Don't let this happen to the memory of Mr. Christ

GeoffMiller said:

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone

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Wow....yeah thats great......are we talking about all sin? So like if I stole a roll of Life Savers or maybe told a lie then I shouldn't be able to toss a couple stones at someone who let's say got drunk and murdered someone's father/brother/son/friend?
I realize that point is ridiculous; however, if that would have been my dad, or my, brother, or my son.....would a year's time with work release and some probation be what I was hoping for? Would I feel like....okay now we are even? That will really teach her? Are you shitting me??????????? Mr. Christ will never walk back through his front door again....This criminal...this murderer... got a slap on the wrist at best! Simply pathetic!

OU812 said:

It is strange that no deal was made with the prosecutor.

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Yes; it is a little unusual. This might indicate that our input, with Mr. Cabranes' help, convinced him not to make a deal. That would be a good thing, at least in this case.

Yet the Judge did go light for the crime that she plead guilty to. And I always felt that when you plead guilty you always make a deal. Maybe she did with the judge.

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No. At least, not legally. The judge had two opposing viewpoints and had to make the decision. This does not appear to be any kind of deal. The sentence is fairly unusual in some of its terms dealing with Christ's family; and I like those terms. They will serve as a constant reminder to her - especially if there's another 10 years hanging in the balance. IME, it is fairly easy to get your probation revoked if you aren't completely in compliance with the terms. The Department of Corrections will be watching her; she will have regular monthly reporting requirements; others may also be watching. F'rinstance, if an MOA member who knows about this affair should casually happen to see Darcy knocking back a few in a local bar 5 years from now and said MOA member drops a dime on her to her Probation Officer, she could do those 10 years for violating her "absolute sobriety" requirement. IOW, unless she's a complete idiot, her drinking days are over until she's over the hill.

Sad, that is all I feel.

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At least here (in the state), we can try to make more come out of this. Normally, I am opposed to almost anything that some of my local legislative representatives do, but they are currently proposing increased penalties for drunken driving offenses and our (former prosecutor) governor also supports them. I fully support this bipartisan initiative.

Well Mr. Buckeye, I am sure glad that you have lived a perfectly pure life up to this point! Never had a cocktail before driving? Atta boy! Never chat on the ol' cell phone? Great! I'm sure that you have spent the time and money to get yourself trained as a professional driver before hitting the highway.
No, what happened is a sad thing for all parties. I find it strange that people get their panties in a bunch yet don't give a rat's ass about people who get killed in other situations. What would you propose to do with this woman? Stoning? She messed up. She needs help. I would guess that she is probably beating herself up more than you could possibly do. Don't be so quick to judge. We are all one mistake away from a similar situation.

GeoffMiller said:

Well Mr. Buckeye, I am sure glad that you have lived a perfectly pure life up to this point! Never had a cocktail before driving? Atta boy! Never chat on the ol' cell phone? Great! I'm sure that you have spent the time and money to get yourself trained as a professional driver before hitting the highway.
No, what happened is a sad thing for all parties. I find it strange that people get their panties in a bunch yet don't give a rat's ass about people who get killed in other situations. What would you propose to do with this woman? Stoning? She messed up. She needs help. I would guess that she is probably beating herself up more than you could possibly do. Don't be so quick to judge. We are all one mistake away from a similar situation.

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You are right......everyone who is found guilty of causing the death of another person should spend less than 1 year actual prison time. That is long enough right? Plus they are beating themselves up already so maybe just an hour sitting in the corner would do the trick?
I find it strange that you are getting your panties in an uproar about how this poor, could have happened to anyone who has ever taken a drink, just in the wrong place at the wrong time, unfortunate in need of help, girl is being talked about. Do you honestly believe that she got a deserving sentence from the Judge? Really do you? Are you also saying that if I have ever taken a drink and then drove or talked on a cell phone that I am also somehow partially responsible? That maybe what happened is not really all that bad because we all have done all of the ingredients except the actual killing part?

This is hot-button issue, and we all should probably take a deep breath. In my line of work (medicine) I often see the totality of these types of tragedies which the courts may not see. Lives are often ruined on all sides of these situations. No punishment can bring back the lives lost, no restitution can be considered adequate. Short of "an eye for an eye", what do civilized folks do? I think BuckeyeClark is simply trying to say what many of us might feel, and that is "there but for the grace of God go I". Maybe that does not apply to some....although I find that hard to believe.

Lawyers who are familiar with procedure have suggested the sentence is the best we can hope for. At least she did not walk away clean like a certain recent government official. Would that these things never happened at all. Thoughts and prayers for the futures of all the families and friends negatively impacted by this thoughtless act.

hlothery said:

This is hot-button issue, and we all should probably take a deep breath. In my line of work (medicine) I often see the totality of these types of tragedies which the courts may not see. Lives are often ruined on all sides of these situations. No punishment can bring back the lives lost, no restitution can be considered adequate. Short of "an eye for an eye", what do civilized folks do? I think BuckeyeClark is simply trying to say what many of us might feel, and that is "there but for the grace of God go I". Maybe that does not apply to some....although I find that hard to believe.

Lawyers who are familiar with procedure have suggested the sentence is the best we can hope for. At least she did not walk away clean like a certain recent government official. Would that these things never happened at all. Thoughts and prayers for the futures of all the families and friends negatively impacted by this thoughtless act.

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Very well said.

