Colorado prosecutor showed off brake-shoe gift after helping convict 26-year-old trucker sentenced to 110 years for deadly crash

[Bronzeage]

The real problem for Aguilera-Mederos is unrealistic expectations.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

I have seen other things about this case--it seems he was knowingly pushing the limits well before the crash. This guy is not a victim.

I do agree the sentence is out of line, but that's what tends to happen when you won't take a plea bargain when the prosecution has you dead to rights. This is a problem with the sentencing system, not a problem with this case in particular.

 

[Derec]

I do NOT understand some of the comments in this thread.

I do not understand what Jarhyn wrote in this thread, so I understand ...

Isn't it obvious that killing by accident is completely different from killing for profit or killing due to hatred? Do I need to explain this?

Yes, you do. Killing for money or due to hatred are not the only kinds of killing that are against the law.

Negligence is bad, and might merit punishment, but the negligence is the same whether he ended up killing 4 people, or 4 raccoons.

Negligence is obviously different when you end up killing several innocent people.

(I did not read the story.

You should read the story before commenting on a thread about it. Duh!

Did he have a chance to veer off the road and kill himself instead of four innocents? That could be punishable but even that wouldn't change the fact that 100 years is a ridiculous sentence for this negligence.)

He had a chance to use one of the truck runoff ramps he passed by. He did not even have to kill himself!
110 years is too long, but his supporters demand "time served", which is obviously too short.

Contrast these killings with the killings by Kyle Rittenshit or George Zimmerfuk. Their deliberate evil should have been punished as "depraved heart" murders, yet I'll guess the "self-defense" murders they commited are condoned by some of the same people happy to see this truck driver spend his life in prison for an accident.

Nice Kindergarten-level namecalling! These two cases were actual self defense and not really comparable to trucker boy.

 

[Toni]

I don't think anyone is saying the conviction isn't appropriate. It's the sentencing that is wildly out of whack.

Exactly this.

He was operating a multi-ton missile under dangerous circumstances. His lack of judgment caused a gigantic disaster, which was avoidable.

But a 110 year sentence won't fix any vehicles or heal broken bones, much less bring back the dead loved ones. It looks entirely like a combination of naked vengeance and political opportunism to me.

As a hardcore Prolifer, I cannot find that morally acceptable. Life is more than mere survival. It's about treating people, with inherent worth and dignity, as people. The conviction is the correct response. The sentence is ridiculous.

Tom

It's less a matter of vengeance and political opportunism and more a matter of what happens under mandatory sentencing, which is how he ended up with a 110 year sentence.

 

[ZiprHead]

The similarities to this got me thinking...

Ethan Couch, ‘Affluenza Teen’ Who Killed 4 While Driving Drunk, Is Freed (Published 2018)

Mr. Couch spent 720 days in jail after killing four people and paralyzing a fifth in a car crash. His defense contended that he was too rich to know right from wrong.

www.nytimes.com

Ethan Couch, whose trial for killing four people while driving drunk sparked widespread conversations about the privilege of being raised wealthy, was released from a Texas jail on Monday after nearly two years.

Mr. Couch, 20, became known as the “affluenza teen” after a psychologist suggested during his trial that growing up with money might have left him with psychological afflictions, too rich to tell right from wrong. He attracted further attention when he and his mother, Tonya Couch, fled to Mexico in an effort to evade possible jail time.

He served his 720-day sentence in a jail in Tarrant County, and was freed about a week before his 21st birthday.

 

[Toni]

I do NOT understand some of the comments in this thread.

I do not understand what Jarhyn wrote in this thread, so I understand ...

Isn't it obvious that killing by accident is completely different from killing for profit or killing due to hatred? Do I need to explain this?

Yes, you do. Killing for money or due to hatred are not the only kinds of killing that are against the law.

Negligence is bad, and might merit punishment, but the negligence is the same whether he ended up killing 4 people, or 4 raccoons.

Negligence is obviously different when you end up killing several innocent people.

(I did not read the story.

You should read the story before commenting on a thread about it. Duh!

Did he have a chance to veer off the road and kill himself instead of four innocents? That could be punishable but even that wouldn't change the fact that 100 years is a ridiculous sentence for this negligence.)

