Does Janklow deserve the full ride? Ten Years?

[the_real_38]

It turns out that he had made these previous statements about how he was a speeder, and he tried to play it off as if it were cute or something. You would never guessed that an actual person died - because the other guy wasn't famous.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. NO.

He should serve one to two years and do the rest on probation and lose his license. He is aging and in poor health...no sense pawning off his healthcare costs on the taxpayers. One to two years is sufficient punishment...it won't bring the dead back.

[the_real_38]

3. You see the humanity in the man...

... that's big of you. Because it sure is hard to find.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

15. No that's really not my point.

I would like to see humanity in humanity. He is a selfish ass who used his illness as an excuse for his poor behavior. Be that as it may, he is ill and being ill can only expect to become a huge burden to taxpayers caring for his illness in the state prison system. One can mete out punishment sensibly. Since there was no INTENT to commit murder, he should be dealt a lighter sentence....one I would advocate no matter WHO he was.

[LastKnight]

30. he didnt even know the guys name!

this man has no humanity left, first it was the phantom car excuse, he has used on multiple occasions, then only at the trial did the diabetes come up, and according to a local newspaper, he told the EMT his bloodsugar was fine and he had eaten. he messed up my state as governor and im happy to see him get what he has coming to him.

-LK

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

34. I realize that but I think that the contents of your statement is

what ails our society. We don't want justice we want revenge. Justice is seeing to it that we have punished a person, and made sure we have done everything to ensure it won't happen again. Revenge is a pound of flesh.

My principles are consistent no matter the defendant.

[fob]

47. As a congresscritter the "taxpayer" will foot the bill regardless

of where his irresponsible murdering ass sits. He knew he needed to eat to control his diabetes and he "forgot" and went ahead and dorve anyway. That's a little too premeditated for my likes. AFAIC, his aide should be tried and convicted too. He knows him well enough to either remind him to eat or take the fucking keys and drive for him.

He deserves the maximum sentence since he clearly took the minimum actions to avert this crime. If he was so unconcerned about his own health, that should not be a mitigating factor at all.

[proud patriot]

2. Many people will learn a lesson from him getting the full time

what better person to use as an example .

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[AngryAmish]

6. Again, when did rape become funny?

We try to be a civilized country. We sentence people to prison, not to sexual torture and STDs.

That said, ten years in the slammer for that jerk. I heard he has been driving recklessly for years.

[Name removed]

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[underseasurveyor]

23. Rape is not funny.

But the irony here is that Janklow raped two Pine Ridge teens and got away with it. He is a racist jerk, and that's being nice. He's made no bones about his dislike for Native Americans by even saying once something to the effect that the only good Indian is a dead one.

Bill Janklow is scum of the earth and it wouldn't bother me one iota if he were to receive his, 'what goes around comes around.'

[kanrok]

25. May not be funny, but it is ironic

[hlthe2b]

31. Not only did he get away with rape, but quite possibly murder..

They could not give him ENOUGH time IMO. He has run roughshod over the legal system and politics in SD for decades. Payback's a bitch, isn't it Janklow?

[kanrok]

44. Ahhh...let's not call it "rape" let's call it "conjugal visit"

n/t

[arewethereyet]

5. its murder, why only 10 years ?

we kill um here in Virginia for that kind of shit !

[kanrok]

7. It's actually manslaughter

No specific intent implied. Qualitatively different than 1st degree murder. No intent to either do great bodily harm or to kill.

[arewethereyet]

10. maybe to you, not to me

if you're driving like that, someone is going to get hurt and at those speeds hurt IS death.

he's a fuckin murderer

(pardon my french)

[kanrok]

14. Actually, it's that way to the law.

Notwithstanding what you believe happens in Va.

[arewethereyet]

18. the law is there to aid the rich

and ignore people murdered by those same rich

(I am fully aware of your point of law, I disagree with it, pointedly.)

[kanrok]

21. Huh?

sorry, I don't get your point. How did the common law concept of manslaughter contemplate that rich people would only commit manslaughter than murder? I agree that the family of the person killed by Janklow's reckless behavior deserve the full measure of the law, but really, the law on manslaughter is pretty well enmeshed in our criminal law.

[Devlzown]

8. He's not a murdrer --

he's a manslaughterer!:evilgrin:

[arewethereyet]

11. I beg to differ, see #10

n/t

[Devlzown]

24. Well, regardless of how you feel

about the man personally, you have to admit that it's highly unlikely that he woke up that morning and said to himself "I think I'm gonna kill somebody with my car today." People speed, drink, put on makeup, talk on cell phones and do all sorts of other things while driving that cause accidents, but that doesn't make them murderers.

[Dookus]

12. I dislike him immensely....

and I'm glad he was convicted.

But a year or two in prison should be enough. He was reckless, but he didn't TRY to kill somebody.

At his age, a year or two in prison is a severe sentence.

[Crunchy Frog]

The full 10 years

These people need to learn that they will be held accountable for their actions, instead of knowing they'll be let off the hook just for being rich republicans.

[newyawker99]

42. Hi crunchyfrog!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Spirochete]

13. Will his past driving record

be considered in the sentencing phase? I assume it will, though it was kept out of the guilt phase?

