Who's buying Janklow's son's argument?

The South Dakota congressman's son says his father may have been inattentive but that he shouldn't be charged with manslaughter. You need to be REALLY racing, he says.

The accident crossing seems to be right on a line connecting Flandreau (where Janklow's mother lives) to Brandon (his home). Anyone venture a guess as to how many times he's been through that intersection?



<http://rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2003/08/21/front/top/news01.txt>

(snip)

The congressman's son, Russell, said Wednesday evening that he had no reason to dispute the speed estimate in the accident report, adding that it indicates his dad never saw the stop sign.

"If he's going 70 or 75, tooling down the highway, and comes to an intersection like that and there's no braking, that tells me he didn't see the stop sign at all," Russell Janklow said Wednesday evening. "The information is that he was going 70 to 75, the motorcycle was going between 50 and 60, and neither one attempted to brake before the collision."

(snip)

pointed out that there is a warning sign before the stop sign and that Janklow was familiar with the road, which is a few miles south of his hometown of Flandreau.

Janklow is recovering at home in Brandon and still suffers physical pain and mental confusion about the accident, his son said. While acknowledging that his dad was breaking the speed limit at the time of the accident, Russell Janklow said his father wasn't driving fast enough to be considered reckless in a legal sense.

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

why should the guy on the motor cycle have slowed down? He wasn't the one with the stop sign.

WAS doing the speed limit

He shouldn't have been tooling around in his caddy at 70-75 mph. He should have been on the lookout for stop signs. It is time he stops making excuses and act like a man and take responsibility for what he did.

even if no one dies!

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NYer99
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perhaps drawn and quartered, just to physically intimidate these unamerican neoconservatives, by making them realize that they can be killed too.

The Repuke wannabe lords of the realm are getting far too uppity. Time to take a few of them down a few notches.

(with thanks to Dan the Man Coulter for the idea)

Janklow was.

Then there's this:

Janklow told officers on the scene that he had to take evasive action to avoid a vehicle in his lane of traffic. The report does not indicate whether or not there was such a vehicle.


Say for a moment, there was another vehicle. If that were the case, then this looks like Janklow wanted to pass him (so he could continue to speed), but stopping for the traffic sign would have put the kibosh on that, wouldn't it?

Looks reckless.

"If he's going 70 or 75, tooling down the highway, and comes to an intersection like that and there's no braking, that tells me he didn't see the stop sign at all," Russell Janklow said Wednesday evening.

let's see... 20 mph above the speed limit, and supposedly did not see a traffic control (stop sign); did not or could not see the other vehicle; collided with it; other motorist dead.

so, first off, he was completely ignoring the speed limit. when his son says he "didn't see" the stop sign, it really means he must have also ignored the pre-stop warning signs, lights, and pavement markings that would always be placed well before the actual stop. (no traffic engineer would expect a driver going at 55 mph to be able to see a lone stop sign by itself in time to stop.) he failed to even slow down at the intersection, which any prudent driver would have done, even in the absence of a stop sign. he failed to see the cross traffic, meaning he probably had a restricted view of the intersecting street - again meaning that any prudent driver would have slowed down on approaching the intersection.

all in all, rep. Janklow's driving was reckless in the extreme. his recklessness cost a man's life. add to that the fact that rep. Janklow has a history of getting speeding tickets. they should have served as a warning to him, but he ignored the warning signs in life, just like he ignored the warning signs on the ground. obviously the punishments he received in the past were insufficient. he deserves no mercy now.

and vows to stop speeding?

Perhaps it was all a middle-aged indiscretion.

... if Janklow truly repents, then i'd say he deserves the same kind of mercy Jesus demonstrated in Luke 23:42-43.

``39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. 40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. 42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. 43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.''

He didn't become an adult until age 40...

Reckless driving I would really like to know what is. I suspect he will be found guilty of manslaughter and IMO is guilty of manslaughter if the facts are what has been stated here. He deserves some time in the penn to think about the value of life.

if his son says so, it must be so!

I especially find the constant references about his father's injuries to be repellent...at least he is alive!