He had a chance to use one of the truck runoff ramps he passed by. He did not even have to kill himself!
110 years is too long, but his supporters demand "time served", which is obviously too short.

Contrast these killings with the killings by Kyle Rittenshit or George Zimmerfuk. Their deliberate evil should have been punished as "depraved heart" murders, yet I'll guess the "self-defense" murders they commited are condoned by some of the same people happy to see this truck driver spend his life in prison for an accident.

Nice Kindergarten-level namecalling! These two cases were actual self defense and not really comparable to trucker boy.

It's almost certain that he did not register that he had a chance to use the runoff ramp. He surely was panicked. I would have been.

There's mention of him not using his phone to call for help (after the accident) but no condemnation when other bystanders simply filmed, rather than calling for help or attempting to help themselves. I think he was panicked and probably in shock. And so were the bystanders in shock. It was a horrific accident. No amount of punishment will mend the lives that were destroyed. That said, I think the mandatory sentencing resulted in excessive length of sentence.

 

[Swammerdami]

Isn't it obvious that killing by accident is completely different from killing for profit or killing due to hatred? Do I need to explain this?

Yes, you do. Killing for money or due to hatred are not the only kinds of killing that are against the law.

I don't know whether to suggest a course in logic, or what. "If two things share an attribute then they are not quite different."
'December' and 'cheese' are each spelled with two E's; are they the same?

[similar gibberish]

In some of your posts you seem almost intelligent.. But all too often your posts seem almost stupid.

 

[Derec]

do you know he had brake problems when he passed that run off?

All the reporting I have seen says as much.

I don't think anyone is saying the conviction isn't appropriate. It's the sentencing that is wildly out of whack.

The activists are pushing Jared Polis to commute his sentence to "time served". That is obviously grossly insufficient.
League of United Latin American Citizens meets with Gov. Polis to discuss clemency for Aguilera-Mederos

More than 4.6 million people have signed a petition asking Colorado Governor Jared Polis to offer commutation as time served, or grant clemency.

Race and ethnic background should not play a role in our criminal court system. Justice in America should be color blind!

Of course race and ethnic background should not matter one way or the other. Mandatory minimums apply to everybody He should not get a short sentence just because he is hispanic!

That, and the prosecutor displaying a brake shoe trophy is completely in poor taste and insensitive to both the victims and the defendant.

I do not see a big problem with it, but then again I think our society has become hypersensitive in many areas.

 

[Toni]

The similarities to this got me thinking...

Ethan Couch, ‘Affluenza Teen’ Who Killed 4 While Driving Drunk, Is Freed (Published 2018)

Mr. Couch spent 720 days in jail after killing four people and paralyzing a fifth in a car crash. His defense contended that he was too rich to know right from wrong.

www.nytimes.com

Ethan Couch, whose trial for killing four people while driving drunk sparked widespread conversations about the privilege of being raised wealthy, was released from a Texas jail on Monday after nearly two years.

Mr. Couch, 20, became known as the “affluenza teen” after a psychologist suggested during his trial that growing up with money might have left him with psychological afflictions, too rich to tell right from wrong. He attracted further attention when he and his mother, Tonya Couch, fled to Mexico in an effort to evade possible jail time.

He served his 720-day sentence in a jail in Tarrant County, and was freed about a week before his 21st birthday.

Yeah, I wonder what the differences were. Aside from jurisdiction, wealth and...race. And the fact that Aguelira-Menderos was a professional truck driver, so supposedly trained and competent to drive the rig that he was driving.

 

[Derec]

The similarities to this got me thinking...

Not to many similarities. Ethan was a minor, Rogel a fully grown adult. Rogel was also a professional driver.
While Ethan Couch should have served some time in jail, Rogel Whatshisface is far more culpable and should serve a significant time in prison.

 

[Derec]

And the fact that Aguelira-Menderos was a professional truck driver, so supposedly trained and competent to drive the rig that he was driving.

Bingo! Also the fact that Rogel A-M was an adult when this happened and Ethan Couch was a minor.

