Heather Cook Released
#26
Been Around Awhile
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Burlington Iowa
Posts: 29,950
Bikes: Vaterland and Ragazzi
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 12 Post(s)
Liked 1,517 Times
in
1,031 Posts
#31
Senior Member
She is a person who through extreme personal negligence did seriously bodily injury leading to the death of another human being. If she had shot someone with a gun would she be getting released early? And in any case ... what has she done to deserve early release? has the victim come back to life?
#32
Junior Member
She was tried and convicted. She was stripped of her post as a bishop. She is an alcoholic and a convicted killer. She served time unlike many killers of cyclists. More prison time isn't going to bring back her victim and is unlikely to assuage the grief of the victim's family and friends. I don't know if she served enough time in prison or not but continued incarceration for her is probably an unwise use of community resource to deter future drunk driving and cyclist deaths by drunk drivers.
#33
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 15,452
Bikes: 2015 Workswell 066, 2017 Workswell 093, 2014 Dawes Sheila, 1983 Cannondale 500, 1984 Raleigh Olympian, 2007 Cannondale Rize 4, 2017 Fuji Sportif 1 LE
Mentioned: 144 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7628 Post(s)
Liked 3,448 Times
in
1,822 Posts
She was tried and convicted. She was stripped of her post as a bishop. She is an alcoholic and a convicted killer. She served time unlike many killers of cyclists. More prison time isn't going to bring back her victim and is unlikely to assuage the grief of the victim's family and friends. I don't know if she served enough time in prison or not but continued incarceration for her is probably an unwise use of community resource to deter future drunk driving and cyclist deaths by drunk drivers.
Punishment, rehab, sequestration?
I'd say, she willfully took a human life and deserves punishment. Whether or nto this deters anyone else int he future is not really the point---some sense of justice must be maintained. When rich people get out of prison by paying fines and poor people doing exactly the same crime do jail time, the issue isn't what's most cost-effective for society---the issue is that the plain injustice causes outrage and shows the system to be unfair. While it might save dollars today, it leads to a perception that the system is rigged, which cause greater disrespect for laws, lawmakers and worst of all LEOs.
So ... yeah, she did some jail time which is rare for a cyclist-killer ... but the fact that it is rare points up the problem.
Rehab? I'd say she is set in her ways.
Sequestration? Valid, IMO. The fact that she will never get a driver's license will not stop her from drinking and driving ....
#34
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 5,968
Mentioned: 26 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2473 Post(s)
Liked 722 Times
in
513 Posts
You don't? Hmmm. Resources? In her very jurisdiction the Criminal (In)Justice System has no problem handing out decades long sentences for armed robbery even when there is not death resulting. Lawmakers there are hard at work on making it an imprisonable felony to be delinquent in the payment of Traffic Citations and even Utility Bills! Venture Capital for the construction of For Profit factory prisons is skyrocketing. I'm just not sure it is being considered as a matter of 'resources'.
#36
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 5,968
Mentioned: 26 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2473 Post(s)
Liked 722 Times
in
513 Posts
I don't think it is fair to say that it is 'rare' to see drivers go to jail for killing cyclists. They do go to jail. Just not for very long. Often it isn't as cut and dried, the killing of a cyclist, as, say, a pedestrian. Martha Stewart, Heather Cooke ... scapegoats. Low hanging fruit. Not much terrible is going to happen to either one behind bars. Send some Millenial up and coming tech entreprenneur to some hard time for a 'tragic accident' and the blowback from his inevitable consequences from incarceration might become the subject of a Documentary on Alternatives to Incarceration down the line. I am pretty sure that as soon as the fuss dies down Ms. Cook will get her driving privileges back. What a waste to the State GDP if she can't buy gasoline, car insurance or a new car every 10 years and/or the upkeep of same. The victim ... sad ... but they were riding a bike at the time of their demise ... who does that? Sad, just very sad all round but lets everyone keep a level head and not throw the baby out with the bathwater ...
#37
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 15,452
Bikes: 2015 Workswell 066, 2017 Workswell 093, 2014 Dawes Sheila, 1983 Cannondale 500, 1984 Raleigh Olympian, 2007 Cannondale Rize 4, 2017 Fuji Sportif 1 LE
Mentioned: 144 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7628 Post(s)
Liked 3,448 Times
in
1,822 Posts
Pretty good sarcasm and a pretty bleak strain of realism too.
#38
Senior Member
I didn't mention her denomination, to compare it with the behavior of priests in the Catholic Church, or to even imply that it was worse. ATST, While different crimes. The reactions' of the respective Christian denominations. Was the same.