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Drunk drive, kill a biker, get 1 day in jail
From my local newspaper:
Impaired driver who killed motorcyclist gets one day jail, probation Impaired driver who killed motorcyclist gets one day jail, probation By LOUISE DICKSON, Times Colonist December 6, 2012 Accused drunk driver Tracy Smith, left, enters the Western Communities Courthouse Thursday. Photograph by: LYLE STAFFORD , TIMES COLONIST An impaired driver who killed motorcyclist Jana Mahenthiran on the Trans Canada Highway on Canada Day 2011 has been sentenced to one day in jail and three years probation. © Copyright (c) The Victoria Times ColonistTracy Dawn Smith, a 36-year-old mother of three, pleaded guilty on June 19 to impaired driving causing death. At Smith’s sentencing Thursday, Judge Robert Higinbotham imposed the shortest jail sentence with the longest possible probation period. He ordered Smith to continue treatment with the VisionQuest Recovery Society at Harte House in Surrey, where she has essentially been under house arrest since the crash. Higinbotham also imposed a 10-year driving prohibition and ordered Smith to complete an additional 200 hours of community service. Mahenthiran, a 47-year-old information technologist for Maximus Canada, died when Smith’s car crossed the centre line of the highway and hit him head-on. According to police and witnesses, Smith was in a rage, intoxicated and hostile and blamed the crash on Mahenthiran. Reading about the loss suffered by Betty, Mahenthiran’s wife of 22 years, and his mother, Sarojini, was emotionally wrenching, Higinbotham said. But the judge also considered Smith’s disadvantaged life, growing up in a chaotic home with a mother who also suffered from substance abuse. Smith was physically and sexually abused by her mother’s boyfriend. Her husband, whom she married at 17, also abused her. By age 15, Smith was severely addicted to drugs. She has been hospitalized a number of times for psychiatric issues and has attempted suicide several times. She suffers from depression, panic disorder and anxiety, Higinbotham noted. At her sentencing hearing last month, James O’Rourke, executive director of Vision Quest, told the court that Smith had the cognitive function of a nine-year-old at the time of the offence. She has performed more than 100 hours of community work and participated in many programs. Smith has also been clean since Mahenthiran’s death. In reaching his decision, Higinbotham took into account Smith’s ability to make judgments, at the time of the crash, was at a nine-year-old level. He also found she has progressed to the point where rehabilitation can be considered a reasonable prospect. Sentencing Smith to prison will render her progress meaningless. Society is best protected if Smith continues as a ward of Vision Quest, not a prison inmate, he said. “In this case, a loving husband and son needlessly lost his life, and those who survive him will carry the pain of their loss with them forever. That is a fact that cannot be changed by anything forthcoming from this court. In simple terms, the issue is whether his death will be for nothing, or whether it may be a catalyst to the saving of many more lives, including the offender,” Higinbotham said. Outside court, Smith’s lawyer, Bob Jones, said he was pleased with the decision. “Had she gone to jail, she may have come into contact with some very hard individuals who may well have influenced her and attracted her back to her drug taking habits,” said Jones. O’Rourke was also pleased with the decision. “Justice won, not vengeance,” he said. Mahenthiran’s friend Bobbi Bjornholt said she understood that Smith had made significant progress at the facility, but wondered at what cost. “The cost of Jana’s life? I’m not sure that’s a good trade,” Bjornholt said sadly. ldickson@timescolonist.com ----------------------------------------------------- |
That's crazy...
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She should be doing 15 yrs to life for this, which is essentially second degree murder. How are ya, Tom? |
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Agreed, you have to feel for the family members left behind and the lack of justice. All is good, how about that snow out there? Makes a person want to take a month off to drink beer with their mates:) |
Really shocking lack of punishment.:( The Judge needs to spend some time in jail too.
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The villain gets all the column space detailing life's problems - the victim and family get not even half-an-inch of respectful obituary or tribute. Not a word of what he'd done in life. That's how the press is these days. Don't ever buy this paper..... |
McCrankpin, that's a very good point: there's only one sentence devoted to the victim's family, yet the killer gets paragraphs to tell her sob story. I've written an email to the report to make that same point; if I get a response I'll follow-up.
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I made the mistake of reading that article first thing in the morning before heading off to school. I'm still fuming but slowly heading towards sadness at the gross injustice of the one day sentence. I quite frankly don't care about her tough life and there need to be serious consequences for her actions. Maybe if we as a society weren't so soft on everyone all the time, she would have felt consequences for her lifestyle earlier on and maybe someone would still be alive as a result. I'm by no means a right wing "law and order" type but a one day sentence is simply contemptuous of her victim and his family.
