jamesdenver

(xposted on Advocacy/Safety)

I ran a search for this but didn't find any posts referencing it. This isn't cycling related, but antagonistic hostile drivers are something both drivers and cyclists fear.

This one caused the death of two drivers, and 1.5 years later is being sentenced to life + 20. I wish the story had garnered more attention, as I feel it's important case which can be used to potentially up the punishment ante in future cases.

News Stories

My views, (from my blog below)

As Jason Reynolds accurately whined about during sentencing, this has been a story of interest for the past year. In November 2005, (a year in which he received four reckless driving citations), Jason Reynold’s antagonistic driving caused two deaths on a Denver interstate. Driver Kelvin Norman was apparently not driving at an adequate speed for Reynolds, inciting Reynolds whipped in front of him and slammed on his brakes. This caused Norman to swerve and careen over into the median, taking another car driven by Greg Boss with him. Both drivers died instantly.

Reynolds argued what he did with his vehicle has no effect on others, and he was not responsible for either death. (Photo of local ******* Jason Reynolds from KUSA).

The only intelligent thing Reynolds said was his accusation of the media “witch hunting” him. He blames the media and public interest for causing his prosecution and sentencing.

Well of course the media followed him, because it’s a damn fascinating story. We’ve all seen people practice “vengeful” driving: Speeding up to re-cut off the driver that originally cut them off. Or slamming on their brakes to “punish” a tailgater. Many have done it, however in this case his vengeful actions DIRECTLY caused two deaths. Since I’m not a juror I have the liberty to opine that he just looks like a dick: He carries the appearance of a smug, arrogant, conscienceless wife beating *******, concerned only with his shallow self. He makes even the most materialistic money grubbing slum lord look like Ghandi.

Larry Pozner, from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, (run for the hills), feels differently. In the Washington Times article he scoffs at linking a road rage death to first degree murder. A vehicular homicide prosecution usually garners a 10-15 year sentence.

Arapahoe County DA Carol Chambers fought for first degree murder. She persued Reynolds and prosecuted this *******. She just set a precedent that CARS CAN BE WEAPONS, and using a car to kill someone, even without premeditation, is no different than using a gun. Let his trial, sentencing, and media with hunt be a lesson to those tempted to use their cars as weapons. If not, I hope that their court follows the benchmark of the Reynolds case.

Washington Times Article Rocky Mountain News quote:

The 34-year-old said the crash that killed two men whose families sat in the courtroom Monday wasn’t his fault, and he put the blame for his conviction on “media *****s,” prosecutors and what he said was a misled jury. Reynolds’ comments drew a quick rebuke from Arapahoe County District Judge Carlos Samour, who handed two life sentences to the first person in Colorado’s history to be convicted of first-degree murder for deaths resulting from road rage.

“Mr. Reynolds, you might as well have been standing in the middle of the highway with a gun pointed at people,” Samour told Reynolds. “You used your car as a weapon, and you played Russian roulette.”

Reynolds tailgated Kelvin Norman then cut in front of Norman’s Toyota 4Runner and slammed on the brakes, setting in motion the carnage on E-470 east of Parker Road on Nov. 8, 2005. Norman, a popular 50-year-old soccer coach, swerved to avoid Reynolds’ Jeep Wrangler and lost control of his vehicle, which rolled across the median and landed on top of a car driven by Greg Boss, a 35-year-old Postal Service special agent.

The crash killed both men instantly.

Rot in prison Jason Reynolds.

lima_bean

his complete lack of remorse and sense of responsibility is baffling.

JeffS

The sentencing disparity we have in this country is what baffles me.

Had this been a teenage girl she would have gotten nothing... maybe a ticket. Hell, people get sentenced to 10-15 years for what was truly first-degree murder ALL the time.

Yes, he was an ass, and yes, he bears some reponsibility for the deaths, but IMO, two consecutive life terms is excessive.

DataJunkie

Some responsibility?

He maliciously caused the death of 2 people. Jason Reynolds has a prior history of reckless behavior while driving. Anyhow, teenage girl or middle age maniac both deserve the same punishment.

jeff-o

It's the complete lack of remorse that got him such a strict sentence. A teenage girl would have sobbed straight through the entire trial.

cyccommute 

This case went far beyond a simple mistake that caused someone's death. This guy intentionally cut off another vehicle, stopped in front of it, caused that motorist to hit him and fly into oncoming traffic where his car crushed another car. After the crash he stated to the tow truck driver that the guy he cut off had what was coming to him.

This was not an "error in judgement" but a deliberate act...same as standing in the middle of the street and firing a gun at someone. The guy is slime.

TimJ

It's not disparity really, the justice system is just local, that's all. States handle their own criminal justice systems starting at the smallest level with local courts. And there's no one definition or standard of 1st degree murder if you consider each state is it's own little nation when it comes down to what deserves 1st degree murder or what being convicted of 1st degree murder means.

