4 years for murder..wtf?

[johnnie]

Chardon: Wife sentenced to 4 years for 'exercise death' of husband

CHARDON -- A transgender woman who caused her elderly husband's death by strenuously exercising him in a swimming pool has been sentenced to four years in prison.

Forty-one-year-old Chris Mason had pleaded guilty to reckless homicide in the death of 73-year-old James Mason, who had heart problems.

She was dressed casually in a black top and slacks and sat calmly as she was sentenced Friday by Geauga County Common Pleas Judge Forrest Burt.

She had faced up to five years in prison.

During the hearing, she stood and her voice quivered as she tearfully apologized for what happened on June 2, when James Mason collapsed in her arms.

Chris Mason is also known as Christine Newton-John, the name she prefers and took after her 1993 gender change.

She had been John Leslie Vallandingham.

http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=109666



They had the video of her doing it and it was horrible.

[varkam]

1. To be fair, reckless homicide is not murder.

In order to be convicted of murder, one of three things has to be proven: (1) You intended to kill or inflict great bodily harm onto the victim, (2) The killing was done either in the commission of or flight from an inherently dangerous felony (in states that have the felony murder rule), or (3) You exhibited a gross indifference to human life that resulted in the death of another person.

Reckless homicide, on the other hand, means that you just were aware of and disregarded an unjustifiable risk that someone was going to die in the course of your actions. It's a less culpable mental state, and consequently the sentence is not as intense.

[johnnie]

3. It's just messed up

You can see her on the video not letting him out of the pool. Of course you are correct and thank you for the post, but it just sucks. There are people in prison doing more time for selling dope.

[varkam]

8. Yeah, and you might be right about that.

I'm aware of cases of people doing some pretty screwed up stuff and getting off pretty light. For instance, there was a case in Texas several years ago where a man shot his wife in the head as well as her boyfriend in their home (in front of their child). He thought that he was out of ammunition and so he took off. He got a little ways down the road, realized his gun had just jammed, so he fixed the jam and drove back. His wife was still alive and talking to EMS on the telephone when he got back, and he proceeded to shoot her five more times in the head.

He got probation. Probation for a double murder. Go figure.

[damntexdem]

10. It was abuse. It was false imprisonment.

Even had he lived, the sentence should have been longer.

[Hannah Bell]

2. George Bush: 0 years for mass murder.

[johnnie]

4. This is true

Fuck bush

[FiveGoodMen]

5. So far. (But you're probably right)

[Bluebear]

12. Indeed.

[Warpy]

6. To be fair, she thought she was encouraging him

and the video is only horrible when we know what happened next.

This is a horrible accident. Yes, she had a part in it. No, she didn't set out to kill him, only to help him get stronger by pushing him to keep on.

There's a line between encouragement and abuse and she's not the only one who crossed it.

This is a horrible situation for everyone.

[WI_DEM]

7. I wonder if she is related to Regina Giddens?

[damntexdem]

9. Not murder, reckless homicide. Absent the death, it would not be a sufficient sentence for abuse.

But look on the "bright" side -- it's more than Dan White got for murdering two politicians.

I guess using a swimming pool is worse than using a gun. ;-)

[Uzybone]

11. Some people get PROBATION for murder here in Houston

it all depends on who gets killed sometimes. Our justice system is a joke.

[varkam]

13. No shit - I'm aware of a case out of Tx where a double murderer got probation.

See my post up thread for the details.

[Hannah Bell]

14. I'm aware of a case in DC where a repeated mass murderer gets

a pension of over $200K/yr., & lifetime benefits.

[mitchum]

15. It's like a fucking John Waters movie!