Towle, 36, was yesterday found not guilty of culpable driving, but guilty of six counts of dangerous driving causing death after he veered into the teenagers... Towle's prior convictions, including a string of driving offences and 40 court appearances between 1991 and 2003 that resulted in three jail terms. The long list includes being nabbed eight times for driving while his licence was cancelled or disqualified, and twice for drink-driving.
What a useless shit.
Anyway my old post on the topic proved to have a long tail, obviously coming up when desperate and angry friends of the victims were looking for somewhere to vent. Their views are more legitimate than mine, or frankly Robert Richter or Towle's bilious old man who both got plenty of airplay, so here they are in full, lest they be lost in the bowels of my archives:
i can't believe he will be out of prison in such a short time! thomas graham towel has killed 6 of my friends and made my life misery! he should be locked away forever for what he's done to their family and friends! how in the hell do can he be trusted to look after his own kids when hes killed 6?! i think it's just ridiculous... r.i.p cory shane abby cassie stevie and josie.. miss you guys sooo much! xoxox
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I definately believe he was in the wrong....the Hirsts were family friends of my aunty, uncle and cousins....however I also know as Ive grown up in Mildura and have done the same thing - walking on those dark roads out there....that is also partly why it happened. I stress again that the driver was 100% in the wrong...but it also could have happened regardless who was burning around that corner...pls Mildura teenagers - do not walk on the dirt , dark roads out in Shire Mildy.!!! It couldve been me and a group of 8 others after our VCE ball out near Irymple - we were doing the same thing!!!
Poor buggers. What an awful case, on every level.
The rule against considering prior history comes from the nature of jury trials; maybe it's time we reconsidered the utility, in some cases, of both.
5 comments:
That's an appalling idea: letting priors be put to a fact-finder is effectively saying that someone should be judged not on the evidence relating to the crime charged, but on who they are.
And the outrage at him being punished for what he was found guilty of, rather than what they think he was guilty of, is equally unfortunate.
Unfortunate is that these people lost their good friends. The outrage is entirely human and reasonable and shouldn't be flicked away merely because they are rubbing up against long-held and dearly loved notions of jurisprudence.
Richter is worth his fee then.
After seeing today's report of her go at the imprisoned Ex, I wish the general public knew more about CindyGambino than what is on court records.
Of course 'Justice' must avoid emotion and merely be the fact of evidence.
"Unfortunate is that these people lost their good friends"It's not an either-or.
Both are unfortunate, obviously.
See Jezza, we have 50% agreement!
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