sv1000rider

Wow! I'm glad I promptly slowed down and pulled over when I noticed the flashing lights. All I got was a ticket for doing 98 in a 70 which I got reduced to "defective equipment" with no points via some money and a lawyer.

BPT

This is unbelievable! How can you charge a man with manslaughter when all he was doing is being a fool like the rest of us? It is not his fault that the state trooper didn't have the brains to not speed after a motorcycle obviously capable of doing 150 mph. Does this trooper think he was going to be able to catch the motorcycle? But all in all.....30 years is absolutely ridiculous for a man speeding and evading police. Manslaughter? I don't think so.

blackstallion

This is a sad comment on society.

By definition, a "System" is a group of elements that function together and this shows that there is no Justice System.



If a man commits a murder and has a good lawyer he can be out on parole within a few years and this man got 30 years.



Why not sue the tire manufacturer for building a tire that blew. Why not sue the car manufacturer for building a car that used said tire. Why not sue the municipality for creating a road surface that caused the tire to blow. WHy not sue the police dept for letting this cop drive a car with bad tires. Why not sue Coca Cola for making the can that that may have been on the road where this tire drove onto it and blew. Heck, why not sure the municipality for not cleaning up the road enough...

Don't get me started...

Rogue_1

Putting all emotion aside for a moment, and concentrating strictly on the manslaughter charge, it is difficult to have an opinion without seeing the specific statute. The elements of the crime of manslaughter in most jurisdictions include some type of language stating that committing any reckless or negligent act that a reasonable person would believe could result in the death of another person would make the defendant guilty of manslaughter. It is similar to the law that most states have that makes a criminal responsible for the death of his partner in crime, even if the person is shot by a victim or police officer during the commission of a felony. Donald Williams had to have known that going 150 MPH on a motorcycle could result in someones death, and besides, it is a police officers job to pursue violators. The only thing that bothers me about this case is that car drivers do this all the time. I knew police officers that were killed pursuing cars in the line of duty, but to my knowledge, none of those drivers were sentenced to 30 years in prison. It kind of feels like another biker getting the shaft.

Holy_Kaw

To say that this angers me would be a gross understatement. A while back another FL Cop shot and killed a Motorcyclist that was "Speeding". He, the Cop, was standing between two parked cars and shot him in the back after he went by. Verdict... self defense. Everythings just peachy in US.

cls

"Manslaughter" generally has nothing to do w/any intention of harm or death. It is, in most jurisdictions, performing an illegal act that leads to a death in one way or another; or it is the performance of a legal act in an illegal manner which leads to a death. Something like that, anyway. It's been a while...



There is still such a thing as personal responsibility. There's some bad luck involved here, no doubt. Nevertheless, the cyclist was showing a blatant, dangerous, above-and-beyond the norm disregard for the law. It resulted in a death. Intention has nothing to do w/it, for better or worse.



Furthermore, while I'm venting, if he, in fact, knew he was being pursued by law enforcement, then 30 years is not long enough (That's a bit of an exaggeration, but it gets my point across nicely.). There is no excuse for running from the police.



Another interesting thing to look at is this: The courts are generally FAR TOO LENIENT in most cases. That is a fact proven over and over again, across the country. If this judge/jury found him "Guilty," surely they had good evidence and cause to do so. It's hard to second guess them when I wasn't there to hear, see, etc. what they did during the trial.

sv1000rider

"There is no excuse for running from the police"



Agreed. When I ride, especially when I'm going at a "brisk pace", I am checking my mirrors at every safe opportunity in order to detect anyone that might be trying to sneak up on my tail. My guess is that this guy saw the red lights and hunkered down and then wrung the throttle like there was no tomorrow (which unfortunately is exactly what happened for the FL HP).

seruzawa

"There is no excuse for running from the police."



Move to New Orleans and say that!

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kanani

thats f'd up



http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/01/22/janklow.sentencing/

maxriderdon

Good point, what contrast!

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