POLL: Elderly driver convicted of Manslaughter. Prison Or Probation?

[Janice]

http://articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/elderly-driver-guilty-in-california/20061020145609990004

Elderly Driver Guilty in California Market Crash

Judge Can Give Him a Maximum of 18 Years in Prison

LOS ANGELES (Oct. 21) - An elderly man whose car hurtled through a farmers market, killing 10 people and injuring more than 70, was convicted Friday of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence - the harshest verdict possible.

George Russell Weller, 89 and in poor health, could spend the rest of his life in prison for the 2003 crash, which set off a national debate over whether elderly people should be barred from driving or required to pass additional tests when renewing their licenses.

He faces a maximum of 18 years in prison, but the judge also could sentence him to probation. Prosecutors declined to say what penalty they would request.

Weller was not in court to hear the verdict, reached by a jury after eight days of deliberation.

His attorneys argued that he mistakenly stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brake and panicked when the vehicle raced into the open-air market. But prosecutors said he was careless to the point of criminal negligence and lacked remorse.

"He looked at what he had done, essentially shrugged his shoulders and said, 'Oops,"' prosecutor Ann Ambrose told the jury.

Weller was 86 when his 1992 Buick Le Sabre traveled about 300 yards, reaching 60 mph or more as it crashed into food stalls. It finally came to a stop after hitting a ditch, with one victim's body tangled underneath and another's draped across the hood. The victims ranged in age from 7 months to 78 years.

Weller did not testify, but jurors heard a taped interview with police immediately after the crash in which he said he tried everything he could think of to stop the car.

"I tried to take the control knob and jam it into park. Everything. Anything that I thought would stop the action of the car," he said.

Prosecutors also called one witness who claimed Weller said: "You saw me coming; why didn't you get out of my way?"

Juror Yolanda Hernandez, 54, of Montebello, said after the verdict that the jury was influenced by that testimony and by Weller's statement to police, which the panel did not believe showed remorse.

She also indicated jurors didn't buy the argument that Weller couldn't figure out how to stop his car.

"He had 240 feet before he came to the barricade for the farmer's market. That's a long way, and he went 1,000 feet before he stopped," she said. "He still had plenty of time to react."

Hernandez said jurors agreed from the first day of deliberations that Weller was guilty of vehicular manslaughter but had trouble deciding whether he had committed gross negligence, a felony, or misdemeanor simple negligence.

Asked Wednesday by the panel to provide the legal definition of gross negligence, Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson wrote that it meant "more than ordinary carelessness, inattention or mistake in judgment."

Ambrose said Weller's age wasn't key to the prosecution's case.

"It has been our position from the beginning that no matter if you're 16 or 86, if you make the decision to get behind the wheel of a car, you have a duty of care," she said.

A survivor who is suing over injuries he suffered in the crash said he didn't want Weller locked up.

"There's nothing pleasing about this whole event," said Mark Miller, adding he had empathy for Weller as well as his fellow victims.

At Weller's Santa Monica home Friday, the blinds were drawn and nobody answered the door. A neighbor, Fran Peskoff, said she was stunned by the verdict, adding there was "no way" Weller could have run over people on purpose.

Since the accident, Peskoff said, Weller has become a recluse.

"He's not the warm, friendly man he used to be before the accident. He's been through an emotional upheaval," she said.

Weller was allowed to remain free on his own recognizance until sentencing; a date for that hearing was to be set late next week. Meanwhile, he is prohibited from driving.

[D.J.]

I picked probation. I am aware he killed people but cut the guy some slack. It's not like he has a criminal record up the ying yang. Drug dealers and rapists walk the streets. Prostitutes walk the streets as well. Leave the poor man alone. There is no proof he even did this on purpose. A lot of the blame should go towards the government. There should be manadatory tests for the elderly to pass in order to continue driving.

[ponytail]

Probation. But he should not have been driving. It said he had plenty of time to react. At that age I don't think so.

[I am Roboto]

Hate to take the side of someone who killed another guy but I say probation. I just can't stomach putting teh guy in jail for the rest of his life for it.

[DOPEY85xxx]

Probation . A person after the age of 75 should be required to take a drivers test to see if they are capable of driving.

[Chocoholic]

I think he should spend some time in prison. It may not have been intentional but that still doesn't change the fact that 10 people are dead because of him, including a baby boy. The victims deserve a little justice.

Maybe instead of actually going to prison, he can be required to become an advocate for safer driving, especially among the elderly.

[Ireneparalegal]

The man has become very sick and somewhat feeble. He wouldn't make it in prison. Probation. Although, saying that makes me feel as if what he did was not wrong. He wasn't wrong. Our state is, for not doing something to deter elderly people from getting behind the wheel. I seen an accident occur when an elderly lady went thru a red light and plowed into a tractor trailer. She had no reaction, as if she wasn't even coherent.

[JuicyCoutureGirl]

I'm sorry, just because he's old that doesn't make him stupid. This is like saying Debra LaFaye is too pretty to go to jail. I lost my mother in a tragic car crash years ago and for someone who took lives to walk free makes me sick. As for the poster who said it wasn't like he had a criminal record, WTF?! "poor man" my ass! The man who crashed his car into my mother's never had a criminal record, should his dumb ass go free?! Please, it's not like they are throwing the electric chair on this man.

[felicitylen]

I find his comments very disturbing:

""He looked at what he had done, essentially shrugged his shoulders and said, 'Oops,"' prosecutor Ann Ambrose told the jury."......
"Prosecutors also called one witness who claimed Weller said: "You saw me coming; why didn't you get out of my way?"

[JuicyCoutureGirl]

Originally Posted by felicitylen

I find his comments very disturbing:

""He looked at what he had done, essentially shrugged his shoulders and said, 'Oops,"' prosecutor Ann Ambrose told the jury."......
"Prosecutors also called one witness who claimed Weller said: "You saw me coming; why didn't you get out of my way?"

The elderly, not to sound disrespectful, always think they can get away with crap because they are old . An 70 year old can brutally murder a five year old and play "But, i'm an elderly American, I didn't know what I was doing.."