Equal Justice Under Law Need Not Apply Here

[XLFD]

I unfortunately missed out on Tuesday mornings County Board meeting due to a family emergency that took precedence over getting in front of eight County bigwigs and berating the County's judicial system.  But earlier today, I did E-mail them a copy of what I would have said if I had actually been able to be there. 

 

I made the point the previous meeting, that I felt strongly about the County Sheriff's department had erred in their response and investigation into the death of a young boy by a speeding car being driven by a Mason County Corrections Officer.  At this meeting I was primed to compare that response to the response the County Sheriff's office did with one of our County's highly respected teachers, who did roughly the same thing, and yet didn't have his involvement investigated by his fellow teachers or even the Custer PTA. Something Jane had linked with good success earlier.   I link liberally in the body of this speech, something I find hard to do when standing before commissioners, so that the humble reader can get more of the full story: 

 

 

"On Sunday, May 27, 2012 Custer teacher Matt Millspaugh was driving south on U.S. 31 near Fountain Road. Matt was returning from a graduation open house of one of his students.  He momentarily took his eyes off the road. When he looked back up, a truck had stopped in front of him, so he steered his vehicle to the left, crossing the center line into the path of a  motorcycle, killing the two riders thereon.

In his own defense he said: “I’m struggling most with the fact that I have taken away from other people’s lives a daughter, a son, sister and brother, a wife, a husband, a mother, a father, a grandmother or a grandfather. This is something I will live with the rest of my life. I cannot even imagine the amount of pain and agony that I have caused the victims’ family. I know there will be a long road to healing for most everybody affected by this accident.  I am truly sorry for what I have taken from you. This brief lack of concentration on my part took the lives of two people who have done nothing wrong. There is nothing I can say that would remove the pain. Saying I am sorry doesn’t seem like enough to say but once again I am sorry for your loss and my involvement "

Judge Wadel commented himself on the incident in passing judgment:  "“These are perhaps the most difficult of cases because of the suffering that the families and individuals have had to endure, there is no amount of justice that can be rendered that can restore two loved ones."

"... I have to conclude that jail is not the best option here. I’m not going to impose any upfront jail time as long as in the next two years you don’t violate any laws.

“You already perform a great service to this community and I’m going to add 150 hours in community service to be performed over the next two years. The thing that I can get better out of you than jail is more community service."

I bring forth this case because I think this was a fair resolution for what happened and because it shows the unfairness of the case I brought up at the last meeting exactly one month ago;  the anniversary of the death of a young boy in a similar traffic accident.

The boy, 14 year old Darius Vanbrook, was on the roadway very early one February morning because of a series of incidences beyond his control.  Evidence shows that he was on the road legally just like the motorcyclists were in the previous accident.  Whereas, Mr. Millspaugh left his own lane to avoid an accident, the driver involved with Darius' death never left his lane and admittedly never saw the boy in the roadway at all.  The driver was also found to be speeding and in the process of accelerating when the boy was hit.

Yet this driver was never charged with anything, not even a civil infraction.  Millspaugh was charged with 'moving violation causing death of another person' a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 1 year or a fine of not more than $2,000.00, or both.   Driving six miles above the speed limit is a moving violation, and this driver could very well have been charged with that.  Why wasn't he?

The driver, Michael Hays, was a Correction Officer at the Mason County Jail.  That morning, his fellow workers were the first to respond, and whereas they allowed the MSP to draw blood and process the air bag data, they took the rest of the investigation up on their own, which opened up a major conflict of interest for the sheriffs office.

And whereas Prosecutor Spaniola decided that Millspaugh's offense warranted the misdemeanor  'moving violation causing death of another person', he failed to see even a civil infraction in Hays' moving violation and neglect ending the life of a young innocent boy.  Is this justice?  No, this is Mason County justice which has nothing to do with equity and fairness.  You commissioners have a duty to the people you serve to demand fairness, and equal justice under law.

Who do I feel most sorry for besides Darius' family and friends?  Correction Officer Michael Hays, who has to live every day since that morning knowing that he got a free pass because his fellow officers and county prosecutor saw to it that he did.  Matt Millspaugh can at least have a clear conscience that he has been tried fairly for his moment of inattention and moving violation in a court of law."

[Willy]

I agree with you that the Sheriff should not have done the investigation of the accident involving corrections officer Hays. That should have been handled by the State Police to at least avoid any hint of cronyism. I do however disagree with you on blaming Hays for the accident.

[XLFD]

Like many accidents, this accident had more than one person at fault, and I would have to say that in my understanding of the events, Hays was less at fault than the boy's father was, but more so than Darius, the victim. 

Michael Hays did have the responsibility that morning to make sure the road was clear of objects in the lane that he was driving in.  In his interview with the MSP, he stated he saw the van in the middle of the road and indicated he had plenty of time to process a lot of information concerning that object and the pedestrians around it.  He stated he never saw the boy standing, or walking towards him, in his lane, while he cruised by at 61 mph.  I see that at least as being irresponsible, and detailing a worse infraction than Matt Millspaugh's error of judgment.