Weller couldn’t be bothered to show up for his sentencing.
I was pissed about this verdict, but the more I think about it, the more I like it. Prison is, literally, too good for this guy. Keeping him out of jail means not having the state pay for his rent and his ill health, and fining him means he has less money to pay for his own selfish health care. Plus, the guilty verdict can only mean more civil lawsuits are coming down the pike. This looks more and more like a death sentence, but cheaper and taking fewer years to complete.
The linked article put his fines and restitution at $101,700, and also noted that he was too ill to come to court. It also cited his illness as the basis for the probation vs. prison.
I think the judge also said that his “contrition” was unconvincing. I’d always thought he was just senile.
In any case, the cost to the state to keep him alive in prison was unjustified, in the judge’s view. Probably the quality of the prison health care would kill him anyway.
Well, be sure to do the research to commit a crime that will get you placed in Qadgop’s facility, otherwise you can’t be sure what kind of treatment you’ll get.
Actually, while I wholeheartedly agree with the judge’s sentence and reasoning, I can’t help but feeling that Weller should have received at least some jail-time, even if it’s a token amount (like a week or something). I simply cannot believe that he would not have received even a day in jail for killing 10 people. I know he’s old and infirm, but judges have jailed people as old and as infirm as him before, and often for less.
I also think that Weller is going to be bankrupt, if he’s not already. If the judge’s fine doesn’t wipe him out, I’m sure his lawyer’s fees certainly will. What’s he’s broke, what are the victims going to do? They can’t collect his Social Security or his pension, so he will remain unaccountable for 10 murders.
I work about three miles from the Santa Monica farmer’s market.
There was never much hope for a good resolution to this case. Weller’s age and mental state, plus the fact that it was an accident, meant that he could never get the sort of punishment that would feel appropriate for the magnitude of destruction that he caused.
He’ll probably be dead within the year. Maybe that will help the families move on.
Except for the fines and probation, you mean. Why is that not considered being held “accountable”? I’ve got news for you; the purpose of our criminal courts is to punish the guilty, not to exact retribution for the victims of crime.
Yeah, not murders. That was the wrong term, definitely. As a law student, I am shamed by my misuse of the term, as I shouldn’t have overlooked the distinction.
And I know that he is being held “accountable”, but I don’t feel that a fine and probation is enough of a punishment. I know that the purpose of punishment is not to make the victims and their families feel better (except if it’s the death penalty, of course). However, the OP noted about the pending civil suits (two have already been filed) and I’m sure that’s a consideration the judge took into account. But a fine and probation? That’s what drunk drivers get.
