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| Post Number: 1
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GEOKARJO 
Google This!!!
Group: Members
Posts: 7799
Joined: Aug. 2003
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Posted on: Jan. 24 2004,12:28 pm |
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FLANDREAU, S.D. -- Former U.S. Rep. Bill Janklow, a political heavyweight in South Dakota for more than three decades, was sentenced Thursday to 100 days in jail after his manslaughter conviction for the death of a Minnesota motorcyclist last summer.
The former state attorney general and four-term Republican governor, who resigned from Congress earlier this week, will begin serving his sentence Feb. 7 at the Minnehaha County jail in Sioux Falls. After 30 days, he will be eligible for a community service release program that will allow him to leave the jail for up to 10 hours a day before returning at night.
"You'll never know how sorry I am," a subdued Janklow told Judge Rodney Steele in front of an overflow crowd in the Moody County Courthouse just before he was sentenced.
"And it's not because my political career is over. It's because of what I did to this family," Janklow continued. "I can't be punished any more than I've punished myself."
Janklow, 64, was convicted last month on misdemeanor charges of speeding, running a stop sign and reckless driving and a felony charge of second-degree manslaughter in the Aug. 16 accident at a rural intersection in eastern South Dakota that killed Randolph Scott, a 55-year-old cattle rancher and farmer from Hardwick, Minn.
Janklow was fined $5,000 for the manslaughter conviction and sentenced to serve three years' probation. He also will lose driving privileges for three years.
Steele also fined Janklow several hundred dollars each for the misdemeanor charges.
Should Janklow successfully complete all the conditions of his sentence, the court would seal his felony conviction after three years, essentially wiping it from his record, which in South Dakota is known as a suspended imposition of sentence. The maximum sentence he could have received for second-degree manslaughter was 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. In South Dakota, cases where stiffer sentences are imposed generally involve repeat offenders or crimes involving drugs or alcohol. Investigators have said that there is no evidence that Janklow, who had no prior convictions, had been drinking before the accident.
"I think it was a fair and reasonable sentence," prosecutor Roger Ellyson said afterward. "It may not have been exactly the sentence I would have imposed, but I didn't want to change places with the judge."
Janklow, an outspoken political figure, left the courthouse without commenting. His son, Russ, and his attorney, Ed Evans, walked with him to a sport-utility vehicle while a crowd of reporters and camera crews followed.
"One hundred days in jail is going to be difficult," said Marc Tobias, a longtime Janklow friend whose car Janklow was driving at the time of the accident. "But he's relieved. He could have been sentenced to prison. This is a serious thing, and he knows it."
Back in the courthouse, Scott's relatives and friends hugged and kissed and expressed satisfaction with the outcome.
"This was an accident pure and simple," said Terry Johnson, of Luverne, Minn., who was riding his motorcycle with Scott the afternoon of the accident. "I think it's a just sentence, and in fact, I think it might even be a little excessive given his background."
Scott's daughter, Brandee, 22, said she was pleased and thinks Janklow is remorseful.
"The people will never know" for sure, she said, what happened the afternoon of Aug. 16, when Janklow, driving home from a two-day trip across the state, ran a stop sign at 71 miles an hour and collided with her father at the intersection of Moody County Rds. 13 and 14. Scott, who wasn't required to stop at the intersection, was thrown from his motorcycle and died at the scene. His body was found several hundred feet away in a field.
Janklow has said repeatedly that he can't remember what happened in the moments leading up to the crash. But Brandee Scott said, "God knows, and [Janklow] knows."
Under South Dakota law, an attorney can ask for a suspended imposition of sentence if the defendant has no prior criminal record.
In addressing Steele on Thursday, Janklow's attorneys asked the judge for the suspended imposition.
They also called nine character witnesses, including Terry Johnson, who said he recently spoke to Janklow by phone about the accident. Johnson told the judge that Janklow seemed remorseful, adding that he didn't see "any valid purpose" for Janklow to spend an extended period of time in jail.
Prosecutors Ellyson and Bill Ellingson made no sentencing recommendation, but in a brief statement, Ellyson noted Janklow's history of speeding and the two near-miss accidents that were documented at his trial, including one in December 2002 at the same intersection where Scott was killed.
He also spoke of Janklow's "lack of candor" in owning up to what happened.
"I don't believe any of the excuses," he said, adding that Janklow's defense that the congressman missed the stop sign because of a diabetic reaction caused by low blood sugar that day "is simply beyond belief."
As he did during a news conference in September and again at trial, Janklow said that he was sorry. But he again got defensive about his driving. He acknowledged that he speeds, but said that in the "thousands of miles" he drove the weekend of the accident "nobody complained about my driving."
