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150-month term in Cottonwood bus crash (MN Illegal)
StarTribune ^ | 10/08/08 | Pam Louwagie

Posted on 10/08/2008 11:22:52 AM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo

Olga Franco, 24, convicted of driving the van in the Cottonwood school bus crash that killed four students, was sentenced to 12 1/2 years in prison.

She can expect to see her time cut by one-third to about 100 months -- 8 years and 4 months -- for good behavior, officials said.

Franco sat stone-faced when she heard the sentence.

Judge David Peterson, sitting specially in Lyon County, gave a lengthy explanation to families of how the law applied in the case and how he arrived at the sentence.

“I don’t imagine I have pleased anyone with this sentence. I am under no illusions,” he said.

He said he was required to look at conduct on one end and consequences on the other, as he tried to achieve a sense of general fairness.

Peterson said he is from the community and grew up 40 miles from the scene of the accident.

“I have to try to look at the entire situation through a lens that is at some distance,” he said.

He praised the families for getting through every day.

Franco faced a guideline sentence of between 6 1/2 years and 17 years, eight months for running a stop sign and crashing a minivan into the school bus at a rural intersection, killing four students and injuring 17 people.

(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; News/Current Events; US: Minnesota
KEYWORDS: aliens; cottonwood; illegalimmigrants; immigrantlist; olgafranco; olgamarinafranco
Then, deportation. She maintains her innocence to this day, saying her boyfriend was driving. Even though the first responders had to cut her out of the driver's seat........
1 posted on 10/08/2008 11:22:52 AM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo
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To: NorthWoody; Manic_Episode; mikethevike; coder2; AmericanChef; Reaganesque; ER Doc; lesser_satan; ...

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2 posted on 10/08/2008 11:26:07 AM PDT by MplsSteve
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo

2 years per death. Wow.


3 posted on 10/08/2008 11:26:40 AM PDT by wac3rd (The MSM will accompany the Captain of the SS Marxist Titanic to the bottom of Lake Michigan)
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo

“Parents gave impassioned statements, many looking squarely at Franco, who sat quietly.”

+++++++++++++++++++++

Chances are, she didn’t know enough English to even understand half of what they were saying.


4 posted on 10/08/2008 11:28:07 AM PDT by MplsSteve
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo

If it means anything, the Spanish word for Cottonwood is ‘Alamo’.


5 posted on 10/08/2008 11:29:46 AM PDT by keithtoo (GOP - Our Veep candidate can kick your Veep candidate's @ss!)
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo
But... but... the article in the RED Star Tribune didn't say anything about her being an illegal alien!

And I'm sure they would, because not having a driver's license or insurance, would be aggravating factor. I mean they're not trying to cover for a "protected" group or anything.

The only conclusion I can draw is that you are a rakist.

Owl_Eagle

There are people who are surrounded by bigots
and know it is wrong, but are afraid to be vocal against it.
These people are going to pull the lever for Obama
and they are not being polled.
angee_is_mad, DUmmy

6 posted on 10/08/2008 11:38:20 AM PDT by End Times Sentinel (In Memory of my Dear Friend Henry Lee II)
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To: 1_Inch_Group; 2sheep; 2Trievers; 3AngelaD; 3pools; 3rdcanyon; 4Freedom; 4ourprogeny; 7.62 x 51mm; ..

ping


7 posted on 10/08/2008 11:48:32 AM PDT by gubamyster
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo

A sickeningly insufficient sentence.


8 posted on 10/08/2008 11:56:59 AM PDT by definitelynotaliberal
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To: Owl_Eagle

I must be.....

I took a peek at the other local media websites and only one made mention that she was from “out of town”. Even then, all they reported was: “Franco, an immigrant from Guatemala,........”


9 posted on 10/08/2008 11:57:07 AM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo (Consider Monthly Donations To FR...Thank You!)
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To: Owl_Eagle

If only we would have issued her a driver’s license...no, wait, people would still be just as dead.


10 posted on 10/08/2008 12:00:38 PM PDT by MichiganCheese (Stop saying the media is biased; THEY ARE PARTISAN!)
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo

The town should invite ICE in and round up her family and deport them while she’s serving.


11 posted on 10/08/2008 12:10:44 PM PDT by NowApproachingMidnight (Defeating liberalism is a strategy, electing McCain is a tactic)
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo
She can expect to see her time cut by one-third to about 100 months -- 8 years and 4 months -- for good behavior, officials said.

She gets potentially less time for killing four Americans and hurting 17 others than two Americans got for shooting at an invader (Ramos and Compean). Tell me these people are not being protected.

Were I one of the parents I would be hard pressed not to do something illegal.

12 posted on 10/08/2008 12:15:10 PM PDT by raybbr (You think it's bad now - wait till the anchor babies start to vote!)
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo

“. . . as he tried to achieve a sense of general fairness.”

If we were really going to be “fair,” this woman would be executed.


13 posted on 10/08/2008 4:11:27 PM PDT by MrsPatriot (W...Still the President!)
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To: raybbr
Unfortunately, you are correct in predicting natural human responces.
But perhaps not in the same sense you meant.

If it were just an matter of one or two “isolated incidents” by individual illegal alien criminals per community, chances are there would not be sufficient momentum for a coherent national “vigilante” movement.
Since such is not the case, chances are that eventually, we will be experiencing a backlash, on a national level.

It will be ugly, and may utterly destroy us all in the end.
But I don't see any way it will be avoided.

14 posted on 10/08/2008 5:15:57 PM PDT by sarasmom (McCain is in the tank for Obama.)
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo

This is disgusting. I wish that the woman could spend much longer in jail.

I think that we need to have some kind of memorial page for all of those killed by illegal aliens; then send it to all (President on down) that support illegal immigration.


15 posted on 10/13/2008 1:48:04 AM PDT by machogirl (i)
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To: machogirl

“.....some kind of memorial page for all of those killed by illegal aliens; then send it to all (President on down) that support illegal immigration.”

An excellent idea....


16 posted on 10/13/2008 4:11:25 PM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo (FR....Monthly Donors Wanted)
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