I feel sick. I would assume that others feel the same, no matter what side of the issue you stand.(on punishment)

Newspaper article today - 15 months later

From today's Milwaukee Journal - here is an article about Daniel Christ and the accident last summer that took his life.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/33677264.html

Thanks for the update Sue.

Such a waste.

Daniel

God, what a loss of a good man !

Thanks for sharing, Sue. That was an excellent article, not only pointing out the inequities in the law, but also and most importantly describing what a great person Mr. Christ was.

Despite a one-year jail term (vs longer), it does appear that the drunk driver will be challenged to live within her parole conditions.

Muriel

Thankfully, we can expect her to screw up when she gets out. Maybe then she will get a proper sentence.

Raceydog said:

Thankfully, we can expect her to screw up when she gets out. Maybe then she will get a proper sentence.

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When she does, I'll know. I have the Wisconsin courts website page for her case on RSS feed.

------------Sentence Was---------------------------
15 yrs DOC, 10 yr IC & 5 yr - imposed and stayed
15 yrs p&p
1yr DCJ consec w/h&t **no GPS**
Shall pay up to 25% of counseling fees not covered by insurance for victim's son until he turns 18
AODA/VIP
5 yr rev/IID
Absolute sobriety
DNA Sample
not less than 100 hrs Community service each year at high schools, junior highs or VIP panels
======================
shall maintain full time employment
=====================
shall pay tuition/books/room & board for victim's son for 1 semester each year for 4 years at the University of Iowa; held open for 8 yrs when victim's son graduates from High school
costs
shall receive 1 day presentence credit should supervision be revoked
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Do we have any members who can confirm this murderer is still employed?

Why am I underwhelmed at the sentence?

Clearly, I am the problem here.

100 hours of community service each year for 15 years should be a pretty good reminder of what she did in addition to the rest of the sentance. The sum total of the sentance seems like it would be harder to live with than say 5 years "hard time". I find it hard to call murder as there was no malice aforethought. Wrong?, yes, punishable?, yes, tragic?, yes, is she going to pay?, yes. Can anything bring the good man back?, no.

The sentence is significant for this offender of course

But without the HARD TIME

It utterly fails to send the message needed for the public in general

Sentence was...44006

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Could someone translate all the acronymns?

Here in Nevada, we have a case where a married couple engaged in and furthered sex acts with a daughter. He got 20 to life; she is looking at possible probation.
A couple years ago, we had another couple, who portrayed their young daughter in obscene ways on the internet. He got life; she got probation and custody. Subsequently, she was arrested, for guess what? More streaming kiddie porn videos.
These examples were from Nevada courts, which are typically on the harsh end of the scale, versus other states.

My point here is, aside from the fact that our society considers a motorcyclists life extremely cheap, there is additionally a pervasive gender bias in our courts. The upshot here will in all likelihood be coddling of this perp, due to a rarely discussed facet of sexism. Why is this not discussed?

rinty said:

Could someone translate all the acronymns?

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Start here.

44006 said:

------------Sentence Was---------------------------
15 yrs DOC, 10 yr IC & 5 yr - imposed and stayed
15 yrs p&p
1yr DCJ consec w/h&t **no GPS**

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Still, many terms left undefined. My educated guesses:
IC = incarceration - this line is a 15-year suspended prison sentence including at least 10 years in and a possible total of 15, depending on behavior.
p&p = Probation & parole (State Dept. of -)
DCJ = Dodge County Jail (incarcerated for a one-year term)
w/h&t = work release privileges - normally leaves one-half hour before and after work hours and includes unannounced workplace monitoring and reports from workplace supervisor(s)
no GPS = no tracking device required

Shall pay up to 25% of counseling fees not covered by insurance for victim's son until he turns 18

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IME, this is a very unusual sentence element.

AODA/VIP
5 yr rev/IID

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AODA = Alcohol & Other Drug Assessment (study to determine if intoxication is chronic or isolated)
rev = license revocation
I am not certain what VIP or IID are. VIP is probably a requirement for any treatment indicated or recommended by the AODA. Failure to cooperate or undergo such treatment constitutes a violation of parole. Any violation of any of the terms of her sentence can result in her incarceration for the suspended 15-year sentence above.

Absolute sobriety
DNA Sample

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Both common in any alcohol-related offense. Consuming any alcohol is a violation of her parole. Refusing to provide a DNA sample (as a convicted felon) is also a violation.

not less than 100 hrs Community service each year at high schools, junior highs or VIP panels
======================
shall maintain full time employment
=====================

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These are also common in cases of this type.

shall pay tuition/books/room & board for victim's son for 1 semester each year for 4 years at the University of Iowa; held open for 8 yrs when victim's son graduates from High school

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This one is a surprise to me. It is a very unusual condition, but certainly not inappropriate here.

costs
shall receive 1 day presentence credit should supervision be revoked
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Do we have any members who can confirm this murderer is still employed?

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Her state probation and parole officer is responsible for that. I do not know how many officers there are in Dodge County, but one of them has her case. If she fails to document that she is employed, this, too, will result in a motion to revoke her supervision and commend her to DOC to serve her sentence in prison. She is under a lot of long term conditions and it is not going to be easy for her to serve them without a violation. Still, it is a simple matter for you to set up an RSS feed from the Wisconsin CCAP page for her case, as I did. If anything happens in the court, you will know about it.