I did not know her victim personally but he was a well liked member of the local biker community here and his loss was felt by all of us. I hope his family will be able to find some peace and move on in spite of the sentence. ...Michelle |
I don't know enough about the facts of the case to have a strong opinion in one direction or another. I do wonder what purpose would be served by a longer sentence: would it dissuade this woman from getting involved with abusive people or using illegal substances? Would it improve her cognitive functioning? Would it dissuade others from driving while impaired? Keep other people safe by keeping her off the streets? (although if so, for how long?)
I really wonder about this. Sometimes I work with people who've done lots of prison time, and they don't seem any safer to themselves or those around them (including me) than people who've skated all their lives. I work with a lot of people who've suffered almost unimaginable abuse during their childhoods or as adults, and sometimes giving them prison time seems to merely confirm their views, therefore their lifestyle choices and responses. When we think about using threats of negative consequences (e.g., serving time) as a means to alter anti-social behaviors (say, driving while inebriated and potentially killing an innocent), it seems to me worth noting that this sort of threat really means little to your average enraged and inebriated developmental 9-year-old, no matter what her chronological age. What's more, even if such people are imprisoned early, sooner or later they're back on the streets--driving, raising kids, getting married, facing choices about substance abuse. What then? How often does prison really teach the desired lesson? In this particular case, I'm thinking what she really needed earlier in her life was exactly what she's getting now--a highly structured program aimed at rebuilding her actions, cognitions and emotional functioning in a more pro-social form. If she'd gotten that early in life, maybe none of this would have had to happen. Or maybe I'm just a starry-eyed idealist. That's ok. And maybe she's not going to stick with the program--she'll just go through the motions for a while before busting loose and wreaking more havoc. It's just that in the knee-jerk reaction (which I happen to share: "How the hell could they sentence her to a single day for killing someone?") it's worth also thinking about our overall goals, and what we can do to move ourselves closer to those goals. Prison might not fit the bill. Sez I, at least. Mark |
That's a shame.
Of course it happens down here as well. This woman killed two, and crippled another and basically walked. While on bail she was loaded for one of her drug tests and court appearances. Mickey Mosher Trial Recap |
Humm...
No amount of punishing the criminal will restore the victim to life.
No amount of fine will pay for the joy of that persons presence, nor their potential contribution to society. So what do you do to the criminal? And how do you return the criminal to society such that they are a person that won't re-offend? Very hard call that. Me? I'd like the criminal treated as having "a cognitive age of a 9 year old" as put forward by the defence. That is they would have a court appointed guardian who would oversee their activities in the community and at home. They behave as a child they should be treated as such, so the guardian would have control over what the criminal can do. Let see .. for the next 9 years (9+9 = 18 years old). Further I'd like to see a monetary payment to the victums' estate - say 15% of the criminals gross earnings (including any benefits e.g. unemployment etc.). I have not put a time limit on the payment... Oh sale of all vehicles owned by the criminal, with the sale money going to the victums' estate. I'd also question the family life she is providing for her children... are they well taken care off? Being given a good personal development (specifically not being developed as future criminals!). Don't known about "Vision Quest". May be they are doing some of the above. But 'we' are stuck with the courts ruling so ... help enforce it. If I were local I'd keep an eye out for her driving any vehicle... report any sightings to both the police and the news media. A photo would be good. You don't want her killing or maiming any one else? |
Mark,
You clearly smoke too much of the local dope. Prison serves many functions, such as: - protecting the public from dangerous individuals - deterrence to those contemplating crime - retribution or revenge for the victim or their family - rehabilitation for the criminal. It is a big, big mistake to assume that the thought processes enjoyed by many in the wider population also apply to many criminals; sure, some are smart, but the majority are usually cognitively challenged in some way or another. As an otherwise liberal, pink and fluffy, bunny loving ex-hippy, I think we need bigger, nastier prisons to fulfill the first three objectives, with perhaps a vocational training training prison to which those who might be released can graduate following good behavior prior to release. I like the idea of the perp having to make financial restitution through pay docking or asset stripping to victims, too. COI I have spent significant periods of time dealing with criminals, both incarcerated, about to be incarcerated and in various stages of their criminal careers. Quote:
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Wonder if this judge would have agreed with and been happy with the rationale for the sentence and the length of sentence if the victim had been a relative of theirs.
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As I said, I've got no particular position to defend in this case. What's more, I'm on the other side of the border from the individual in question, in a country which incarcerates a higher percentage of its population than any other--seven times as many per thousand as Canada, in fact. This simple fact--and the related fact that everyone around me seems to feel increasingly unsafe even as incarceration rates increase in leaps and bounds--suggests that mere imprisonment is not necessarily the best answer in a lot of cases.
