So much for any pretense that the meek and the powerful stand equally before the same bar of justice.
What a Life Is Worth
Monday, January 26, 2004; Page A18
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47629-2004Jan25.htmlLAST MONTH then-Rep. William J. Janklow (R-S.D.) was convicted of second-degree manslaughter for the death in August of a man named Randolph Scott, who had the misfortune to be riding his motorcycle through an intersection when Mr. Janklow ran a stop sign while speeding. Last week South Dakota Circuit Judge Rodney Steele sentenced Mr. Janklow, a former governor with a history of appalling driving, to a mere 100 days in jail. Mr. Janklow will be eligible for daytime release for community service after only 30 days. And he will spend the next three years on probation, during which -- mercifully -- he will not be allowed to drive. Yet, assuming he lives up to the terms of his probation, his felony conviction can then be expunged. So much for any pretense that the meek and the powerful stand equally before the same bar of justice.
The rest of the article is damning to the S Dakota judicial system. In fact it is damning to the American judicial system.