Tom Palermo-custom frame builder RIP

[krhea]

Originally Posted by AJM100

She looks more like a he . . .

Really unnecessary, in poor taste and added nothing to the discussion.

[ultraman6970]

IMO, the dude is venting his opinion about how she looks, he is not judging her for it, right?

Originally Posted by JAllen

Thought this whole thing had to do with her murdering another road user and a brother cyclist. Didn't know she was on trial for looks too...

[rugbysecondrow]

Originally Posted by BumbleBeeDave

. . . situations like this where a driver gets off with relatively minor punishment in incidents involving cyclists. Couple that with her position and the certainty of behind-the-scenes support from church insiders--if not from the church itself--and I am skeptical she will get the lengthy prison sentence she deserves.

I have not heard anything about civil suits, so perhaps the family will sue the frocks off her and the local diocese.

BBD

It is unfortunate, but DUI violators who kill and hurt are often not punished severely, regardless of who the victim is. You can google enough to read about children playing, pedestrians strolling, bikers rollers, grandmother driving, who are carelessly killed by these people.

When I was in the 8th grade, I woke to hear the radio tell me about a good friend/classmate (and another friend and acquaintance) who were killed the night before by a drunk driver. I was frozen. The school was silent that day. It was a horrific time for our small town of 2200. I am still friends with his older brother, he has never been the same. The drunk plowed into all three, two of them kids, leaving them to die on the road. Another classmate, and one of the victims brothers, tried to help, but there is only so much a 14 year old can do. They all died there. The newspaper photos showed bloody shoes in the middle of the street. The kids were hit right out of their shoes.

This isn't a cycling issue, it is a societal issue. We accept drinking and driving.


SPRINGFIELD -- In response to deadly drunken driving accidents from Springfield

to Aurora, Gov. George Ryan signed into law Thursday a bill that doubles the

potential prison sentences for drunken drivers who kill more than one person.

Starting Jan. 1, such drivers can be sentenced to up to 28 years in prison for

multiple-fatality drunken driving accidents. Currently, the maximum sentence is

14 years, no matter how many people are killed.

The bill was sponsored by Sen. Larry Bomke, R-Springfield, and Rep. Randall

Hultgren, R-Wheaton, who both saw such accidents in their regions.

In April 1991, a Dawson man with two previous drunken driving convictions hit
and killed three people along Mechanicsburg Road just outside Springfield. The

trio -- Jeffrey Batson, 14, Dale Allen Harper II, 15, and Sharon Ostenburg, 20,

had been looking for turtles along the road near the Country Towne Estates

subdivision.

The driver, Mark Martin, then 29, didn't have a valid drivers license and had a

blood-alcohol level of 0.16 three hours after the crash. At the time, the legal

limit was 0.10. It has since been lowered to 0.08.

Martin was sentenced to 14 years in prison but was released after 5 1/2 years

for good-time behavior and other credits. That prompted Thelma Batson, the

mother of one of the victims, to plead with state lawmakers this spring to pass

the tougher legislation.

[JAllen]

Originally Posted by ultraman6970

IMO, the dude is venting his opinion about how she looks, he is not judging her for it, right?

As OP and krhea pointed out: not necessary. I don't know why anyone's looks require "venting".

Sure, there are people who didn't win the generic lottery, but they don't deserve crappy digs at them. It also makes the other topic look less legitimate and more like a bunch of children pissing and moaning in the schoolyard about trivial or unrelated things.

[Ray]

No telling if the judge will reduce the sentence, but the plea deal sounds like 20 years, 10 suspended, so she'd spend 10 years in jail plus five years of probation. If it actually comes down like that, that's a lot more than you generally hear about in cases like this. I hope the judge doesn't go easy on her. And who knows what kind of parole opportunities there are. Still, facing ten years behind bars is pretty serious...

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/mar...908-story.html

-Ray

[Nooch]

Originally Posted by BumbleBeeDave

Why am I not surprised?

http://www.wbaltv.com/news/trial-dat...-cook/35088258

BBD

what i hate about all of this reporting is that it lists the victim as 'bicyclist.' certainly I understand that's 'who he was' when he perished, but what about 'husband, father, small business owner, and cyclist.'

again, it just further separates 'us' from 'them' and they just don't relate with the 'cyclist' in the story..