Just before announcing the sentence, Steele outlined the issues he weighed in making his decision. He cited the "needless loss of life" and the emotional impact on the Scott family. He spoke, too, of the pattern of reckless driving by Janklow. But he said that he was convinced, judging by witness-impact statements and testimony, that Janklow was "genuinely and truly remorseful." Although Janklow's felony could someday be sealed and erased, it's unlikely the public will ever forget.
"He'll suffer the consequences not encountered by private citizens," Steele said, noting that Janklow has already lost his license to practice law and was forced to resign in disgrace from political life.
"There will be no anonymity for him. He'll continue to be viewed in the public looking glass for a long time to come."
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| Post Number: 2
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minnow
Unregistered
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Posted on: Jan. 24 2004,12:37 pm |
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No more injustice than your drug war.
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| Post Number: 3
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Hanna
Group: Members
Posts: 132
Joined: Aug. 2003
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Posted on: Jan. 24 2004,2:46 pm |
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I've been watching this story quite closely since my brother was also killed on a motorcycle in June of 2002 by a driver of an SUV in the wrong lane (head-on). The trial for the man that hit my brother starts Feb 15. The accident was in Iowa so Iowa laws will be used for litigation. It will be interesting to see the differences in sentences from South Dakota and Iowa. The charges in this case are the same as Jenklow. I will post the outcome for comparison sake when the trial is complete.
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| Post Number: 4
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LaLaLa
Unregistered
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Posted on: Jan. 24 2004,3:22 pm |
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My deepest sympathy to you Hanna. I hope that the charges are much more severe to the individual responsible in your brothers death. The family of the man Janklow killed should have had more justice. I don't care what political party he was with(Janklow), as one human to another.
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| Post Number: 5
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minnow
Unregistered
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Posted on: Jan. 24 2004,3:53 pm |
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You know...I've always wanted to get a murdercycle, but if it's not the deer, it's drivers who don't see you. I've noticed as the decades have gone by, that drivers seem more frantic and compulsive and often make errors. I'm inclined to just buy a tank just let em hit me.
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| Post Number: 6
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cpu_slave
Group: Members
Posts: 297
Joined: Aug. 2003
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Posted on: Jan. 30 2004,5:57 pm |
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I heard that many motorcycle groups are pushing for a boycott on Sturgis over this mess! I for one will not be attending because of this ruling, and many others that I know are feeling the same way.
Another example of how money and power buy (in)justice!
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An age is called Dark, not because the light fails to shine, but because people refuse to see it.-James A. Michener
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.-Albert Einstein
Wise men learn more from fools than fools from wise men.- Marcus Cato
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| Post Number: 7
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BeBack
Unregistered
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Posted on: Feb. 02 2004,5:37 pm |
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My Indian has not been welcomed out their and is not reliable enough to make the trip anymore, so I'm with you CPU. I'm not going to Sturgis until there is some justice in the world.
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| Post Number: 8
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Hanna
Group: Members
Posts: 132
Joined: Aug. 2003
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Posted on: Nov. 08 2004,9:03 pm |
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Well after two years of court litigation, the final sentencing is in.
History: My brother was killed on his motorcycle in June of 2002 when a driver of a truck crossed the centerline on a two lane highway (after a day of golfing) and hit my brother head on. I was with him on my own bike at the time and I was a witness to the accident.
After 2-1/2 years, the guy driving the truck pled guilty and here's what the court in Iowa felt was justice.
2 years in the state pen. Stayed for two years probation.
$1000 fine.
In a nut shell, if the guy stays clean for two years. He paid a thousand dollars in fines and walks.
Just an interesting note, during the sentencing hearing, we the family found out the man had a prior drunk driving charge and a reckless driving charge on his record.
I guess if your going to kill someone, do it in Iowa. Lives aren't that important to Iowa judges.
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| Post Number: 9
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robin
Group: Members
Posts: 116
Joined: Aug. 2004
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Posted on: Nov. 08 2004,9:45 pm |
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I am sorry for your family's loss Hanna. There is no price that will make this right. This fellow needs to stay clean for the rest of his life, and the guilt will most likely keep him from making it the two years. Even his going to jail will not help the feelings you are now having. It is my wish that time will provide you with an answer to the pain you are still feeling.
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| Post Number: 10
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Paul Harvey
Group: Members
Posts: 2778
Joined: Aug. 2004
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Posted on: Nov. 08 2004,9:45 pm |
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Stupid driving isn't really a crime. They only nail people with any amount of substance in their system.
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~I love trolling n00bs and pwning assholes~
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