• Mother Sentenced Over Her Son's Hit-And-Run Death
    27 replies, posted
[url=http://uk.news.yahoo.com/mum-sentenced-over-sons-hit-run-death-111744335.html]Source[/url] [url=http://www.facepunch.com/threads/1109274-Black-woman-charged-with-vehicular-homicide-after-her-4-year-old-get-killed-%28-she-wasnt-the-driver-%29]Campaign blog[/url] (thanks Murkrow) [quote]A mother has been convicted of killing her four-year-old son after he died in a hit-and-run in the US because she crossed the road with her children at the wrong place. Raquel Nelson had faced up to three years in prison - longer than the driver responsible for her child's death who served only six months behind bars. However, the 30-year-old received a 12-months probationary sentence after the case caused public uproar in America. Ms Nelson's son was killed in April last year when he was knocked down by a van after slipping from his mother's grasp as they crossed the road to get from a bus stop to their apartment building in the city of Marietta , north of Atlanta. The distraught mum was also injured in the incident along with her young daughter. Ms Nelson was subsequently prosecuted under the offence of jaywalking, which dictates that it is illegal to cross the road anywhere other than at a designated crossing point. She was convicted by the all-white jury of second-degree vehicular homicide and other offences. Her lawyer, David Savoy, said the driver was drinking and had taken painkillers on the night of the accident and was mostly blind in one eye. He also had a prior conviction for a hit-and-run accident. "For vehicular homicide in the second degree you don't have to be driving a vehicle," Mr Savoy explained. "It requires that you caused the death of another. She 'caused' the death of another. How tragic is that?" Judge Kathryn Tanksley, who also ordered the defendant to perform 40 hours of community service and pay a $50 (£30) fine, invoked a little-used Georgia state law to offer her a new trial at the end of a hearing in which character witnesses and spectators wept. Ms Nelson's lawyer and other character witnesses described her as an exemplary mother shattered by the accident for which she blamed herself. She thanked the court but refused to say whether she would accept the offer of a new trial. Some critics said the judge should not have handed out a sentence in a case that should never have been prosecuted. Sally Flocks of the group Pedestrians Educating Drivers on Safety said the case exposed a lack of consideration for pedestrians in a state with a car-centric culture. Most users of buses in Marietta, a largely white and conservative community north of Atlanta, are black and on low incomes, said Ms Flocks. "There probably wasn't a lot of empathy among the jurors. [At trial] they asked people had anyone used public transport in metro Atlanta," she said. "Nobody raised their hand."[/quote]
No pedestrian right of way?
God that shit is stupid the pedestrian should always have the right of way where our culture is car centric. That is how it should be, I ride my bicycle on the sidewalk because I do not believe in the drivers on the road. One more thing she should not have even prosecuted her and the sentence is stupid as hell. And the damn driver was fucking drinking and taking painkillers only showing how fucked up the sentence is, he even got off on only 6 months of prison.
Agreed with the guy above, jaywalking is a stupid law, can only really be logically useful in places of high traffic.
I think it would be better if we moved to a rehab based justice system. Qualified professionals could deem who is ready to go into society and they would actually treat the offender, so when they are released they won't become a repeat offender. You could eliminate a lot of the bias in the justice system.
wait, they're convicting the poor mother of something that was more or less out of her control?
Snip
I stopped thinking this article had any credibility when they kept pointing out the white and black divisions of the community without any real reason other than to try to cry racism. The justice system [I]in general[/I] is messed up, not because your jury was "all white."
[QUOTE=Jenkem;31372573]I stopped thinking this article had any credibility when they kept pointing out the white and black divisions of the community without any real reason other than to try to cry racism. The justice system [I]in general[/I] is messed up, not because your jury was "all white."[/QUOTE] how shocking, a conservative denying the existence of racism
[QUOTE=JDK721;31372600]how shocking, a conservative denying the existence of racism[/QUOTE] How shocking, JDK trolling again. I did not deny the existence of racism in America; some people [I]do[/I] still think that way. What I'm saying is that you can't just blame the jury for being white as the sole reason stupid judgments are passed.
People are forgetting this a bit [url]http://www.facepunch.com/threads/1109274-Black-woman-charged-with-vehicular-homicide-after-her-4-year-old-get-killed-%28-she-wasnt-the-driver-%29[/url] and most importantly, this [IMG]http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Marietta-crash-scene.jpg[/IMG] Jaywalking. I'm sorry but if I was driving on the main street (or whatever the proper name for it is), I wouldn't really be looking out for pedestrians that suddenly walk on the street nowhere near a zebra. I agree that hit-and-run should be punished more severely, but the situation is more the mother's fault that the driver's.
But just because it's a busy road doesn't mean the driver can suddenly stop paying attention.
[QUOTE=JDK721;31372600]how shocking, a conservative denying the existence of racism[/QUOTE] how shocking, jdk continuing his personal vendetta against conservatives, to be followed by the classic remark "quite the persecution complex you have there" [editline]27th July 2011[/editline] Also while the mother shouldn't be sent to prison, I feel saying it's the driver's fault is a bit harsh. When someone darts out in front of you on the road (in a place they shouldn't be) there's only so much time you have to react.
[QUOTE=Penultimate;31373532]But just because it's a busy road doesn't mean the driver can suddenly stop paying attention.[/QUOTE] Obviously. I'm just saying the driver can't be held held responsible for hitting something that was not supposed to be there in the first place. And if it's a road you take often, then you just know exactly what to look at - as in, where to check for traffic and where to expect it - you pay less attention. That's also the reason why the majority of crashes happen within 10km of the driver's home.