[laupsi]

Originally Posted by Nooch

what i hate about all of this reporting is that it lists the victim as 'bicyclist.' certainly I understand that's 'who he was' when he perished, but what about 'husband, father, small business owner, and cyclist.'

again, it just further separates 'us' from 'them' and they just don't relate with the 'cyclist' in the story..

the subtleties in our language paint the dark realities we all confront. most often no one notices. kudos

[soulspinner]

Originally Posted by Ray

No telling if the judge will reduce the sentence, but the plea deal sounds like 20 years, 10 suspended, so she'd spend 10 years in jail plus five years of probation. If it actually comes down like that, that's a lot more than you generally hear about in cases like this. I hope the judge doesn't go easy on her. And who knows what kind of parole opportunities there are. Still, facing ten years behind bars is pretty serious...

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/mar...908-story.html

-Ray

Problem is if the judge reduces the sentence and with good time she could see as little as 3 or 4 years.

[Aaron O]

Originally Posted by Ray

No telling if the judge will reduce the sentence, but the plea deal sounds like 20 years, 10 suspended, so she'd spend 10 years in jail plus five years of probation. If it actually comes down like that, that's a lot more than you generally hear about in cases like this. I hope the judge doesn't go easy on her. And who knows what kind of parole opportunities there are. Still, facing ten years behind bars is pretty serious...

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/mar...908-story.html

-Ray

THIS. I know we all want blood, and I get it, but this seemed like a pretty reasonable outcome to me. The woman is sick, and she deserves to be punished. I think this is pretty serious punishment.

Like someone else said on another thread...it's bad for everyone.

[jet sanchez]

Originally Posted by Aaron O

THIS. I know we all want blood, and I get it, but this seemed like a pretty reasonable outcome to me. The woman is sick, and she deserves to be punished. I think this is pretty serious punishment.

Like someone else said on another thread...it's bad for everyone.

By suspending half the sentence, Cook would serve 10 years and a judge could impose the remaining term if she violated her probation. The terms of her probation would include installing an ignition interlock device in her car and continuing to attend counseling.

This always bugs me, it seems like it is an inalienable right in America to drive a car. Driving should be seen as a privilege, not a right. I imagine that the judge is unable to take away her license under the law but I for one hope that those laws change one day.

[R3awak3n]

Instead of sending her to prison and waste all our tax dollars, take her license away for the next 20 years, have her do community service for the next 20 years.

The thing is, Tom is still dead, his family still at loss and their lives changed forever.

This woman messed up and any time in jail will have her thinking hard on what she did but how does it change the situation. Have her help other people and take away her right to drive. Also obviously have her go to rehab and control her problem. Of course this might not be the popular opinion.

[makoti]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

Instead of sending her to prison and waste all our tax dollars, take her license away for the next 20 years, have her do community service for the next 20 years.

The thing is, Tom is still dead, his family still at loss and their lives changed forever.

This woman messed up and any time in jail will have her thinking hard on what she did but how does it change the situation. Have her help other people and take away her right to drive. Also obviously have her go to rehab and control her problem. Of course this might not be the popular opinion.

Given her history of following the rules, I doubt taking her license will stop her from driving. How about a compromise? 10 years in prison & supervised release every weekend to work in a rehab unit with people suffering from traumatic injuries?

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by makoti

Given her history of following the rules, I doubt taking her license will stop her from driving. How about a compromise? 10 years in prison & supervised release every weekend to work in a rehab unit with people suffering from traumatic injuries?

you can always install a breathalyzer in the car but I think that is a good compromise. I just have a problem with locking people away that could be doing work to help other people.

[Shortsocks]

Originally Posted by r3awak3n

you can always install a breathalyzer in the car but i think that is a good compromise. I just have a problem with locking people away that could be doing work to help other people.

+1.

[daker13]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

you can always install a breathalyzer in the car but I think that is a good compromise. I just have a problem with locking people away that could be doing work to help other people.

I'm hardly a law and order guy, but she was rich and powerful, she certainly tried to leave the scene of the crime and pretend like it never happened, and worst of all, she's a repeat offender.