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90 Days House Arrest for Killing Someone

I am shocked and disgusted that this is the outcome of a tragic case. I understand the judge imposed the maximum penalty for the crime Carol Svinarich was charged with (though I don't get why she's not sitting in jail for 90 days), but I don't understand at all why she wasn't charged with involuntary manslaughter. She did something illegal--running a red light--and she killed a person. So why such a minor charge? Does someone know the reasoning behind this? I really hope the widow sues the driver in civil court.

Tags: bicyclist, killed

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Permalink Reply by Kenny on October 29, 2012 at 10:38am

You may have been joking but the problem is serious. When someone decides to drive while distracted, they are wielding a 2-ton weapon against everyone in the vicinity.Defending ourselves from that kind of attack is not out of the question.

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Permalink Reply by once banned twice shy on October 29, 2012 at 4:27pm

What gets me is the woman still insisted that she didn't run the red light at her sentencing. That right there justified sending her to jail, I would think. But honestly I don't think sending someone to jail IS the correct penalty. That serves no one, really. In fact, it just costs society money. I say she should lose her drivers license for life (seriously--if you kill someone with your car, by your own inattentiveness, you FAILED the driving test) and be required to speak at driving schools about how your inattentiveness resulted in loss of life. Along with whatever restitution a judge should order.

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Permalink Reply by Kenny on October 29, 2012 at 4:45pm

That would work. The penalty is severe enough to make others think about it. In addition to punishing the person who broke the law, penalizing someone for illegal behavior is also supposed to serve as a deterrent against others also doing that same illegal behavior. That helps to justify imprisoning people.