Prosecutor won't re-try man in Toyota crash

[RamboLiberal]

Source: MSNBC

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A Minnesota prosecutor says she won't seek to re-try a man sentenced to eight years in prison for a Toyota crash that killed three people.

Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner said Thursday she thinks it's time to bring a "very sad situation" to an end.

Gaertner spoke shortly after a judge ordered a new trial for Koua Fong Lee. The 32-year-old St. Paul man was convicted of criminal vehicular homicide in a 2006 crash involving his 1996 Toyota Camry.

Lee insisted at trial that he had been trying to brake before the crash. Toyota's problems with unintended acceleration in newer models led to his case getting reopened.


Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38583622/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

---

Good. IMHO this guy's sentence was overly harsh in the first place.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Woo hoo!

This is a local story I've been following closely. Sounds like Gaertner has concluded that all the problems with Toyotas will mean the prosecution won't be able to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. I'm very glad they decided not to retry this poor guy.

[frylock]

2. he called their bluff..

those fuckers offered to free him if he copped to vehicular manslaughter. a person of lesser principles would have probably jumped at the opportunity. and lets hope this isn't the end to a "very sad situation." i hope he sues the prosecuters balls to the wall.

[Schema Thing]

6. yes

he was in prison because of his ethnicity.

[Freetradesucks]

9. Really? Another, "everyone is a racist" post?

3 years ago he was convicted of taking an off-ramp at 75mph and slamming into the back of a stopped car, killing three people. Nobody had ever heard of trouble with Toyota's accelerating out of control, and there was no evidence to support that claim whatsoever.

Can you please do yourself, and everyone else a fucking favor and stop calling things that are clearly not racist, racist??

[Schema Thing]

10. lol. are you kidding me?

There is not a blond girl in the entire country who would have been sitting in prison for this accident.

[Freetradesucks]

11. You need to take a look in the mirror,

because you have some very obvious racial prejudices. There are many, many blond girls sitting in prison for vehicular manslaughter right now, this very instant.

[Schema Thing]

12. i have no racial prejudices, and no

there are no blond girls in prison for anything similar to this young man's event.


He was not accused of being drunk.

[Freetradesucks]

13. I'll stop now, because there is a saying that is very true..

Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.

[Schema Thing]

18. I feel sure onlookers can see the idiocy

in your belief that this young man was treated just as a young white girl who is at fault in an auto accident that kills someone would be. A regular Laura Bush, this guy.

[Tempest]

21. We see

The poster you are referring to really needs to read this link:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/14237/racial_disparity_in_sentencing.html

[Freetradesucks]

24. Or maybe a regular Ted Kennedy perhaps?

I came to DU looking for honesty, and much of what I am finding is more bullshit framing of ideology.

Do you and other posters really think that "white" girls don't get convicted of reckless driving and manslaughter? Did you not even read the valid point I made that when he was convicted the Toyota scandal was not on anyone's radar?

If anything this place is more racist than I've found other political boards to be......

Do you not understand that if you substituted "white" for any other race in your own posts, you yourself would consider it racist?

I always thought that the Democratic party was about bringing people together, but it seems that racism is alive and well on this board.

[murielm99]

41. I believe this man was given a harsher sentence because of

his ethnicity and his poor command of English. A caucasian person, or a blond girl, certainly stands a better chance of receiving a lesser sentence. There are many reasons for that. The man may have had less money for a competent defense than a blond girl. And, Minnesota may have many progressives and may elect some good Democrats, but they have some fairly backward areas, too. I have family in Minnesota, and I know from visiting with them that the Hmong people in many parts of Minnesota are subjected to discrimination.

I don't always agree with the things people post on DU. I have found myself in the minority on a number of occasions. I don't even bother to get into discussions with some of the anti-Christian types. The gun discussions get too crazy for me, and I am a gun owner. The Israel/Palestinian issues could be their own war. And primary season is warlike as well. But I think DU is honest. We are not racist. And remember, for every ten people who are responding to you, there are probably a hundred reading your posts and deciding that neither side has a monopoly on the truth.

