not for assault. not in CA. he’s doing at least 3. i’d put money on it.
[quote=pirate]How would you ‘rehabilitate’ Christopher Thompson?
Not trying to be snarky, just curious.[/quote]
I was using rehabilitate in a sarcastic way. People are supposed to come out of jail prepared to lead a clean life and not repeat the mistakes that got them in there in the first place, i.e. rehabilitated. We all know it doesn’t happen like that.
funny how the doc is “nearly bankrupt” all of the sudden…the cyclists are pursuing a civil suit also.
and he got charged with mayhem or some shit and can’t get out early coz of CA laws
has to serve at least 85 percent of sentence
http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/01/news/l-a-road-rage-doctor-gets-five-years_102274
Hahah so maybe he will need to become a cyclist when he gets out, as he’ll be broke and have had his license permanently revoked?
Will probably just move out of state instead.
Felony convictions and licenses to practice medicine pair poorly.
One of the cops has a livestrong bracelet on, that’s a nice touch.
Good job they didn’t buy his bullshit excuse, although 5 years seems excessive.
Revoking his driving license for life without any possibility of ever getting one in any US state plus a few months in prison and a couple years suspended would seem like tough enough punishment.
Excessive? He tried to kill two people with a deadly weapon, his car. The cyclists were traveling 30mph, the speed limit on the residential street (Mandeville Canyon) they were riding on. The guy did the same thing to two other cyclists a couple months before.
I’m not sure 5 years is enough, but it’s better than nothing.
Excessive? He tried to kill two people with a deadly weapon, his car. The cyclists were traveling 30mph, the speed limit on the residential street (Mandeville Canyon) they were riding on. The guy did the same thing to two other cyclists a couple months before.
I’m not sure 5 years is enough, but it’s better than nothing.[/quote]
Look, we both know that if he really wanted to kill them he would have slammed it into reverse, driven over them and then hit them once more as he was leaving the scene.
I’m not saying I will have to cry myself to sleep tonight over this… he deserved to go to jail. I just think this sentence seems to be on the harsh side. Of course the US has absurdly high incarceration rates anyway, so maybe this doesn’t stand out that much over there.
(US: 686 people per 100,000 inhabitants in jail, France 85, Germany 95, UK 139, Japan 48… the US has the highest rates in the world, and probably about 4 to 5 times the average of the rest of the develeoped world.)
[quote=dooktruck]and he got charged with mayhem or some shit and can’t get out early coz of CA laws
has to serve at least 85 percent of sentence[/quote]
Rad.
Excessive? He tried to kill two people with a deadly weapon, his car. The cyclists were traveling 30mph, the speed limit on the residential street (Mandeville Canyon) they were riding on. The guy did the same thing to two other cyclists a couple months before.
I’m not sure 5 years is enough, but it’s better than nothing.[/quote]
Look, we both know that if he really wanted to kill them he would have slammed it into reverse, driven over them and then hit them once more as he was leaving the scene.[/quote]
a doctor trying to convince a 911 operator that 2 victims are not seriously hurt. wth.
^The guy is clearly a megalomaniac psycho and I’m glad he’s going to prison for what he did. The fact that he didn’t succeed in murdering the cyclists doesn’t mean squat. He tried it once before (a few months prior) and ran the riders off the road, then did it again and succeeded in “teaching them a lesson” (what he told the cops he intended to do by his actions).
If he had gotten off with a slap on the wrist or no punishment at all, there’s every reason to suppose he would’ve gotten even better at hurting cyclists when he tried it again. Which he clearly would have, since he obviously felt completely in the right for what he was doing.
And for that matter, either one of those riders could’ve been killed at that speed. Ever crash at 30mph+ on the road? I have. It sucks. Get just a little bit unlucky and you’re a goner.
5 years is not excessive. There are people serving longer sentences in US prisons for nonviolent crimes that caused far less mayhem than this one doctor.
Excessive? He tried to kill two people with a deadly weapon, his car. The cyclists were traveling 30mph, the speed limit on the residential street (Mandeville Canyon) they were riding on. The guy did the same thing to two other cyclists a couple months before.
I’m not sure 5 years is enough, but it’s better than nothing.[/quote]
Look, we both know that if he really wanted to kill them he would have slammed it into reverse, driven over them and then hit them once more as he was leaving the scene.
I’m not saying I will have to cry myself to sleep tonight over this… he deserved to go to jail. I just think this sentence seems to be on the harsh side. Of course the US has absurdly high incarceration rates anyway, so maybe this doesn’t stand out that much over there.
(US: 686 people per 100,000 inhabitants in jail, France 85, Germany 95, UK 139, Japan 48… the US has the highest rates in the world, and probably about 4 to 5 times the average of the rest of the develeoped world.)[/quote]
Blah blah blah I’m from Europe and we’re better blah blah blah. The incarceration rate is not the topic at hand. STFU.
yeah, that’s a completely different issue.
five years seems fair. But a full five years not 85%, of course I am bias cos bikes
I read the comments and it made me think that people in LA all thinkt he same. The people drive like jackasses and theyt hink cyclists are jackasses. The cyclists may or may not ride like jackasses and think all cars are jackasses.
Mostly it just made me hate LA a little more.
oh yeah. they guy who went into the back of the car window.
his nose was almost severed. had to have ~90 stitches to re attach it.
also, he still doesn’t have any feeling in some of his face.
ohyeah. doc has already relocated to florida coz something about it’s the place he’s most likely to keep his assets…coz civil suit coming soon.
yeah fuck that guy
he can fuckin rot only reason he is remorseful now
is coz got jail time