3 yr license suspension WTF

[Limenine9r]

Logan County Jail

Christian Fischer

By Richard Wilson

Staff Writer

BELLEFONTAINE, Logan County —

A 30-year-old man was sent to jail and had his license suspended Monday in a plea agreement on charges from an August 2013 Logan County fatal crash.

Christian Fischer, of East Liberty, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and vehicular assault and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, five years community control and 200 hours of community service, according to the Logan County Clerk of Courts.

The judge suspended Fischer's driver's license for three years and ordered him to pay a $500 fine as well as court costs, attorneys' fees and restitution, according to the clerk's office.

Fischer told police he was distracted when he went left-of-center and struck a motorcycle head-on on Aug. 11 on U.S. 68.

The collision killed the motorcyclist, 39-year-old Charles S. Carpenter, and seriously injured the passenger, 41-year-old Cathy L. Goodyear.

Fischer is serving his jail sentence at the Logan County Jail.

- See more at: http://m.whio.com/news/news/crime-law/man-sentenced-2013-logan-county-fatal-crash/nf2yK/#sthash.MQ6x6hiX.dpuf

[Anden]

Much stiffer penalty than the kid that killed a friend of our.

[redkow97]

He was ordered o make restitution and I would bet there is a wrongful death suit coming.

Needs to be out of jail to pay the victim's family.

Plus he's on probation for 5 years. He'll serve time if he screws up.

Only 90 days over his head sounds very light though...

Edited May 21, 2014 by redkow97

[Calinazaret]

That is pretty jacked.

[TRMN8TR]

What good does it do to lock the guy up behind bars and make the taxpayers pay to keep him there? I think something like an indefinite license suspension (since he's proven he can't be behind the wheel without being a danger to others lives) and then making him attend weekly/monthly meetings at local high schools speaking about the dangers of driving while texting/eating/operating gps/otherwise driving distracted for some number of years. Mean while, let him continue his life and work so he can pay restitution to the family, and contribute to society instead of being a burden on it?

[Limenine9r]

But I Ride motorcycles.

I guess it's no big deal if he would've killed me?

My lovely wife could find someone else

My 16 yr old triplets would have fond memories of me.

Maybe we shouldn't ride motorcycles at all.

[magley64]

But I Ride motorcycles.

I guess it's no big deal if he would've killed me?

My lovely wife could find someone else

My 16 yr old triplets would have fond memories of me.

Maybe we shouldn't ride motorcycles at all.

Most of us do, and most of us realize we are putting our asses on the line every time we thumb the starter. We must ride with increased awareness, and expect drivers to do the dumbest things imaginable. Accept this responsibility, or motorcycling probably won't be something you will enjoy for very long.

[redkow97]

But I Ride motorcycles.

I guess it's no big deal if he would've killed me?

My lovely wife could find someone else

My 16 yr old triplets would have fond memories of me.

Maybe we shouldn't ride motorcycles at all.

 

That's where the wrongful death suit comes into play.

 

Locking up the perpetrator doesn't make 'your' family whole in the example you gave.  Money doesn't replace you, but it relieves the burden of funeral expenses, lost income, etcetera.

 

I agree that the sentence was light, and I am surprised he was only ordered 90 days, but what would you deem appropriate for aggravated vehicular homicide?

[smccrory]

What good does it do to lock the guy up behind bars and make the taxpayers pay to keep him there? I think something like an indefinite license suspension (since he's proven he can't be behind the wheel without being a danger to others lives) and then making him attend weekly/monthly meetings at local high schools speaking about the dangers of driving while texting/eating/operating gps/otherwise driving distracted for some number of years. Mean while, let him continue his life and work so he can pay restitution to the family, and contribute to society instead of being a burden on it?

 

I could not agree more - well said.

[Steve Butters]

I disagree. Life? No. But he needs to face a much stiffer penalty. Aside from the financial aspect, he's getting a slap on the wrist for killing somebody with his car. What if it was your family member? Would you be ok with 90 days in jail? This sentencing is ridiculous. I would like to see him in there 3-5yrs so it actually sinks in what the hell he has done, then let him come out and start making payments on stuff.

[redkow97]

I guess I would also point out that we do not know the defendant.

