Zero_Enigma

Oh my f---- god I am foaming at the mouth at this story. Just the topic line already says it all.

Source: The Toronto Star
URL : https://www.thestar.com/News/article/197378

Reposting in case the link dies later (I think there is a 7 day link limit)

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Drunk who killed cyclist gets house arrest
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Mar 29, 2007 08:29 PM
Canadian Press

FREDERICTON—The mother of a young New Brunswick man killed when a driver who’d consumed 24 beers smashed into her son’s bicycle says a sentence of two years house arrest is too light a punishment.

Peter Leon Howe, 42, had earlier pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing the death of Robbie MacRitchie, 23.

He will spend his sentence at his parent’s house.

MacRitchie’s mother, Faye, says being confined to the house is a punishment better suited to minor offences by teenagers, and that Howe should have some jail time.

“With our own kids, if they — Robbie for instance — did something wrong, which didn’t meet with our approval, he was confined to the house and he had the car keys taken away from him,” she said.

“But he didn’t kill somebody.”

“I thought that the judge was going to be the one that stood up and gave a harsh sentence,” she said. “But to me he just kind of gave him a slap on the wrist.”


Court heard that on July 15, Howe drank a full case of beer and half a bottle of whiskey at a party, then refused an offer stay at the relative’s house in Fredericton.

Witnesses said Howe was so determined to drive to his room at the Budget Motel, he told people at the party there was no one “big enough” to keep him from leaving in his vehicle.

Robbie MacRitchie was cycling on the side of the road when Howe veered onto the shoulder and hit him.

Howe’s breathalyser reading showed 140 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 80 milligrams.

He fled from the scene of the accident.

Lisa Howse, who is with the local chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, also denounced the sentence, saying it won’t act as a deterrent.

“Until we stand up and say `there are consequences to these actions,’ people are going to continue to do it,” she said.

Howe’s lawyer, Ron Morris, said the sentence is in the best interests of society and his client because it will lead to alcohol dependency treatment.

“They’ll have programs on the outside that he can look at, whereas in prison, especially if you’re in the provincial system, there’s really nothing you can do,” he said.

END POST

Zero_Enigma

I think it would be fully justified if you took the kitchen knife and stabbed all the tires on the guys car. If the drunk guy wanted to run after you then run off while he staggers around. I think paying the drunk guy back 4 x $$$ cost of new tires later is better then the lost of a human life

chephy

That's just nuts. This sort of thing should get you ten years in jail.

fat_bike_nut

House Arrest for killing somebody? Was the sentencing judge freakin' nuts or something?

SunFlower

someday america might wake up and actually punish drunk drivers. until then.....enjoy the carnage

** i noticed this story is canada but america is just the same apparently

pj7

This doesn't suprise me, as it shouldn't suprise any of you. We get at least a dozen of this exact same post every year on here and nothing changes. Judges, like drunk drivers, are stupid people too. Maybe there should be some sort of organization that punishes our lawmakers for being stupid.

unkchunk

Can you sue the crap out of people in Canada?

Sure, a guy who lives in the Budget Motel doesn't have much in assets; but the relatives in Fredericton and the people at the party may. I'd go after them and leave Pete alone. It wouldn't be too hard to show they had a duty to act.

Anyways, I imagine after a few weeks Pete's parents will appeal this on the grounds that the punishment is too cruel. I mean would you want that smuck hanging around your place for two years? Of course not. No one does. That's pretty much why he was living in the Budget Motel in the first place.

Sammyboy

Blimey. You drank a collosal amount, and then killed someone. You're grounded, Mr.

Also, this guy drank 24 beers and 1/2 a bottle of whisky, and wasn't even twice over the limit? What is he, an elephant?

rINGrING

If that was my son and the State did my family this disservice I'd kill the man myself.

Eatadonut

1) he's drunk, he probably won't care.
2) they have valves. no need to cause property damage.

If he's drunk enough to be belligerent, he's drunk enough to get tied to a tree. That's always been my policy when it comes to people trying to leave drunk.

linux_author

- how civilized! how enlightened! what a wonderful penal system! a model for the Western world! justice is served!

- i guess fleeing the scene of an accident doesn't count for much either under Canadian law?

(it also points out the moral character of the offender - apparently unwilling to accept responsibility)

thdave

They should have let the air out of his tires. This is sad and sick, too.

jeff-o

Yes.

bike2math

Perhaps more telling, some judges are drunk drivers. I feel this is often why there is such resistance from our politicians and judges to stiffer penalties for dui's, they realize how often they themselves have driven home from a fundraising event when they probably should have taken a cab.

ajay677

Nope. Canadian. O Canada our home and lenient land.

Az B

Yep.

Az

JustBrowsing

Isn't there a ridiculously high percentage of lawyers who have drinking problems? Don't you need to be a lawyer to become a judge? Should it come as a surprise that a judge will be fairly sympathetic to a guy with a drinking problem, despite what he might have done to land himself in front of the judge in the first place?

JeffS

In my mind, the hit and run should have been enough for jail time - at a minimum a month or three.

House arrest is a BS punishment - from someone who's experienced it.

larrabeee

I thought things were bad in the U.S.. Besides this story, I just read this quote yesterday on the Surly blog, by a Toronto city councillor:

"I can't support bike lanes. Roads are built for buses, cars, and trucks. My heart bleeds when someone gets killed, but it's their own fault at the end of the day."

-Rob FordToronto City Councillor
Email: councillor_ford@toronto.ca

HELP US FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT

We urge all friends of the bike to send a message to Mr. Ford explaining why he is way off-base. We recommend that you don't use any threatening terms or obscenities, as hard as that may be to do.

Wulfheir

Do you have any data to substantiate such a claim that a ridiculously high percentage of lawyers have drinking problems? If that's the case, why was the lawyer for the accused able to argue such a lenient decision?
Most people who are upset with the judge, are actually upset with the justice system, but they just don't know it.
The media always reports the decision, accompanied with a bleeding heart sound bite. Otherwise, it's not newsworthy. The evidence presented during the trial is never reported, just like it wasn't reported this time.

oboeguy

Fixed.

I will never, ever understand how "I was drunk" is an excuse for murder.

UmneyDurak

Just get drunk, and run him over. Otherwise you will be thrown in jail.

JeffS

It's not, but "I was in a car" seems perfectly acceptable.

In the US, being drunk would have likely meant jail time. Sober, however, and they would have walked away with nothing but a few license points.

Crazy Cyclist

what a waste of beer !!!

deputyjones

Would you mind explaining what you meant by this? (A sincere request, not meant to be antagonistic or sarcastic)