Cyclosaurus

A 23 year-old driver who killed a 35 year-old cyclist and mother of 2 gets 90 days in jail, two years' probation including not owning a cell phone, and 150 hours of community service. Plus her license was suspended for a year.

Michigan woman gets jail, cell phone taken away for fatal bike crash

Overall I think this is a good outcome (given the situation).

FBinNY 

Kudos to the judge for trying to craft a reasonable punishment without making a bad situation worse. I'm sure that people will argue that it's too lenient, and others that it's too harsh, but there is no perfect justice.

IMO- if the split between the too harsh and too lenient crowds is about 50/50 then the judge got it pretty much right.

SurfNTurf

...............

02Giant 

To me, that would be a better form of justice.

Yamato72

I've followed this story since I first heard about it; I live just a few miles from the family and my wife and I participated in the ride of silence. The ride ended at the cemetery where the victim was buried, and her husband spoke to the group afterward. My take is that the family has found closure. As to whether the punishment fit the crime, not sure. More jail time would make me feel better, but the directive to speak to schools about distracted driving I think is a great idea.

Chris516

Despicable. The last 90 days at the end of the six months is deferred. Depending on her progress in jail. It is just like letting someone off with a light prison sentence. After they have committed involuntary manslaughter. If she(deceased) had been driving a car when she was killed. The defendant would probably have been convicted of something along the lines of vehicular manslaughter. But kill a cyclist with a car due to the driver's negligence. How dare we hold sentencing to same standard. IT IS STILL BIGOTRY ABOUT CYCLISTS BEING ON THE ROAD!!! EVEN IF IT ISN'T PREMEDITATED!!!!

genec

So who takes care of the kids left behind by this killer?

wphamilton

The husband, who according to the news report gave the convicted killer a hug after the sentencing. We can't say whether that's part of the "closure" spoken of here, or prelude to a crippling civil lawsuit. My hope is that the family does whatever they feel is best for their own sake.

vol

Quote:

'Nelson's attorney, Mike Nichols, said he was struck by Jordan Byelich's compassion.

"Jordan gave Mitzi a hug," Nichols said. "That's what it's all about."'


Did the lawyer get it right? The hug, the compassion the victim's husband shown to the person who caused the victim's death was "what it's all about"??

From the report it seems that the defendant and her lawyer were quite satisfied, maybe even pleased, with the judge's ruling (imagine: "for taking a life, I thought I would get/deserve much worse punishment!") which could be an indication that the sentence is far not enough.

SurfNTurf

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kickstart

The sentence seems appropriate to me, the negligence was due to thoughtlessness, not wanton disregard. We all have moments of weakness, and anybody who claims to have never done anything foolish isn't being honest with themselves. It benefits no one to ruin more lives just so others can thump their chest and say "that'll-teach-em".

vol

As I looked at the pictures in the court, they don't give me the impression that she's deeply remorseful; especially in the first picture where the husband was about to hug her. She's smiling. Hope I'm wrong. And hope not many careless drivers out there get a wrong message and expect a compassionate hug from their victims' families.

Chris516

I thought I was seeing things. When I saw that. I even had to splash water in my face to see if my eyes were full of dirt. I see that I am not the only one who noticed that. While the husband is forgiving. Like you said. She definitely lacks any kind of remorse about what happened.

baron von trail 

wow only 90 days for what amounts to negligent homicide. She must have had one hell of a good lawyer.

baron von trail 

Who writes this stuff?
Can an article be written more passively? Her car struck and killed the cyclist...and like magic she drew a sentence, as if being dealt a hand of cards. No. She struck and killed a cyclist, and a judge handed her a modest 90 day sentence for killing someone.

howeeee

No, the police dont like bike riders here in Michigan. They dont bother you,, they let you do what ever you want basically. But if you are involved in any kind of incident, they are always against the guy on the bike. No need for a super lawyer , the system is always against the guy or gal on the bike.

baron von trail 

Looks like the press is in on it too.

howeeee

That is correct the media hates us too

Chris516

The police are the same way here, in DC-Metro region. It is the same with state, county, and city police departments. Also the U.S. Dept. of '?' police, at all the locations of the U.S. Government. In my county, there mantra(excuse) is, they had to see it, to be able to do anything about it. Followed with the second mantra(excuse), that they have more important things to worry about. This is why I TAKE THE LANE. Because, Law enforcement doesn't care around here. Unless they can find a reason to arrest/ticket a cyclist.

kickstart

Seems like some have wildly overactive imaginations and persecution complexes.
The beauty of the internet, just claim any bias one wants without a shred of evidence other than a few carefully gleaned incidents, with the bonus of using it as an excuse to act the fool.

Dave Cutter

Always sad....

genec

Just my opinion, but I think it breaks down like this... LEOs et. al. look at cyclists as knowing what the risks are and taking them, therefore are responsible for their own situation, whatever happens.

rydabent

I throw the yellow BS flag on this. 90 days in jail for killing someone**********? I have a hard time justifying the difference between killing someone with what is generally listed as a weapon and a car. To me I still have the sad feeling that if you are so deranged that you want to kill someone, buy them a bike, and then just run over them. 90% fo the time you will only get a slap on the wrist like in this case.

How is this puff sentence going to demonstrate to the public that if you use your cell phone while driving and kill someone, there will be hell to pay, and there shoud be LONG jail sentences?

In todays news blather, dare I say CYCLIST LIVES MATTER**********

kickstart

At least you admit its "just my opinion", as nobody has shown any legitimate evidence of bias against cyclists. I see the same claims on motorcycle forums, and folks I know who are car enthusiasts also make the same accusations on their forums. Emotions and facts are not the same thing.

It seems every user group has those who feel persecuted, and that they don't matter. It makes sense though, some people here evidently or by admission have very little scope beyond their limited experiences, and are simply ignorant of the perspective of others .

Cyclosaurus

I don't believe harsher sentences will act as a much stronger deterrent. Being charged with a crime, and having even a short prison sentence and probation, is no small thing. I think the difference between the common "I killed a cyclist and all I got was a $150 ticket" LEO response and actually having the state's attorney bring charges against you is more significant than exactly how much prison time one serves. From a utilitarian perspective, does society benefit more by the additional deterrence of long prison sentences with the collateral damage that entails (families destroyed, financial ruin, etc) or does it benefit more by prosecuting negligent drivers who kill but not completely ruining their lives too?

I think permanent revocation of driving privileges would be a better, harsher punishment. One might even have to use a bicycle to get around.