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     Kcfirebolt |
From Yahoo News www.yahoo.com S.D. Rep. Janklow Guilty of Manslaughter 31 minutes ago Add Top Stories - AP to My Yahoo! By CARSON WALKER, Associated Press Writer FLANDREAU, S.D. - In a verdict that could bring an abrupt end to a three-decade political career, a jury convicted Rep. Bill Janklow of manslaughter Monday for a collision that killed a motorcyclist, rejecting the congressman's claim that he was disoriented by a diabetic reaction. AP Photo AP Photo Slideshow: Rep. Bill Janklow Manslaughter Trial The jury in Janklow's boyhood hometown deliberated for about five hours before returning its verdict. Janklow appeared stunned as the verdict was read. He walked steadily out of the courtroom, got in a vehicle driven by his son and left the courthouse. He refused to respond to questions shouted by a horde of reporters. Janklow, 64, was convicted of second-degree manslaughter, reckless driving, running a stop sign and speeding for the Aug. 16 crash that killed Randy Scott, 55, a farmer from Hardwick, Minn. Prosecutors said Janklow was traveling more than 70 mph in his white Cadillac when he crashed with Scott's Harley-Davidson. Janklow could get up to 10 years in prison on the manslaughter charge and also face a House ethics committee investigation that could lead to his expulsion. Judge Rodney Steele set sentencing for Jan. 20. Jurors left the courthouse without talking to reporters. They were escorted out by the sheriff, who said the jurors don't want to talk to the media. Both prosecutor Bill Ellingson and defense attorney Ed Evans refused comment. Janklow, a Republican, was elected to South Dakota's lone House seat last year following an extraordinary political career in which he served four years as state attorney general in the 1970s and 16 years as governor. During his two stints as governor, Janklow won over legions of voters in heavily conservative South Dakota with his tough-talking, maverick style. His trial created a scenario that once would have seemed unthinkable in this rural state: the enormously powerful Janklow on trial for manslaughter in the farming community where he grew up. The trial began Dec. 1 with a jury-selection process that revealed Janklow's widespread popularity in Flandreau, a town of about 2,000 people. Several jury candidates knew Janklow and his family, including one who shook hands with the former governor as he left the courtroom. Once a panel was chosen, jurors witnessed several emotional images during five days of testimony, including Janklow in tears as he described his grief over the crash. A man who was riding motorcycles with Scott cried as he recalled finding the victim's mangled body in a soybean field. Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, himself a pillar of South Dakota politics, also took the stand. The defense argued that Janklow, a diabetic, was suffering the effects of low blood sugar at the time of the crash because he had not eaten for 18 hours. Medical experts told prosecutors it is unusual for anyone to go that long without food — and highly dangerous for a diabetic who takes insulin. But deputy prosecutor Roger Ellyson called the diabetes defense "goofy," saying Janklow concocted the defense as an excuse for his reckless driving. Ellyson called Janklow an "unbelievably awful and menacing" driver. "The defendant's driving is like a deadly game of Russian roulette," Ellyson said in closing arguments. "On August 16, Randy Scott took the bullet." "He couldn't say, 'I was driving so fast I couldn't stop.' Or he couldn't say, 'I always ignore these rural stop signs.' That would be admitting to manslaughter. He knows the trouble he's in," Ellyson said. The defense said that Janklow took heart medication on the day of the crash that can mask the symptoms of a diabetic reaction. That is why Janklow did not feel his blood sugar drop before the accident, the defense contended. Several witnesses said they did not see Janklow eat or drink anything that day, including Daschle, who called the congressman "a very truthful person." Janklow has long been an unapologetic speeder, as witnessed during a 1999 speech to the Legislature. "Bill Janklow speeds when he drives — shouldn't, but he does," Janklow said then. "When he gets the ticket he pays it, but if someone told me I was going to jail for two days for speeding, my driving habits would change." In one well-known instance, two reporters were riding with Janklow when he made a 99-mph mad dash, through heavy smoke, down a mountain highway in the Black Hills during a raging forest fire in 2002. Janklow had tried to go faster, but the computer in his sport utility vehicle kept the engine from going past 99 mph. Janklow received 12 speeding tickets from 1990 to October 1994. He was elected to a third term as governor a month later and never received another ticket in the state. The jury was not allowed to hear about the tickets, but the prosecution was granted permission to present evidence of a close call at the same intersection where Scott died. Jennifer Walters said a speeding white Cadillac ran the stop sign and missed their pickup by mere feet last December. She called 911 to report it and Moody County Deputy Sheriff Tony Aas said that about 10 minutes later he stopped the Cadillac. Janklow was the driver and he was doing 92 mph, though the officer locked his radar on at 86, he testified. Walters said she did not pursue charges against Janklow because he was governor at the time. On the stand, Janklow denied running the stop sign. Janklow also said he has wished "a thousand times" that he would have eaten on Aug. 16. He told the prosecutor he does speed when he drives and he has run stop signs but that he would not speed through a blind intersection on purpose. The House ethics committee's rules say representatives who plead guilty or are convicted of a crime that carries two or more years in prison should refrain from voting or taking part in committee meetings in the chamber until their record is cleared or until re-elected. The ethics committee could also recommend a House resolution reprimanding him, censuring him or even expelling him, though the House rarely expels members. After Ohio Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. was convicted last year of bribery, racketeering and tax evasion, he became only the second House member to be expelled since the Civil War. | ||
