Posted on 01/27/2005 12:12:56 PM PST by Wolfstar
Alvarez's estranged wife said he threatened her and her family and threatened to abduct their 3-year-old son, although he never physically assaulted her, according to a request for a temporary restraining order that was granted Dec. 14, The Associated Press reported.
"He threatened to take our kid away and to hurt my family members," Carmelita Alvarez said. "He is planning on selling his vehicle to buy a gun and threatened to use it. He is using drugs and has been in and out of rehab twice."
[SNIP]
Alvarez, a U.S. citizen, watched as the train barreled into his SUV shortly after 6 a.m.
"He was found right at the scene," [Glendale Police Chief Randy] Adams said. "The suspect has admitted placing his vehicle on the tracks."
[SNIP]
U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Thom Mrozek said there is potential federal jurisdiction with a possible death penalty in the case.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailybulletin.com ...
Sounds reasonable.
In this case I still think the death penalty would be appropriate.
That was my initial gut reaction as well...
However, unless it is proved that he INTENDED harm to the train passengers, I think the death penalty is inappropriate. Don't get me wrong... I still think he should be locked away forever... but it's not as if he's a serial rapist or murderer... he's a stinkin' druggie with a fried brain who probably couldn't even grasp the concept that there were passengers on the train. Just lock him up and toss the key. He's not worth the court costs of a capital punishment trial.
Bump.
You Sir, are the Clown Prince of FR.
The scary part is how many folks here are serious about their feelings of superiority over other Americans.
If that is what you have understood, you need to work on your reading comprehension. The point is that you cannot tell, simply by hearing a name, whether someone is a illegal alien or not. Which makes those that jump to conclusions about alien satus wrong on two accounts: 1) They cannot tell the status, and 2) It is irrelevant.
Gertrude says "The lady doth protest too much mee thinks." This comment comes during the play-within-the-play, where the actor playing the part of Gertrude professes (protests) her love for her first husband. Gertrude, realizing that she was nowhere near that faithful to Hamlet's father, says that the actress is over the top.
So the line does not mean that one who strenuously professes their innocence is betraying guilt - if anything, it means the opposite.
"So the line does not mean that one who strenuously professes their innocence is betraying guilt - if anything, it means the opposite."
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/4141063/detail.html
GO figure! There's Justice and there's Law. Too often the first is ignored in favor of the second :(
He INTENTIONALLY kills 11 people and injures over 150 more and they're going to let him go. :(:(:(
LA train crasher could face death penalty
(by Dr. Goldfinger)
A suicidal Mexican man who caused a train crash in an LA suburb that killed 11 people could face the death penalty, according to the authorities.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley said Alvarez who has a long-time history of mental, family and drug problems faces as many as 11 counts of murder filed against him. The "special circumstances" allegation included with the filings allows prosecutors to ask for the death penalty in case of his conviction.
At least 11 people were killed in a crash between a commuter train and an SUV driven by a suicidal man onto the railroad tracks yesterday, that led to a crash between two trains, injuring another 180 people.
Juan Manuel Alvarez, 25, had the time to get out of his SUV and watch the scene of the accident, muttering, "I’m sorry. I’m sorry."
The accident that occurred at 6:02 a.m., the worst rail crash in the US since 1999, raised fears of a terrorist attack, leading authorities to set up a counterterrorism command post near the site of the disaster.
The commuter train heading south in an LA suburb Glendale hit the SUV left on the tracks, bumped into a stationary freight train locomotive and collided with a northbound train. The passengers of the trains described the collision as a "perfect storm" that crushed some of the passengers and threw them around.
Glendale Police Chief Randy Adams said the man had tried to take his life earlier the same day, stabbing himself in the chest and cutting his wrists, but his attempt was unsuccessful.
"He is distraught over the fact he caused such a disaster," the chief said. "Really, the focus, he thought, was going to be on him and taking his life."
Another similar offense, made possibly in imitation of Alvarez’ attempt, was committed at dawn on Thursday as another man parked his car on the rail tracks in Irvine, close to LA, also aiming to take his life.
You make a good point. I could settle with that... That said, I think this guy *knew* people were going to get hurt, even with his drug-fried brain. But he'll get his day in court...
Yeah, maybe he knew, maybe he didn't....
I'm not trying to make excuses for the guy...
It's just that you have to draw the line somwhere between death penalty offenses and life imprisonment. And despite the horrific magnitude of this incident, I think there are plenty of other predatory scumbags out there (murderers who are also pedophiles, rapists, etc. for instance) who are clearly more vicious and "evil", even though the number of their individual vicitims may not be as shockingly high. So if we're going to execute people for heinous crimes, let's focus our resources on these more malicious offenders and not waste our time on some pathetic loser who's so screwed up that he can't even kill himself. Heck, I'd bet that if the guy was actually TRYING to derail the train, he probably would have screwed THAT up and most of the passengers would've been OK.
This is called a 'pyrrhic victory' for those celebrating the murderer's American citizenship. Whooopie!
Good. This means that we don't have to ask Vicente Fox for permission to fry his a&&.
Arrest him, give him a fair trial, and hang him in the morning.
--Judge Roy Bean
You believe the founders knew what they were doing when they wrote the constitution? Then you'd agree that citizen status was important to them as Rehnquist said in his dissent in Sugarman v. Dougall "...the Constitution itself recognizes a basic difference between citizens and aliens. That distinction is constitutionally important in no less than 11 instances in a political document noted for its brevity..."
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