Charles E. Pickett, 50, of Battle Creek, Michigan, has been charged with five counts of Second-degree Felony Murder in the deaths of the cyclists near Kalamazoo last Tuesday evening.
In my humble opinion, it's about friggin' time a prosecutor took such incidents seriously.
We will wait to see if these charges get pleaded down. ( i have to wonder, is there such a thing as misdemeanor murder?)
Showing posts with label vehicular homicide. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vehicular homicide. Show all posts
Friday, 10 June 2016
Thursday, 9 June 2016
Vehicular Homicide
This Wednesday morning i awoke to the radio news reports of the carnage in Kalamazoo. A group of nine cyclists was mowed down by a man with a pickup truck. Five persons lost their lives, four more are in hospital.
Notice the nuance here: a man mowed them down, not a pickup truck, not a vehicle. The vehicle was merely a weapon and at the controls of that weapon was a man.
Some of the reports i've read or heard state that the people were run down by a pickup truck- as if the pickup truck were an autonomous thing with its own will and beyond human control.
Some reports called this event an "accident" as if it were a fated thing beyond human involvement or prevention. This was no "accident," but homicide, if not willful murder.
As of this writing i haven't heard if any charges have been laid on the driver. We have heard that he was apprehended whilst attempting to flee the scene on foot as he had struck the people with such murderous force as to render his vehicle undrivable.
Think about that for a moment: the force and speed required to cause such extensive damage to a two-plus-ton steel and iron machine by something as soft and fragile as a human body.
As of this writing i have yet to hear if the driver, the person at the wheel, was intoxicated or suffering a physical ailment or distracted. IF charges are laid, one wonders what sort of defense this person will put up. One wonders what charges may be laid and if he is proved culpable (remember, the laws here state "innocent until proved guilty,") what fitting penalty is in order?
Other people more articulate than i have been expressing themselves over this event, and i find myself too heartsick and angry to continue much longer today.
Here are a couple of websites that may allow you to help the victims of this driver's action:
Notice the nuance here: a man mowed them down, not a pickup truck, not a vehicle. The vehicle was merely a weapon and at the controls of that weapon was a man.
Some of the reports i've read or heard state that the people were run down by a pickup truck- as if the pickup truck were an autonomous thing with its own will and beyond human control.
Some reports called this event an "accident" as if it were a fated thing beyond human involvement or prevention. This was no "accident," but homicide, if not willful murder.
As of this writing i haven't heard if any charges have been laid on the driver. We have heard that he was apprehended whilst attempting to flee the scene on foot as he had struck the people with such murderous force as to render his vehicle undrivable.
Think about that for a moment: the force and speed required to cause such extensive damage to a two-plus-ton steel and iron machine by something as soft and fragile as a human body.
As of this writing i have yet to hear if the driver, the person at the wheel, was intoxicated or suffering a physical ailment or distracted. IF charges are laid, one wonders what sort of defense this person will put up. One wonders what charges may be laid and if he is proved culpable (remember, the laws here state "innocent until proved guilty,") what fitting penalty is in order?
Other people more articulate than i have been expressing themselves over this event, and i find myself too heartsick and angry to continue much longer today.
Here are a couple of websites that may allow you to help the victims of this driver's action:
If you should have any ideas that may help bring comfort, please let me know and i'll post them here. Thanks.
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