[Ken Burch]

49. Oh puhleeze.

Are you really arguing that it's racist to RELEASE the guy?

Face it...there was no case for his guilt.

And you have no reason to defend the original prosecution.

[slampoet]

22. Funny how three people here see you as the fool.

Seems like the onlookers have 20/20 vision tonight.

[Tempest]

19. Especially for 8 years

At most a white person would have gotten a suspended sentence and probation.

Minnesota is on the list of racial disparity in sentencing by the ACLU. Florida leads the nation in unfair sentences.

[slampoet]

20. +1

[Tempest]

23. Read it and weep

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/14237/racial_disparity_in_sentencing.html

[RamboLiberal]

25. You can call me a fool as well

If you don't think that this man being a Hmong immigrant didn't play a role in the judge "throwing the book at him". He wasn't driving drunk or impaired. The possibility was he did mistakenly press the accelerator instead of the brake. How many times does just such accidents happen? A lot. Mostly to elderly. Do we throw them in prison for 8 years.

I've read of DUI's who had just as many victims who got far less time. That sentence was excessive IMHO and I do think being an immigrant/minority played a role in the disparity.

But it's also worth asking why prosecutors decided to hit Lee with such a severe charge in the first place. He wasn't under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash. He wasn't drag racing or showing signs of road rage. As noted, he was driving his family—including his pregnant wife and child—home from church when the accident occurred. The article doesn't indicate any theory from the prosecution as to why Lee would have suddenly, willfully driven so recklessly, but under Minnesota law they didn't have to. This is the problem with felony crimes that don't require the state to show intent. The Minnesota law requires only a show of "reckless disregard for the rights and safety of others," which could likely have been satisfied merely by showing how fast Lee was driving.

Cultural bias may have also had something to do with it, too. Lee is Hmong. As a commenter at the ABC News site notes, Lee's trial came months after the highly-publicized trial of a Hmong man who massacred three Wisconsin hunters in 2004. Now one state over, you have a Hmong man who took out three people while driving well in excess of the speed limit. Lee also testified through a translator, and according to the ABC article his trial judge expressed doubt about Lee's remorse. Maybe Lee really was unremorseful, though it also seems possible that an emotion like remorse could be expressed differently in different cultures or be lost in translation.

Whatever their reasons, the prosecutors seemed set on making Lee pay a heavy price for the three deaths, and paid too little consideration to his actual level of criminal culpability.

http://reason.com/blog/2010/02/22/man-got-eight-years-for-deaths

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. I agree it was racist

I've never heard of anyone going to prison for an ACCIDENT like this. He wasn't drunk. Couldn't believe it when they sent this guy to prison.

[Freetradesucks]

28. My god man, reading comprehension...

It was not because he was drunk, it was because he took an off-ramp at 75mph. Reckless driving.

[proud2BlibKansan]

29. My god man, find me another case where a reckless driver went to prison

In that jurisdiction.

I'll wait.

[Freetradesucks]

31. How the fuck am I supposed to find

documentation about another reckless driving case that was not in the news in that state?

Why don't you provide documentation of other racist acts by the prosecution, judge and jurors in this case.

I'll wait.

[proud2BlibKansan]

35. LOL nice deflection

You should be able to find cases involving white people who were sentenced to prison for reckless driving in this jurisdiction. Google is your friend.

If however you can't find any, then my point is proven. :)

And since I am not claiming this is a pattern on the part of this prosecutor, other cases involving minorities are not relevant to the discussion. I'm claiming this one prosecution is racist. Not a series of cases, just this one case.

[RamboLiberal]

39. Yep I was able to google a few cases in Minnesota

Where people were killed, drivers had prior violations and at least 1 even DUI who got slaps on the wrists. Now in only 1 could I find a photo(white) but none were an obvious minority name.

[Freetradesucks]

40. Just this one case? Really?

Either they are racist or they aren't. To say this is the one and only racist thing they have ever done is ridiculous! If they are racist they would have systematically targeted minorities and others "not like them". To say they are racist and this is the only racist thing that they have ever done is just plain stupid and unfair.