This is not about race, except for the hispanic pressure groups who are trying to have RAM get away with his crimes simply because of his politically correct ancestry.

 

[Derec]

Yes, you do. Killing for money or due to hatred are not the only kinds of killing that are against the law.

I don't know whether to suggest a course in logic, or what. "If two things share an attribute then they are not quite different."
'December' and 'cheese' are each spelled with two E's; are they the same?

 

[Derec]

It's almost certain that he did not register that he had a chance to use the runoff ramp. He surely was panicked. I would have been.

Well, that's on him. His poor judgment and lack of composure cost four innocent people their lives and injured several others.

That said, I think the mandatory sentencing resulted in excessive length of sentence.

But some serious punishment is in order. "Time served" is not an appropriate sentence here!

 

[ZiprHead]

The similarities to this got me thinking...

Not to many similarities. Ethan was a minor, Rogel a fully grown adult. Rogel was also a professional driver.
While Ethan Couch should have served some time in jail, Rogel Whatshisface is far more culpable and should serve a significant time in prison.

It really doesn't take much in training to become a truck driver. Our local school advertises 40 hours classroom and 120 hours behind the wheel. That's a scant 4 weeks full time. And I see nowhere in the area where they can practice handling a truck with bad brakes heading down a hill. We're as flat here as your ten year old niece.

 

[Derec]

It really doesn't take much in training to become a truck driver. Our local school advertises 40 hours classroom and 120 hours behind the wheel.

That's more or less professional driving training than Ethan Couch got? Or else, why the comparison with him?

Also, how much time do you think trucker boy should get? Do you agree with those who say that because he is hispanic, he should get away with "time served"?
And what about when he leaves prison, which could be very soon. Should he pay restitution to the people he killed and injured? Or should be get away pretty much scot free?

 

[ZiprHead]

It really doesn't take much in training to become a truck driver. Our local school advertises 40 hours classroom and 120 hours behind the wheel.

That's more or less professional driving training than Ethan Couch got? Or else, why the comparison with him?

For the comparison of the sentences, of course.

Also, how much time do you think trucker boy should get? Do you agree with those who say that because he is hispanic, he should get away with "time served"?

No, I do not.

You mentioned twenty years. What makes you think that's appropriate?

And what about when he leaves prison, which could be very soon. Should he pay restitution to the people he killed and injured? Or should be get away pretty much scot free?

The trucking company he worked for will surely be paying those people out of their liability insurance.

And no one said anything about getting off scot free.

 

[Derec]

Even a driver in a vehicle behind the truck realized he should have taken the runoff ramp.

So why didn't RAM?

 

[Derec]

For the comparison of the sentences, of course.

But they are not really comparable. An adult professional driver vs. a minor who is a rank amateur.

No, I do not.

So, how much time do you think is appropriate?

You mentioned twenty years. What makes you think that's appropriate?

Severity of the negligent behavior and also the severity of the consequences. He not only killed four people but also injured numerous others.

By the way, do we know what led to brake failure? A purely mechanical failure or driver error? Was he in low gear when brakes failed or was he relying on brakes only to slow him down and predictably overheating them? Do trucks like that have black boxes to record speed, gear, throttle, brake, and steering input?

The trucking company he worked for will surely be paying those people out of their liability insurance.

I also think some personal restitution is in order. He killed them, not the company.

And no one said anything about getting off scot free.

All those millions signing petition demanding "time served" are basically demanding that. He was out on bail, so "time served" is not very long. Scot free when rounded down.

 

[Toni]

And the fact that Aguelira-Menderos was a professional truck driver, so supposedly trained and competent to drive the rig that he was driving.

Bingo! Also the fact that Rogel A-M was an adult when this happened and Ethan Couch was a minor.

This is not about race, except for the hispanic pressure groups who are trying to have RAM get away with his crimes simply because of his politically correct ancestry.

Oh, I think it is about race. And class and weath disparities. That said, these crashes happened in two different states, with two days deferent sets of laws, two different trials and juries. There is no way to compare these one to one.

 

[Derec]

Oh, I think it is about race.

But not the way you think. If he ends up walking, it will be because he is hispanix.