Posted on 11/20/2006 11:40:52 AM PST by Wiggins
LOS ANGELES — An elderly man who killed 10 people and injured more than 70 others when he drove through an outdoor farmers market was sentenced Monday to probation by a judge who said he believed the crime deserved imprisonment but the defendant was too ill.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Yes, if it's a life-long condition, you probably adapt (since you've never known it any other way, after all). I think it's probably different if your brain has gotten used to handing on signals one way all your life, and then the eyes start passing it the wrong information.
"That's not to say that I don't believe that this Weller dude doesn't deserve to go to prison. He killed those people while trying to run away from another accident he caused."
I would have no problem with him getting a jail term. But, I question the benefit to society other than retaliation.
Do you think that if he needed costly medical treatment, the state would just pony up? I don't. I think they would make him jump through hoops to get it.
He likely doesn't have that long.
Thank you for not calling my mother names!
In all fairness to the old man and mechanics everywhere, the Buick 3.8 V-6 engine has a Throttle Positioner Switch that bleeds air to control the idle speed; when the TPS sticks in a non-return position, the engine can and will speed up to over 3,000 RPM and it requires extra pressure on the service brake to slow or stop the car.
I have replaced two such switches on my wife's Park Avenue and, in both cases, the first symptom of trouble was a high idle and excess brake pedal pressure.
He tried everything he could to stop the car except hitting the brake pedal, and including steering towards people and away from parked cars.
Witnesses testified: no brake lights.
Yes, he would get the costly medical treatment without having to jump through hoops. There is the "Prison Law Office" that sues the bejabbers out of the prison administration and the CDC physicians at the drop of a hat.
You are correct, he probably likely doesn't have that long to live. And, I wouldn't call your mother names unless you called my mother names first. ;)
(AP) LOS ANGELES George Russell Weller, whose car plowed through a Santa Monica Farmers market in 2003, killing 10 people and injuring 68, was sentenced Monday to five years probation after even prosecutors said prison might not be appropriate for the ailing 89-year-old man.
Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson said he agreed completely with the jury that convicted Weller last month of ten counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
But he said Weller's health problems that include severe heart disease would make the 89-year-old a burden on prison authorities and taxpayers, and that imprisonment would most likely kill him.
"Sending Mr. Weller to jail or prison would be a burden on the prison authorities; it would require the taxpayers to pay the substantial costs of Mr. Weller's medical care; and it would most likely kill Mr. Weller. None of that is right, and it makes no sense, so I will place Mr. Weller on probation. I believe it's better to do that, and require him to comply with financial conditions that will assist the victims in recovering their losses," Johnson said.
The judge also called Weller's apologies hollow and said he "displayed an enormous indifference to human life."
Weller's daughter had told a judge that her 89-year-old father is "dying before our eyes" and should receive probation for killing 10 people and wounding 73 when his car roared through an outdoor farmers market three years ago.
The judge, persuaded by medical reports, allowed Weller not to attend the hearing. His lawyers said he suffers from a number of ailments, including fluid on the brain, has had a number of mini strokes and is neurologically impaired.
Defense attorney Mark Overland said in his sentencing memorandum that imprisoning Weller would serve no purpose.
Since the crash on July 16, 2003, he said, "Mr. Weller has lived a reclusive life in his home under circumstances equivalent to self-imposed house arrest." He said both Weller and his elderly wife require full time caretakers.
Weller was 86 when his 1992 Buick Le Sabre plowed 300 yards through the Santa Monica market at up to 60 mph. The victims ranged in age from 7 months to 78 years.
His lawyers said he panicked after confusing the accelerator with the brake. Weller did not testify, but jurors heard a taped interview with police immediately after the crash in which he said he tried everything he could think of to stop.
The jury deliberated for eight days before reaching the harshest verdict possible — guilty of 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. It concluded Weller showed careless disregard and could have taken action to prevent the catastrophe.
Yeah, killing 10 people and maiming dozens of others is no big deal. You betcha. Just an accident.
Oh he will or his estate with be paying restitution, right off the bat its 57,000 to two the rest has not be set yet
It's a tragic situation in every sense. I'm sure there was no malice in the old man's actions. He mistook the gas pedal for the brake pedal. It happens to a lot of people. Okay, well maybe it doesn't happen to a lot of 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, or 80-year-old drivers, but it happens to a lot of 86-year-old drivers.""
I don't disagree that this is very tragic for all concerned.
However, I don't think there is reason to make a blanket charge about the abilities of 86 y/o persons. I know a couple who are 82 and 86. They both still ride 50 mile horse events together. She tried a tough 100 miler, The Tevis Cup, summer 06, and was peeved when they pulled her horse at the 93 miles vet station.
I do think there should be more emphasis on families to watch the ability of their parents and other family members have become.
Just being old should not be an indictment against you. Where I live there are lots of old people living alone. I'm not 86 yet, but I am not 35 either, and I live alone. So far I am doing ok, and a group of about 5 of us keep watch on the rest in the group.
Airlines are allowed to discriminate based on age and health for pilots, so should the DMV.""
Bob Hoover, the test pilot and stunt pilot lives in my area. I think he is over 80 now, and whenever I see someone doing stuff in prop plane, I am sure it is Bob. He's still real sharp.
With my mother, it took a discussion with a doctor. I'd managed to get the keys away from her "temporarily", but she kept asking for them back. So there she sat in the doctor's office, in a wheelchair and clutching her oxygen tank, demanding to know when she'd be well enough to drive again. Standing behind the doctor where Mom couldn't hear me, I murmured, "Blind in one eye, no depth perception, bad reflexes..." Without missing a beat the doctor said, "Well, Helen, you know you are blind in one eye, which means you don't have any depth perception, and your reflexes aren't quite what they used to be...."
Bless that man! All the way home Mom exclaimed, "Well, I just can't believe I won't be able to drive again!" But she had immediately accepted from a young doctor the same information I, her middle-aged daughter, had been telling her for weeks.
Five years probation. Let's see: That's one year probation for each two people killed. The maimed and injured need to be contented with his "hollow apologies" (per the judge) which he did not even offer personally to them, just as required in court.
Meanwhile, you have got people in prison for possessing one joint or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time...
All of you very seasoned seniors, mount up. We got some serious issues to take care of with a 5 yr probation at most. This can get fun.
"Every month" can't be correct... maybe when they renew.
What you are describing here isn't justice, it's vengeance.
Agreed. There was a bit of sarcasm in my original post. I played golf about a month ago with an 80-year-old man who holed his tee-shot from 160 yards. Some people age better than others.
I thought it seemed too often, too, but didn't want to appear not to believe my 98-year-old friend. She was still very sharp mentally at that time, and said the law had been created as a way to get elderly drivers off the road without appearing to be cruel.
By the way, this friend's father, Judge Lawrence Becker, was the Solicitor of the Treasury during the administration of Woodrow Wilson (1915-1919). She and her sister, who was two years younger, both clearly remembered running in and out of the White House as children.
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