You know what I give up. They are racist, and so are you. I am a racist too. Everyone on the fucking planet is a racist. Everyone here on DU is a racist, everyone on the "internets" is a racist. Are you happy now? They are all racist. Racist. Racist. Racist. Racist. You know what, I think I heard someone say something racist the other day, he must be a racist. He doesn't like that "rap" music. You know why? Because he is a fucking racist.

Do you understand that when we accuse everyone, always of being a racist it dilutes and takes away the shame from the true racists? So why don't we keep the term racist for the true racists?

[Ken Burch]

51. Are you saying that we have to defend the original(and now clearly wrong) verdict

just to prove that we aren't calling EVERYBODY racists?

What's your point here?

Clearly, the evidence that was blocked from the original trial proved that the man wasn't guilty.

[RamboLiberal]

33. Right

After causing the chain-reaction car crash that killed her daughter in 2006, Anthony Klecker apologized to Catherine Casey in court for his drunken recklessness.

Klecker, an Iraq war veteran, said he wished he could change places with 16-year-old Deanna Casey, a bubbly Simley High School cheerleader from Inver Grove Heights who had been returning from an evening shift at McDonald's when his car struck a concrete median on Interstate 494 in South St. Paul, slamming it into her path.

His blood alcohol level was 0.29, more than three times the legal driving limit.

-----

In June 2007, Dakota County District Judge David Knutson's sentence allowed Klecker to complete a few months in jail and then 4 1/2 months of in-patient treatment for addiction and trauma. During each year of his 10 years of probation, he was to spend 10 days under house arrest, beginning on the anniversary of Deanna Casey's death.

http://www.twincities.com/ci_15671054



Folkens was driving a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado pickup when he is alleged to have crossed over the center line on U.S. Highway 212 west of Sacred Heart and struck head on a westbound 1996 Ford Taurus around midnight on Oct. 20, 2009.

The accident took the life of Joshua Baldwin, age 20, of Montevideo, and severely injured two others. David Kriesel, the driver of the car, age 20, of Glenwood, has lost his vision as a result of the accident and has undergone multiple surgeries to repair injuries he suffered throughout his body. Passenger Haley Schwenk, 17, of Appleton, suffered multiple facial injuries and internal injuries and has undergone extensive medical care as well.

-----

The offense of careless driving carries a maximum sentence of 90 days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.

http://www.wctrib.com/event/article/id/70660/

One of the most pathetic and disproportionate sentences handed down to a driver who has killed fellow motorists in recent times must belong to teenager, Brandon Iams. Iams, 18, was recently sentenced to serve just six weekends in juvenile jail for careless driving, despite the fact that his actions led to the deaths of three people, Shirley Iverson, 71, her daughter, Debra Buhmann, 34, and Iverson’s granddaughter, Alexis Iverson-Ferkul, 8, all of Lakeville.

It’s a situation which seems almost incomprehensible, but it arrives as a result of Minnesota’s notoriously soft laws relating to vehicular homicide. In this particular case, a grand jury was unable to find Iams guilty of gross negligence, which would have led to felony charges. Instead Iams was found guilty of a misdemeanor and will serve the six weekend’s in a juvenile jail as well perform 100 hours of community service.

------

What makes Iams’ crash so disturbing, and a little confusing, is that investigators could find no evidence of drug or alcohol use, nor was he apparently “distracted” behind the wheel, which is a contributing factor in many crashes. Witnesses apparently described Iams driving his truck without lights on County Road 50 and after an aborted turn, he struck Debra Buhmann's car.

Iams was an inexperienced driver, having had a probationary license for just five weeks. He was unencumbered by the effects of drugs or alcohol and while he managed to kill three people he was not seen as grossly negligent. Go figure.

http://www.examiner.com/x-4026-Minneapolis-Autos-Examiner~y2010m5d24-Pathetic-sentencing-highlights-weak-Minnesota-driving-laws

A semitrailer truck driver with 14 speeding violations was given probation after pleading guilty in a multi-vehicle crash that killed two people last summer in Carver County.