 

It's not common, but I have had defendants who are genuinely extremely remorseful and apologetic to victims.  Good people do make horrible mistakes.  Especially when they are in the midst of a major substance abuse problem.  The victim's family may have requested a light sentence if this guy has made a sincere apology and demonstrated that this is something he takes seriously, and is making changes in his life.

 

I have a couple of people in particular I'm thinking about, but one was a heroin addict when I met him.  He was a criminal.  Plain and simple.  Now I would let him live in my home if he needed a place to stay. 

[bloodninja420]

I disagree. Life? No. But he needs to face a much stiffer penalty. Aside from the financial aspect, he's getting a slap on the wrist for killing somebody with his car. What if it was your family member? Would you be ok with 90 days in jail? This sentencing is ridiculous. I would like to see him in there 3-5yrs so it actually sinks in what the hell he has done, then let him come out and start making payments on stuff.

This.

People respond to incentives. Send a few soccer moms to federal-pound-me-in-the-ass prison for a year after they cause collisions, and I think we might start seeing less dangerous idiocy on the road.

Kill someone due to willful negligence? Your ass should be locked away for years while every asset to your name is liquidated and given to the next of kin.

[PhilD'oh!]

I have very mixed feelings on this. Inattentive soccer moms, drug addicts, text-ers, dui...I have no sympathy. However, I have a son that will be 16 in a month. He's a great kid, very conscientious and respectful and I have been stressing how serious a responsibility driving is. He gets it. Still, he's an inexperienced kid. Get distracted for one second and that's all it takes.

Heck, I almost had an accident in my truck last week. I was blowing down a quiet country road, nobody around for miles, looked away for a second or two...then HOLY SHI...local paper delivery person half in the road, half off. I managed to avoid an accident, but it was mostly luck. I wasn't playing with the radio or my phone, wasn't intoxicated, nothing like that and still could have hurt somebody.

The truth is, we don't know the people involved in this case. Passing judgement without all the facts is reckless at best.

[Steve Butters]

Negligence isn't a valid excuse to kill anybody. You can't say "oh sorry I just looked away for 2 seconds and hit the guy - my bad"... Someone is dead, this guy is responsible for it, it's open/close.. You failed to pay attention, you have to live with it.

[PhilD'oh!]

Exactly, they have to live with it...for a mistake that happened in a second. Overwhelming guilt, financial and career destruction and jail time. Maybe he deserves worse, maybe he's just somebody's brother/child/husband that made a single mistake. I'm glad you're infallible, but most of us aren't. I have the ability to feel compassion for all and the intelligence to understand that everything isn't black and white, as much as we'd like it to be.

[Steve Butters]

I never claimed to be infallible. But you have to live with your choices. Actions have consequences. That's all I'm saying... Yea maybe he's a stand up guy and made a mistake.. But that doesn't subtract from the fact that somebody is dead by their actions.. I don't think 3-5 yrs is asking too much.. I'm not calling for a capital murder charge, but I don't think you should get 90 days for negligently killing somebody. People get more time than that for victimless crimes, let alone killing somebody

[Steve Butters]

In the unfortunate event someone killed your wife or parent or someone close to you because they were texting or otherwise not paying attention, you're telling me you would be perfectly happy with 90 days in jail because "oh its an accident, shit happens"?

[PhilD'oh!]

I understand where you're coming from. It pisses me off too when I see another rider die from somebody else's actions. I guess my point here is that even though our legal system is far from perfect, it has way more experience sifting through the multitude of extenuating factors in cases like this. We simply don't know all the facts as outsiders.

It's very easy to sympathize with the victim and their loved ones, it's a terrible thing that should never happen to an innocent person. That's unimaginable grief that I hope none of us has to deal with much in our lifetimes. But, just for a minute, put yourself in the defendant's shoes. Suppose you did absolutely nothing wrong except allow yourself to get distracted for a second and you killed someone. For me, that's not something I would ever be able to get past and the amount of jail time I served would have no bearing whatsoever on my personal penance. So is justice served by sentencing me to more time behind bars? For something that wasn't intentional? I don't know that answer, so I have to trust the discretion of a judge.

[Steve Butters]

I get that also. If someone has 5 duis and then kills someone while driving, I'd be calling for much more than 3-5...I just can't think of anything that warrants manslaughter being 90 days in jail.. Intentional or not... We'll just have to agree to disagree... Simply put, I feel like the minimum sentence doesn't match the crime

[PhilD'oh!]

I certainly respect that.