While the mother took the risk of jaywalking on a main street and paid for it, I don't think she should be charged for it, or at least not as harshly, especially since by sending her to jail it puts her remaining children in an even worse position.
[QUOTE=Murkrow;31373372] I agree that hit-and-run should be punished more severely, but the situation is more the mother's fault that the driver's.[/QUOTE] Dude the driver was DRUNK and had PREVIOUS HIT AND RUN CONVICTIONS
[QUOTE=rsa1988;31371553]God that shit is stupid the pedestrian should always have the right of way where our culture is car centric.[/QUOTE] Yeah, I should be allowed to go frolic on the highway at midnight and force cars to stop for me anytime I want. Brilliant. This case is tragic but can't even compare to the amount of bullshit that would arise from a policy under which pedestrians [i]always[/i] have right of way, no matter how little visibility the cars have or how fast prevailing traffic is. Crosswalks are put in places where the pedestrians will be seen by drivers- they mark safe areas to cross. If it's not a crosswalk, it's not safe. End of story.
[QUOTE=Zeke129;31376106]Dude the driver was DRUNK and had PREVIOUS HIT AND RUN CONVICTIONS[/QUOTE] Dude the mother was JAYWALKING and probably JAYWALKED PREVIOUSLY.
[QUOTE=Plattack;31376326]Dude the mother was JAYWALKING and probably JAYWALKED PREVIOUSLY.[/QUOTE]I'd say driving drunk is far worse than jaywalking.
I'd say they are both at fault, but the mother has probably gone through enough of a punishment of losing her kids, and the driver's punishment not nearly severe enough.
[quote]Ms Nelson's son was killed in April last year when he was knocked down by a van[/quote] What the fuck sort of shitty writing is this? I had no idea that being splattered by a car could adequately be described as being "knocked down"
[QUOTE=Jenkem;31372786]How shocking, JDK trolling again. I did not deny the existence of racism in America; some people [I]do[/I] still think that way. What I'm saying is that you can't just blame the jury for being white as the sole reason stupid judgments are passed.[/QUOTE] Somehow I don't think you know what trolling is.
[QUOTE=Plattack;31376326]Dude the mother was JAYWALKING and probably JAYWALKED PREVIOUSLY.[/QUOTE] Well now that I weigh the two I can see where you're coming from, jaywalking is a very serious infraction while drunk driving is just harmless fun
[QUOTE=Murkrow;31373372]People are forgetting this a bit [url]http://www.facepunch.com/threads/1109274-Black-woman-charged-with-vehicular-homicide-after-her-4-year-old-get-killed-%28-she-wasnt-the-driver-%29[/url] and most importantly, this [IMG]http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Marietta-crash-scene.jpg[/IMG] Jaywalking. I'm sorry but if I was driving on the main street (or whatever the proper name for it is), I wouldn't really be looking out for pedestrians that suddenly walk on the street nowhere near a zebra. I agree that hit-and-run should be punished more severely, but the situation is more the mother's fault that the driver's.[/QUOTE] If there was a crosswalk in that picture I'd agree with you. The crosswalks are each about a third of a mile away in either direction though. So everyone who gets dropped off by the bus there has to walk over half a mile just to cross that road. Obviously the kind of people who drive cars get priority in that area. The poor people who have to use public transportation get absolutely no consideration for even something as basic as being able to cross the road in a reasonable distance. It might not seem like a long walk to some, but try doing that with three little kids to take care of, not to mention whatever bags of groceries or other items you bought on your trip and have to carry, AND everyone is dog tired and cranky.
[QUOTE=Murkrow;31373372]People are forgetting this a bit [url]http://www.facepunch.com/threads/1109274-Black-woman-charged-with-vehicular-homicide-after-her-4-year-old-get-killed-%28-she-wasnt-the-driver-%29[/url] and most importantly, this [IMG]http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Marietta-crash-scene.jpg[/IMG] Jaywalking. I'm sorry but if I was driving on the main street (or whatever the proper name for it is), I wouldn't really be looking out for pedestrians that suddenly walk on the street nowhere near a zebra. I agree that hit-and-run should be punished more severely, but the situation is more the mother's fault that the driver's.[/QUOTE] You should always be paying attention to all your surroundings while driving.
[QUOTE=Zeke129;31380399]Well now that I weigh the two I can see where you're coming from, jaywalking is a very serious infraction while drunk driving is just harmless fun[/QUOTE] Yeah, but it's not just normal jaywalking. I think almost everywhere it's illegal to cross a freeway without a pedestrian crossing. Not saying that she deserves the charges, just that she isn't entirely innocent.
[QUOTE=Zeke129;31376106]Dude the driver was DRUNK and had PREVIOUS HIT AND RUN CONVICTIONS[/QUOTE] Drunk? Well that changes a lot of things. To be honest I didn't even read this thread since I mostly recalled the old one. Obviously that would call for a harsher conviction. However, that doesn't change the fact that the mother is responsible as well. Yes, I would probably cross the street there, knowingly breaking traffic rules, but only if I was alone or not with anyone that can't run like hell.
[QUOTE=Murkrow;31384123]Drunk? Well that changes a lot of things. To be honest I didn't even read this thread since I mostly recalled the old one. Obviously that would call for a harsher conviction. However, that doesn't change the fact that the mother is responsible as well. Yes, I would probably cross the street there, knowingly breaking traffic rules, but only if I was alone or not with anyone that can't run like hell.[/QUOTE] Perhaps a better thought is if that's a residential neighborhood, on the opposite side of the bus stop, [B]why is there no pedestrian crossing?[/B] I can't even see a sign that says "HERE BE KIDS" or anything about people.
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