That doesn't mean it's not justified, or for various reasons the best possible outcome in this specific case. What I'm looking for is an answer to the question "What is it we hope to accomplish?" If the answer is indeed "revenge," well, you might as well have at it. Why not public stockades, or dismemberment, or starvation? If the answer is something along the lines of rehabilitation--i.e., turning the criminal into someone who can be released with a reasonable expectation she'll become a constructive member of society who will not raise children likely to follow in her (criminal) footsteps--the next reasonable question concerns how can we most likely achieve this. If you think imprisonment stands the best chance of accomplishing this, once again please have at it. The judge apparently thought the odds were higher with some sort of involuntary treatment. I don't really know....but I'm not so eager to dismiss the idea that the judge might be correct. So do Canadian prisons include a significant rehabilitative component, unlike so many of those in the States? I mean, maybe you really do need "bigger, nastier prisons" in Canada, but I'm pretty sure we've got as big and nasty as you could ask on my side of the border. Really, what do you think? Skip the glib answers and offer up something more thoughtful. What are our goals, and how might they best be accomplished? What sentence would you give if you were the judge? Consider the real world, not an imaginary one in which rehabilitation and vocational training feature (unless, of course, that's actually the way it works where you live). Yours in drug-addled, hippie-dippie, neuropsychiatric-challenged befuddlement, Mark |
I agree that the American system of jailing people for long periods in unpleasant places does not seem to work, I would imagine it just produces people who are more detached from society and for some institutionalised. As to what the law is trying to achieve I would say a deterant to others from doing the same, possibly some element of rehabilitation although I doubt this often happens and yes a certain amount of retribution which may go some way to helping the victims of crime or their families feel better.
About 15 years ago somebody I am aquainted with killed his girlfriend in a drunk driving incident, he was jailed for 18 months, increased to 3 years on appeal by her parents and served about 20 months with parole. As far as I am aware he regarded the sentence as fair, I am not sure if it helped soothe his conscience as he was suicidal after the accident. His girlfriend's parents were apparently happy that justice had been done, although never happy that their daughter was dead of course. It certainly made some of the people I know think about their drink driving habbits, whether it was Jilly's death or the prison sentence that resulted I am not sure but probably a little of both. To some degree or other his sentence served all of its aims better than 1 day in prison would of and nobody I know including some of his closest friends thought it harsh or unreasonable. On his release he went back to his job as a motor mechanic, all be it without a driving licence for a few more years, and is getting on with his life. |
justice
come on guys you are way too tough , we know how to punish people and make them responsible in the state :nono:
"In November, Muskogee County District Judge Mike Norman stipulated that 17-year-old Tyler Alred should attend church regularly for 10 years as a requirement to avoid a prison sentence, the Tulsa World reported. The teen admitted to police he had been drinking in the Dec. 3, 2011, crash that killed his 16-year-old passenger and friend, John Luke Dum, according to the newspaper" :oops2: Can you repeat the question |
The problem is when a Judge uses his flawed reasoning and emotions instead of the rule of law. She, in a drunken stuper, murdered another motorist. Even if she was raped, tortured, beaten then buried up to her head for a month in cow manure as a child, it still does not condone her actions. She needs to atone for her crime and since she is free to roam about, then she should be an indentured servant to the bikers family for the rest of her life. Payback is a bitch in my book and the Judge should be held accountable for the future financial hardship of his family as well.
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dont do the crime iff yuo cant do the time murder is murdere put the b---h in jail vear she belongs .bean in jail four several years and it healp mea a lot
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This is such a difficult subject. The victim is dead and nothing can possibly change that. I can understand if the relatives and friends want to see this woman locked up and have the key thrown away, that is all part of the grieving process I should imagine.
There are other victims as well though that no-one seems to have thought about; the woman's family. If what is said about her staying off drugs and starting to make her life have purpose, that can only be a positive example for those children. Surely that has to be a good thing? And if, in time, this woman starts to make a valid contribution to society, again that is a positive that has come out of this horrendous tragedy. And yes, I would join the gang having a month off drinking - what pub and what time please?!?!?! |
Sentence Increased to 2 Years
Here's a link to a story in the Victoria Times Colonist. The crown appealed and the driver's sentence has now been increased to 2 years.
Tracy Dawn Smith's one-day sentence for drunk-driving death increased to two years - Times Colonist ...Michelle |
I dunno. 2 years, and she probably won't serve it all before an early release due to "good behavior".
If a drunk driver killed a friend or family member of mine, I would sure hope they spent a lot more time behind bars then a measly two years. If you ax-murder someone you get 15 or 20 years before parole. How is getting drunk and plowing into someone with a car all that much different? |
About 2 years ago, my Brother in Law was riding back from school (he is a math teacher). A car was coming toward him. He was potering along at 50mph on a country lane (limit 60). suddenly the car decided to turn right without signalling, cutting across his lane. There was no way to go as teh bike smashed into the car.
He spent 1 month in coma in intensive care, without knowing if he would survive. He spent 2 months in hospital, he has more metal plates in his body that you could imagine. He was out of work for a year and started part time after that for a year. Was left with horrific injuries, double vision etc... anyway really nasty stuff. The young lad who caused the accident (and admitted fault!) was sanctioned by 3 points in his driving licence and a 100 pound fine. There you go! |
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