Gordon S. Curtiss, 53, was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty to a charge of failure to drive with due care, a misdemeanor.

The crash killed Sandra Babatz, 45, of Norwood Young America, and Juan Olvera, 35, of Sullivan, Texas. It happened Aug. 29 in Benton Township at the intersection of Hwy. 212 and County Road 51.

Along with 12 months' probation, District Judge Kevin Eide's sentence calls for Curtiss, of Hutchinson, Minn., to perform 80 hours of community service and pay restitution to the victims for unpaid funeral expenses and a $385 fine. He must also complete a driver-improvement course and write letters of apology to the victims.

http://www.startribune.com/local/west/98823729.html?elr=KArks7PYDiaK7DUdcOy_nc:DKUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

WABASHA — A bad decision that took a split second to make has left four children without their father and an Oronoco man with a 120-day jail sentence.

Wabasha District Court Judge Terrence Walters handed down the sentence, also ordering Kenneth Tlougan, 47, to pay a $1,000 fine and $5,277 in restitution; the trucker will also lose his driver's license. A 58-month prison sentence was stayed.

Tlougan pleaded guilty May 25 to criminal vehicular homicide in the death of Magdeleno Chavez, of Lake City.

Tlougan admitted that he didn't stop for a stop sign when driving his truck, but only slowed to about 20 mph, looked for oncoming traffic, and went through the intersection. He collided with a pickup driven by Chavez.

http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=2&a=462890

[Freetradesucks]

37. typical...

In reference to the Twincities article you left out this part;

"District Judge Randall Slieter deferred sentencing to a later date"

They asked for leniency, but none has been granted.

And here is an article that you did not find fit to post;

http://www.examiner.com/x-49462-Minnesota-Top-News-Examiner~y2010m8d3-St-Paul-man-held-in-Mankato-hitandrun-accident


"A St. Paul man is believed to have been the driver in a hit-and-run accident in Mankato, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.

Police believe Purcell Gatson, 36, had been drinking before he hit 34-year-old Tekeshia Klyce of Mankato. Gatson was driving south on 2nd Street at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday when he hit Klyce with his 1997 Oldsmobile 88 as she crossed the street outside of the bar, police said.

Gatson fled the scene and police caught up with him about a mile away on Maxfield Street. The Mankato Fire Department and Gold Cross helped police at the scene, according to the police report."

I assume that you did not post this one because it does not mention the race of the perpetrator.

[RamboLiberal]

38. No sentence yet on the case you posted

I only posted where sentences have already been handed down.

You prove the man in the OP wasn't sentenced harshly because he was an immigrant and a minority.

You're nuts if you don't think race or ethnicity doesn't figure into sentences.

Get back to me if Gatson gets more than 8 years.

[Ken Burch]

50. It was involuntary acceleration.

Dear God...you can't STILL think he was guilty.

[Odin2005]

32. No, he's totally right. Hmong folks in Minnesota are treated like crap.

[Ken Burch]

48. THe defense had evidence that this man's car had an acceleration problem

but it was excluded at the first trial. Had it been admitted, the man would clearly have been acquitted.

Face it...the prosecution climb down PROVES this guy is innocent.

[McCamy Taylor]

16. I agree. Unless drugs or alcohol are involved it is always an "unfortunate accident"

when the driver is white.

[CreekDog]

7. "a person of lesser principles would have probably jumped at the opportunity"

fail.

the whole prosecution was FUBAR. if he did it would be a reflection on them not him.

[McCamy Taylor]

17. Can't sue the prosecutor. He will be suing Toyota. They knew the problems and let him go to jail

[Psephos]

30. Prosecutors have full immunity. They can't be sued. n/t

[DFLforever]

3. This prosecutor has been trying to make a name for herself

for a long while. Happily, nothing has panned out for her so far.

[Festivito]

42. "Prosecutors had opposed a new trial, saying there was no compelling new evidence."