| Chainsaw |
I'm glad the jury didn't buy his diabetic defense. Pure B.S. that contradicted his original statements to the police. He should have plead guilty in the first place, and thrown himself on the mercy of the court, instead of holding a news conference in which he repeatedly referred to the man he killed by the wrong name. | ||
| Iamike |
It's nice to see a jury convict a dirt-bag driver for once. Just tonight I stopped to help a car fix a flat tire on the freeway (yes, Iowa has freeways). I had my flashers on and two bozos in a row just missed us because they were too brain dead to move over into the left lane. Its not like we have a lot of traffic or anything! It's always tempting to 'accidently' toss a tool out in front of them but they'd probably go across the median and kill some innocent person driving the other way. I took my strobe light and put it out in the middle of the lane to force them over. I was waiting for one to run it over too. | ||
| Daves |
I'm sure that he was shocked. 12 tickets in 4 years then as Governor, none in 11 years, yeah, right. On trial in his own town, knows the jury. Yes, I'll bet he was shocked. Ride to the edge! Dave | ||
| Kevyn |
Any speculation on time served? I'm guessin' less than 4 years at a minimum security location with a cush job... How will this conviction affect his retirements? Now that he's convicted is he liable for a civil suit for wrongful death? This show is still goin' strong | ||
| Mikej |
I'm guessing wrongfull death lawsuit is a given in this case. I'd wager minimal time or time served and probation due to his "community service" as a public officer. Sucks but probably the way it will go. I'd wager again he'll get full retirement benefits, will head to a retirement resort in Florida or SanJuan, and will begin to run down pedestrians in his golf cart scooter. I'd hope this sends a clear signal that public officials should not be given free passes for gross violations of law. The land of the free should not include free passes for public officials and it's about damn time the "higher ups" started playing by the same rules the rest of us have to adhere to. (Hey, where'd this soapbox come from?) Sorry, started to get me going there.  | ||
| Loki |
Even if the medical reason defense had stood up, he would be facing a wrongful death suit. This should also be an instance where one loses the ability(not right) to ever obtain a drivers license, again. The bad part, we will be picking up the tab for it. | ||
| Bomber |
as a soon-to-be-ex-public servant, he should be subject to at LEAST the same down time a normal citizen would face, rather than less . . .. better yet, given his admitted abuse of his office over the last couple of decades, he should go down for longer . .. . .never happen though I wonder if they'll name any street after him? | ||
| Nevco1 |
I wonder if they'll name any street after him? Naa...Just a Country Club Style Minimum Security Penal Institution. | ||
| Nevco1 |
Not to mention, as an employee of legitimate "Organized Crime," he can conduct biz from the comfort of his dorm room.  | ||
| Gearloose |
I to am shocked that he didn't get out of this.Whether it be boot lickin or padding someones pocket.No one should be above the law.To bad he will probably be in a minimum joint,if that. G. | ||
| Nevco1 |
Gearloose...That is the modern day Catch 22. No one is above the law and more need to be held accountable for their actions. That philosophy should reign from the White House all the way down to the Poor House. Enforce the laws we already have and you will be surprised how many laws can actually be removed from the books by merit of being inert. | ||
| Gearloose |
I guess we could send him some soap on a rope! | ||
| Ray_maines |
Thought you might like to know that things like this happen on the other side of the pond too. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/3300877.stm This guy was on a cell phone when he killed an innocent motorcycle rider so it's different than the Rep. Janklow story, but the result is the same. The motorcycle guy is dead! Being dead is a bad thing. Be careful out there. These brain dead people are out to get you and it’s nothing personal, just tough luck for the victim. Mr.’s Janklow & Moran are both very sorry about the whole incident, but the victims are still very DEAD. The victims are dead and their families and friends are left to suffer the loss for years and years to come. Janklow & Moran will both be out of jail and the survivors will still be suffering. Please guys, ride with extra caution. Don't be the victim. The BadWeB is a family, if one of us gets hurt we all suffer. Please don't get hurt. | ||
| Nevco1 |
GearLoose...Soap on a rope won't be necessary. Country Clubs allow "Live-Ins" as opposed to conjugal visits. |
