Oh, and
Some of you wanted to know the outcome of the DUI trial that I was almost on the jury for:
Sunset High football player convicted in crash that killed nurse
by Holly Danks, The Oregonian
Wednesday March 05, 2008, 9:26 PM
HILLSBORO -- Despite his declarations of remorse, a Washington County jury found today that a Sunset High School football player didn't care about the risks when he drank beer and whiskey, jumped into his souped-up car and killed a nurse in a crash on her way home from work nearly a year ago.
Samuel Allen Wilson, who turned 19 in jail, was convicted of first-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault, driving under the influence of intoxicants and driving with a suspended license. The April 25, 2007, crash killed Elizabeth "Betty" Sherman, 61, a cardiac nurse at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center.
Wilson will be sentenced March 18 to at least 10 years in prison. The jury of seven women and five men deliberated for less than 2½ hours after a five-day trial.
"I've made a lot of bad decisions in my life, I never purposely meant to hurt anybody," Wilson said during his 75 minutes on the witness stand. "The fact that I killed someone is something I don't think I will ever be able to get over."
But Jason Weiner, Washington County deputy district attorney, said Wilson's remorse was "after the fact" and didn't erase his disregard of the public and the law.
Wilson was arrested for drunken driving March 24, 2007, after going the wrong way on a one-way street in downtown Portland. He entered a diversion agreement, promising not to drink and drive and to attend classes, one day before crashing the same yellow Chevy Nova 305 V-8 into Sherman's Audi.
Even though he had no license and was grounded, Wilson testified he wanted to go for one last drive for sentimental reasons before his parents sold his car. After having a beer at a friend's house and a glass of whiskey at home on a school night, he pushed his car down the street so the loud engine wouldn't wake his parents.
He spotted a sheriff's patrol car on Northwest Murray Boulevard at the Sunset Highway. So he made an illegal turn into a dark neighborhood, turned off his car's lights and sped toward Northwest Cornell Road.
By the time he reached a stop sign at Joy Avenue, deputies estimated Wilson was going between 45 and 50 mph. He skidded through the right-only turn, hit the median and went airborne into Sherman's door.
Sherman, a mother of two daughters, never regained consciousness and was taken off life support after 10 days.
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Honestly, I'm glad that was the outcome (how could it have been anything else!?) and that my absence on the jury didn't change it.
Sunset High football player convicted in crash that killed nurse
by Holly Danks, The Oregonian
Wednesday March 05, 2008, 9:26 PM
HILLSBORO -- Despite his declarations of remorse, a Washington County jury found today that a Sunset High School football player didn't care about the risks when he drank beer and whiskey, jumped into his souped-up car and killed a nurse in a crash on her way home from work nearly a year ago.
Samuel Allen Wilson, who turned 19 in jail, was convicted of first-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault, driving under the influence of intoxicants and driving with a suspended license. The April 25, 2007, crash killed Elizabeth "Betty" Sherman, 61, a cardiac nurse at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center.
Wilson will be sentenced March 18 to at least 10 years in prison. The jury of seven women and five men deliberated for less than 2½ hours after a five-day trial.
"I've made a lot of bad decisions in my life, I never purposely meant to hurt anybody," Wilson said during his 75 minutes on the witness stand. "The fact that I killed someone is something I don't think I will ever be able to get over."
But Jason Weiner, Washington County deputy district attorney, said Wilson's remorse was "after the fact" and didn't erase his disregard of the public and the law.
Wilson was arrested for drunken driving March 24, 2007, after going the wrong way on a one-way street in downtown Portland. He entered a diversion agreement, promising not to drink and drive and to attend classes, one day before crashing the same yellow Chevy Nova 305 V-8 into Sherman's Audi.
Even though he had no license and was grounded, Wilson testified he wanted to go for one last drive for sentimental reasons before his parents sold his car. After having a beer at a friend's house and a glass of whiskey at home on a school night, he pushed his car down the street so the loud engine wouldn't wake his parents.
He spotted a sheriff's patrol car on Northwest Murray Boulevard at the Sunset Highway. So he made an illegal turn into a dark neighborhood, turned off his car's lights and sped toward Northwest Cornell Road.
By the time he reached a stop sign at Joy Avenue, deputies estimated Wilson was going between 45 and 50 mph. He skidded through the right-only turn, hit the median and went airborne into Sherman's door.
Sherman, a mother of two daughters, never regained consciousness and was taken off life support after 10 days.
source
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Honestly, I'm glad that was the outcome (how could it have been anything else!?) and that my absence on the jury didn't change it.