[kanrok]

16. Absolutely.

He needs to get prison time. Anytime a person dies, it's prison time. I'm afraid that this is a "probationable" offense in SD. He may get out of prison altogether.

[Eric J in MN]

28. actually, one previous incident was admitted

The judge allowed testimony that he almost hit another car at the same intersection months earlier.

The judge barred testimony about his twelve other speeding citations, but people in South Dakota know about those, anyway.

[IronLionZion]

17. Face it, we hate him because he's Republican

That should play no part in someone's criminal trial and sentencing. How would you feel if a good Democrat hit someone with his/her car?

[kanrok]

19. I don't hate him.

I hate what he's done. He took a life. For no good reason. A good man lost his life because Janklow was late for a meeting. He's a freaking jerk by any reasonable standard.

[Frances]

20. I think he should get the same sentence

that a poor alcoholic Indian with Janklow's driving record would get in South Dakota.

Democrats have compassion and I'm glad I have compassion. But I also believe in fairness.

[kanrok]

22. Agreed

The difference between him and the alcoholic Indian in SD is that Janklow can probably afford a better defense,especially at sentencing.

[IronLionZion]

27. fair enough, but there has to be a subconscious bias

that's why progressives like me looked the other way when the Democrats in PA (supposedly)cheated in the last general election. We felt it was offset by the Florida bullshit.

And many progressives like myself feel a little bit of satisfaction when a conservative gets humiliated. It's like we're sticking it to the bastards or exposing hypocrisy.

[proud patriot]

33. Could you clarify that statement for me please ?

"that's why progressives like me looked the other way when the Democrats in PA (supposedly)cheated in the last general election. We felt it was offset by the Florida bullshit."

[the_real_38]

26. uh-uh

He was arrogant, and had displayed this type of behavior in the past. This was more than him just being Rebublican - he belongs to a culture that considers itself above the law.

[Guaranteed]

35. Ted

Kennedy? :)

[Spirochete]

36. I like to think

that I'd be wishing for justice, and for them to be punished, too. The fact that Repricks seem to skate on everything they do wrong is the reason everyone here is so glad about the guilty verdict today.

[Name removed]

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[Military Brat]

29. Five full years, and then the "learn from my mistakes" route

Janklow really needs to consider what the hell he has done, which is to take a life and cause the family and friends of this man enormous grief. Janklow even got the man's name wrong when he initially sent his phony sympathy. But, he is old, he is sick, and maybe he can mend his ways within 5 years. Then he can take the lessons he has learned and pass them on to others.

My bet is that he'll "get Jesus" in prison, though, as he tries to get his sentence shortened.

[eileen_d]

32. As long as he RIDES and doesn't DRIVE

Did he actually lose his license? I sure as hell hope so. (Gonna go look it up m'self)

[TexasMexican]

37. Deserves the Death Penalty...

okay maybe not, but I think people who repeatidly kill people with thier vehicles do. Drunk drivers and whatnot.

At the least Janklow deserves a full sentance because he made the rest of us speeders who dont kill people look bad.

[Name removed]

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[roguevalley]

41. I believe he should serve the average sentence of someone who

doesn't have first class lawyers and lots of money
to try and concoct such a ludicrous defense. If it
were you and me, we would get ten years. If that is
the norm in his state, then he should be an example
and serve it.

After all, the victim got life imprisonment in a
box in the cold ground.

RV, who despises the death penalty.

[Clark Can WIN]

43. In all fairness

It was negligent, but not intentional.

8 years, 5 with good behavior. His life is over anyway. I wouldn't expect him to live much longer anyway.

[Zero Gravitas]

45. Diabetes Defence

I don't understnad his defence. He claims he had low blood sugar and therefore was not fully responsible for his actions. What I don't understand is, unless he suddenly developded full blow diabetes after getting in the car, is how is that an excuse. He knew that there would be problems if he did not maintain his blood sugar, yet, he claimed, he did not do so. I don't see how that is any different from drinking too much alcohol and then driving. People know that if you drink it impairs your driving ability. Janklow claims that he did not maintina his blood sugar level, whcih impaired his driving ability. Aren't drunk drivers treated more harshly than sober drivers who kill other motorists?

Besides I would have thought that a member of the Party of Personal Responsibility would have admited his mistkes and plead guilty no matter what excuses his defence attorney thought up. Mitigating circumstances are for bleeding heart liberals.

[in_cog_ni_to]

46. 10 years. I wish it was longer.

At least it was a guilty verdict. For once a republican gets his just dessert.

[SquireJons]

48. 10 Years?

For an accidental manslaughter, no.
For hypocritical arrogance, YES YES YES!

I remember his allegory between drug users and speeders. He said something like "Mr. Janklow sometimes drives too fast. If jail time were part of the price to pay, perhaps Mr. Janklow wouldn't drive so fast."

I’ll bet he wishes he hadn’t said that.

[Scott Lee]

49. At least.

Diabetics are counseled and informed on their condition, and told what to do in order to avoid seizures. If a grown adult chooses to disregard these instructions, they deserve everything that comes to them.

In Janklows case, manslaughter and the full weight of law. I'm talking about LAW law here, not white republican male law.