Plus the fact that it's the jury who decides if what the prosecutor wants is appropriate or not, and this guy was convicted by a jury. Sentencing often doesn't have a lot of lee-way, there's lots of laws (that people love and love to vote for, like "3rd strike" laws) that require a minimum sentence for x conviction.

I point this out just because you seem annoyed with the sentence and see it as some problem with the country, but the fact is sentencing is local. In a way there is no disparity, since comparing x crime in state a with x crime in state b is largely apples to oranges.

Personally I think the one, automatic life-sentence wouldn't be excessive, but the 2nd one plus 26 years was uneccessary but it really doesn't matter, it's more symbolic after the 1st. Given the circumstances a lifetime in prison doesn't seem excessively cruel to me, and the guy showed just what a complete and utter f*** he is when, given the opportunity to speak, he didn't apologize and just tried to place blame on anyone else, including "media *****s", which tells you what kind of infantile, pinhead he is right there. The families of the dudes he killed are in the courtroom and he's spewing invective at the press. Classy.

fat_bike_nut

Exactly. If he'd showed (or pretended to show) that he wasn't some kind of a sociopath and actually displayed remorse for his actions, the sentencing wouldn't have been as harsh.

oboeguy

The guy killed two people, therefore two life sentences seems right to me, given the depraved indifference or whatever the law calls it. @#$%er will have a long time think about it in jail, because he is never leaving outside of a coffin.

blueskytheory

i wonder if the sentence will stand up on appeal. i was interested in a criminal defense practice at one point, but in my stretch of town (east of the caldecott tunnel, bay area) the attorneys tell me its mostly DUI related stuff... their bread and butter. cant see much good in a career representing perpetually negligent spoiled jackasses.

slvoid

That's federal...

fordfasterr

Then work for the city/state and prosecute them straight to hell.

blueskytheory

exactly my intentions

Polaris43

I wonder what his sentance might have been had he killed two people on bicycles...

oboeguy

Community service.

gwhalin

If he had done that to a cyclist in NYC, he would not have even been ticketed.

donnamb 

I think he'd have to have been on the clock, and even then, it's iffy.

SDRider

Excellent. I'm glad that POS is behind bars. Too bad they couldn't go for the death penatly for that scumbag piece of crap.

531phile 

i feel bad that guy's last name happens to be my favorite tubing.

Bikepacker67

Reynolds was supposed to be sentenced Wednesday for another case of road rage in which he rammed the rear of a Honda three times. That sentencing in Douglas County has been rescheduled.

SDRider

Show me a teenage girl who cuts someone off and then slams on the brakes, kills two people and then acts like a belligerent unremorseful jackass in court and I'll respond with the exact same response I have to this thread. That piece of F&*KING ***** deservses to rot in jail until he dies.

This is not excessive. It's called the punishment fitting the crime.

JeffS

Obviously I'm alone here, but I'll guarantee that there are murderers in that state/county that get much less time. Feigning regret after the fact is not a reason to reduce the sentence of someone.

I'm not here to defend the guy, but the intent wasn't there. There's no way he, or anyone else, anticipates that a person is going to die from a brake-check. Not the kind of intent that comes from, say, firing a gun at someone. I have been on both sides of a brake check in my life, and would never have considered it attempted murder (1st degree). Manslaughter, depraved indifference, something along those lines... yes. We are 100% tolerant of incompetence, inattention, and indifference behind the wheel, but have started a crusade lately against anger and impatience. My stance is that the first three kill, injure and damage much more than the latter.

Again, my point is not necessarily that this guy deserves less time... it's that two consecutive life sentences is more than 99% of people would receive for killing two people, regardless of the method. I would have to research more to confirm, but I would guess that the DA declined to offer the same plea he offers to just about every other case dropped in front of him. It has the feel of a political move to keep several people in office for at least another term.

pirate

ItsJustMe

Right. All those other guys should be serving more time as well. This guy got the CORRECT sentence. Because he feels it was HIS RIGHT to kill others. I have a hard time believing that anyone that gets to be an adult and is this much of a raving unrepentant psychopath is going to feel any differently if they ever get out of jail. Given that, they shouldn't get out of jail. If he ever is paroled, he should never be able to drive again; if he were to ever be even caught behind the wheel again even on a traffic stop, straight back in the slammer for life.

SDRider

Well, I'd say that people who exhibit this type of behavior are probably far more dangerous than most people. You don't "accidentally" brake check someone and you sure as hell don't get 4 citations in less than a year for reckless driving by mere incompetence and then top it off by being an unremorseful jackass in front of a court of law. No, this guy deserves what he got. Good riddance.

We may indeed be too tolerant of incompetence, inattention and indifference behind the wheel. That's an entirely different conversation though.