DUI driver caught on tape laughing about dead victim

[Darth Wong]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/01/24/jai ... index.html

TUCSON, Arizona (AP) -- A judge sentenced a woman to nearly the maximum prison term for negligent homicide after hearing a recorded jail conversation in which she made light of the bicyclist she killed.

Melissa Arrington, 27, was convicted two months ago of negligent homicide and two counts of aggravated DUI in connection with the December 2006 death of Paul L'Ecuyer.

She could have gotten as few as four years behind bars, but Superior Court Judge Michael Cruikshank sentenced her Tuesday to 10½ years -- one year shy of the maximum.

Cruikshank said he found a telephone conversation between Arrington and an unknown male friend, a week after L'Ecuyer was killed, to be "breathtaking in its inhumanity."

During the conversation, the man told Arrington that an acquaintance believed she should get a medal and a parade because she had "taken out" a "tree hugger, a bicyclist, a Frenchman and a gay guy all in one shot."

Arrington laughed. When the man said he knew it was a terrible thing to say, she responded, "No, it's not."

Assistant Public Defender Michael Rosenbluth told the judge his client has never been "cold, callous or flippant" about L'Ecuyer's death and has always felt remorseful.

Arrington said words couldn't express how she feels, and that once she's out of prison, she hopes to share her story with Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

L'Ecuyer, 45, was riding his bike the night of December 1, 2006 when Arrington swerved off the road, hit him and then continued for 800 feet before stopping, according to Deputy Pima County Attorney Jonathan Mosher.

Arrington's blood-alcohol content was .156 percent, nearly double Arizona's .08 legal limit. She had been driving on a suspended license for a prior DUI.

Frankly, I think a lot of DUI drivers are similarly self-centred scum, which is why they keep doing it after multiple convictions, and being warned that they could kill someone. She just had the misfortune of being caught on tape making it obvious. If I had my way, every DUI driver would get prison time even if he didn't kill someone, and would be treated like a murderer if he did.

[Korto]

<snip>
She just had the misfortune of being caught on tape making it obvious.

It wasn't misfortune, it was stupidity. Doesn't everyone know to assume everything you say in prison is recorded? There are some things you say only in your head. Is it possible to give her extra years for being a stupid bitch?

Arrington said words couldn't express how she feels, and that once she's out of prison, she hopes to share her story with Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Everyone's always full of remorse in court. Full of remorse that they got caught.

[tim31]

I never met my maternal grandfather because he happened to be crossing the street when a drunk driver ran him down. That man later commited suicide. It was a different age, in light of the posted article.

[Broomstick]

<snip>
She just had the misfortune of being caught on tape making it obvious.

It wasn't misfortune, it was stupidity. Doesn't everyone know to assume everything you say in prison is recorded? There are some things you say only in your head. Is it possible to give her extra years for being a stupid bitch?

I sure hope so - anyone that stupid, I question if they have the intellect to safely operate a can opener, much less an automobile.

[Civil War Man]

If I had my way, every DUI driver would get prison time even if he didn't kill someone, and would be treated like a murderer if he did.

A friend of my father's was once. He ended up killing someone while driving drunk, and was thrown in jail for vehicular manslaughter or something to that effect. Though he was different from this woman, in that the fact that he killed someone haunted him for the rest of his life, and he could barely stand to look at alcohol after the fact, much less drink it.

[FSTargetDrone]

During the conversation, the man told Arrington that an acquaintance believed she should get a medal and a parade because she had "taken out" a "tree hugger, a bicyclist, a Frenchman and a gay guy all in one shot."

People still say "Frenchman" describing someone from France?

Anyway, I have no sympathy for drunk drivers. Years ago my father was parked on the side of a one-way street and some clown decided that instead of turning at the intersection and going back around the block, he was going to reverse the wrong way down the one-way street. In the process he smashed into my father's car, rendering my dad unconscious and banged up. The drunk continued down the street until he finally got stuck. I forget exactly what the penalty was, but my father said it was wasn't exactly a long jail sentence.

[Shroom Man 777]

Wow...that's psychotic.

Though how did they get the phone conversation, anyway?

[Glocksman]

People still say "Frenchman" describing someone from France?

In the context of that conversation, what other word could she have used?

[General Zod]

Though how did they get the phone conversation, anyway?

All phone conversations in a jail are recorded or otherwise monitored.

[FSTargetDrone]

People still say "Frenchman" describing someone from France?

In the context of that conversation, what other word could she have used?

"French guy"? I don't know, it just sounds like someone saying "Chinaman" or something.

[General Zod]

People still say "Frenchman" describing someone from France?

In the context of that conversation, what other word could she have used?

"French guy"? I don't know, it just sounds like someone saying "Chinaman" or something.

There's nothing inherently 'racist' about the term. You're overreacting.

[FSTargetDrone]

There's nothing inherently 'racist' about the term. You're overreacting.

No, no, you misunderstand. To my ear, it just sounds strange, almost old-fashioned, and not something a 27-year old would say. However, I wouldn't put it past the woman to BE racist, considering she is clearly homophobic.

It's not a big deal, it just sounded funny to me.

