunk is any less a menace than firing a weapon in a crowded location; whether you hit anyone or not is secondary to the sheer recklessness of the conduct involved.

[Bunny]

13. I live and work very near where this occurred.

The reason she got such a light sentence was because her Blood Alcohol Content was not tested until at least two hours after the crash, so the DA felt that he could not prove she was drunk WHILE DRIVING.

Believe me, her sentence was controversial here, too. She killed one man, effectively killed his wife, and left their son an orphan. And she has the nerve to bitch about the picture???

She was originally ordered to visit his grave and place flowers on it every year (on the anniversary of the crash) but that was rescinded after her lawyer argued that this would create a circus atmosphere.

The woman is a single mother with two small kids. She is gainfully employed, and had no history of any problems with the law prior to this incident. Beyond that, she is not "connected" in any way that I can tell.

She's damn lucky she isn't doing the mandatory three year jail sentence for vehicular homicide. If all she has to do is carry his picture around, she should shut her mouth and thank her lucky stars that she can spend this time with her children. The man that she killed (and his comatose wife) will never see their little boy. And he'll never know them.

[TXlib]

21. So, if her BAC was above legal limit 2 hrs after the crash

and she was (presumably) in police custody, or hospital care for that time, and couldn't drink after the crash, wouldn't that mean that she was even drunker at the time of the crash?

Or are they trying to spin it that she slammed a few drinks before driving home, and the alcohol hadn't yet got into her system, but by the time of the test, it had?

[CreamyGoodness]

24. Rising BAC theory

Yeah, that's the theory, that the alcohol takes a little while to be fully absorbed into your system before it can be detected on your breath. Of course I believe they tested this woman's blood, didn't they? Blood doesn't take as long to be detected. I dunno why they didn't take it to trial, except that it might have been too hard on the victims' family given that the defendant was apparently willing to plead guilty. It's possible the defendant doesn't even remember what happened.

[djeseru]

14. No sympathies for those drunks...

It's amazing what they get away with, and no one seems to think this is wrong in our justice system? I almost lost my spouse to a drunk, then come to find out after the settlement, it was her THIRD DWI offense. Her insurance company hid that little gem from us. And yet, here in Texas, this woman is still out on the road.

But only 30 days for pleading guilty? One dead, one in a coma, and one orphan? And, let me guess, this woman still gets in her car and drives away, while talking on the phone.