Who has not been compelled by the Toyota story?

The powerful prosecutors and judge have egg on their faces, and so the powerless trial lawyer is blamed in the press.

This guy did not cop to a plea making their jobs harder. In other words, he threatened their way of life: the reason we went to war with Vietnam.

Ironic that that's why he was here.

[Jefferson23]

4. Great news! This was beyond horrible. n/t

[Dawson Leery]

5. My family will NOT be buying Toyotas.

[Omaha Steve]

8. First headline I saw after getting home from dinner out

I didn't expect this after the fight the prosecutors office put up fighting a new trail. Then the cheap offer they gave him. Thank you RamboLiberal for posting the best story of the day!

K&R!

OS

[Hawkeye-X]

14. So is he freed and gone home to his family?

And refusing to buy Toyotas for eternity? (I forced myself to the RTFA - and yes he is home now. I'm sure he's rebonding with his entire family once again)

One can hope so. :)

[Omaha Steve]

52. He went home yesterday

Click here for photo: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=CA&Date=20100806&Category=BLOG06&ArtNo=100809871&Ref=V2&title=1&MaxW=600
Koua Fong Lee and his wife Panghoua Moua appear at a press conference after his release Thursday from the Ramsey County Minn. Jail.

Photo credit: Ben Garvin/St. Paul Pioneer Press

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20100806/BLOG06/100809871/-1#ixzz0vslaecAX

[Spazito]

15. That is excellent news!

I hope he can sue everyone involved, Toyota, the State, etc, over this gross injustice.

[proud2BlibKansan]

26. Good decision.

Just got back from a week in Minnesota. Such a tragic case. Glad to hear he won't be retried.

[Odin2005]

34. Good!

If he had been white who would of got off with a slap on the wrist.

[sofa king]

36. Please tell me his license is still revoked.

Because there's only a shadow of a doubt.

[Zoeisright]

43. Prosecutor Won't Re-Try Lee, Now Free Man

Source: WCCO Minneapolis St. Paul

The Minnesota man convicted in a fatal 2006 Toyota crash is now a free man. Shortly after a judge ordered a new trial for Koua Fong Lee, the prosecutor said she won't seek another trial.

Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner said Thursday she thinks "it is time to bring this very tragic situation to a close."

Gaertner spoke shortly after a judge ordered a new trial for Lee, 32, of St. Paul. Lee was sentenced to eight years in prison for the crash, which killed three people.

She said Lee will not face further prosecution in connection with the events of June 10, 2006. She also said she understands why the judge ruled in favor of a new trial, though Gaertner stands by her office's opposition to it.

Read more: http://wcco.com/crime/judge.ruling.trial.2.1844994.html

---

This all happened really fast. It was only a few hours ago that Lee refused a deal that would have set him free, but with a felony record.

[Ken Burch]

44. Perhaps he had good reason to believe that that wasn't the best deal he could get.

And I think we can assume that the willingness of the prosecution to drop charges was pretty much an outright admission that they had no real case. The evidence that would have been introduced at the retrial showing that the man TRIED to brake but was victimized by the car's involuntary acceleration would have destroyed the prosecution case(which is why the prosecution made sure it wasn't included in the original trial).

The original verdict was clearly an instance of an Asian American man being railroaded in to an unjust conviction, due in significant measure to the fact that the prosecutors knew that they could play on frequently-repeated stereotypes of Asian-American people being bad drivers.

Justice has now prevailed in the matter.

[Warpy]

45. Considering the bad publicity Toyota has had about

random acceleration problems, he knew full well that he had a really good chance in a second trial. The DA knew he did too. That first deal was shameful, and exercise in saving face. He was certainly right to turn it down. I would have.

[dencol]

46. Dupe -

sorry

[dencol]

47. I hear ya...

But don't think justice will prevail until this guy is compensated for his time and emotional pain. Juries have to be more careful about who they convict. I have seen juries being assembled and would be sickened if I was an innocent man put on trial because I know people stick with their stereotypes against minorities.