[Kuja]

Every time I read a story like this, I take a moment to be thankful that the drunk driver who killed my friend some years ago had the decency to plow into a tree later that night and thus remove himself from any further entanglement.

[FSTargetDrone]

Every time I read a story like this, I take a moment to be thankful that the drunk driver who killed my friend some years ago had the decency to plow into a tree later that night and thus remove himself from any further entanglement.

Sad facts about drunk-driving fatalities:

In 2006, an estimated 17,602 people died in alcohol-related traffic crashes—an average of one every 30 minutes. These deaths constitute 41 percent of the 42,642 total traffic fatalities. Of these, an estimated 13,470 involved a driver with an illegal BAC (.08 or greater).

No excuse for it. First-time offenders should have the car taken away permanently. And that's if there aren't fatalities or serious injuries involved. There needs to be serious, hard-hitting penalty for first time DUI.

[Gustav32Vasa]

She could have gotten as few as four years behind bars, but Superior Court Judge Michael Cruikshank sentenced her Tuesday to 10½ years -- one year shy of the maximum.

Why?
She dont seem to feel any remorse.

[Eris]

Oh lovely, right in my back yard. If she weren't 27 I would have guessed she was a U of A freshman or sophomore. They're notoriously bad and self-centred drivers around here. Juniors and seniors avoid that mostly since many of the worst have dropped out by then.

All phone conversations in a jail are recorded or otherwise monitored.

Almost entirely true. Married couples have the right to confidential communication even when one is in prison. There may be other exceptions, but that's the only one I know of. It's one of the many little-known benefits that makes it one of the most powerfully advantageous contracts in the US.

[FSTargetDrone]

It doesn't say how the recording came to the attention of the authorities.

Arrington laughed. When the man said he knew it was a terrible thing to say, she responded, "No, it's not."

Maybe the "male friend" decided it needed to be heard and provided the recording, perhaps anonymously? Who know who exactly he is to the woman, but maybe he felt bad about her attitude. He told her it was a "terrible thing to say," after all.

[CaptainChewbacca]

Almost entirely true. Married couples have the right to confidential communication even when one is in prison. There may be other exceptions, but that's the only one I know of. It's one of the many little-known benefits that makes it one of the most powerfully advantageous contracts in the US.

I believe confessional phone calls to a recognized priest can also be confidential, though that might be state-to-state.

[Alyrium Denryle]

Oh lovely, right in my back yard. If she weren't 27 I would have guessed she was a U of A freshman or sophomore. They're notoriously bad and self-centred drivers around here. Juniors and seniors avoid that mostly since many of the worst have dropped out by then.

All phone conversations in a jail are recorded or otherwise monitored.

Almost entirely true. Married couples have the right to confidential communication even when one is in prison. There may be other exceptions, but that's the only one I know of. It's one of the many little-known benefits that makes it one of the most powerfully advantageous contracts in the US.

Oh its the same thing at ASU. It is really kinda funny the difference a couple years make in a university. freshman year, you seem to be the only person in the class with a brain. By your senior year, half if the people in your intro bio class have either dropped out or washed out.

As for this fucking cunt... If I were the prosecutor I would have tried for Hate Crime penalties based on those statements, wouldnt have made it, but I would have tried

[Death from the Sea]

So she blows nearly double the limit and her license was suspended at the time for a PRIOR DWI! The cut her too much slack, she should have gotten the max and not a year less than the max.

[Oni Koneko Damien]

I wish I could be surprised by this. Even if it weren't plastered across the news almost daily, the sheer unbelievable selfishness and ignorance of the people I deal with day to day had me realizing stuff like this was a logical consequence of that sort of sociopathic mindset.

[Havok]

To be fair she didn't actually make the comments according to the article. She just responded that it wasn't a horrible thing to say, which of course it was.

That being said... This mother fucker chose to drive with a suspended license, which she got for earlier choosing to drink and drive, then chose to drink again when she knew she would be driving, then chose to drive drunk once more. As far as I am concerned she chose to kill the cyclist and her actions should be treated as a choice and not an accident.

[General Zod]

To be fair she didn't actually make the comments according to the article. She just responded that it wasn't a horrible thing to say, which of course it was.

It doesn't really matter if she said them or not when she said she agreed with them, which for all intents and purposes is just the same since it demonstrates a complete lack of remorse.

[Havok]

To be fair she didn't actually make the comments according to the article. She just responded that it wasn't a horrible thing to say, which of course it was.

It doesn't really matter if she said them or not when she said she agreed with them, which for all intents and purposes is just the same since it demonstrates a complete lack of remorse.

Lack of remorse? Probably. However she just said it's not terrible, not that she agreed with the statement.

I could understand if the guy who said it to her was a friend with a very mean sense of humor and bad timing and she knew that and understood that he was just trying to bring some levity to the situation. Her "No, it's not." between two friends could convey that understanding.

Don't get me wrong. She is a piece of shit. I can just see this being a possibility.

[Broomstick]

All phone conversations in a jail are recorded or otherwise monitored.

Almost entirely true. Married couples have the right to confidential communication even when one is in prison. There may be other exceptions, but that's the only one I know of.

Lawyer/client communications are also confidential by law.