Drunk Driver Who Ran Over, Killed, then Mocked Gay Cyclist Gets 10 years

[El Pinko]

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/opinion/74912.php


Kimble: Cyclist deserved to live a full life
MARK KIMBLE
Tucson Citizen

....

Arrington will give up perhaps one-seventh of her life in return for ending the life of a man whom Cruikshank called "an enormously important and unique person in this community."

That man was Paul A. L'Ecuyer. Martin Luther King Jr. Day - the day before Arrington was sentenced - had been one of the most important days of the year for L'Ecuyer. Every year on the holiday he attended memorial events and handed out copies of a pamphlet that he created and paid to have printed. The "Personal Mission Statement" that L'Ecuyer distributed included inspirational messages and a couple of blank pages where he encouraged people to "write down your dreams." He hoped everyone would have several ideas they wanted to bring to fruition during their life. L'Ecuyer had many such dreams. He lived a spartan lifestyle, riding his bicycle everywhere so he'd have more money available to help others. Just a week or so before his death, L'Ecuyer - who had only $600 to his name - spent $150 for a grocery gift card to give to a family on Thanksgiving. He rode in competitive bicycle races, including El Tour de Tucson, to raise money for charities. He took part in a Tucson-Phoenix bike ride and, when it was canceled, continued it on his own, recruiting friends to ride and solicit pledges. "He gave

.....

When she was sentenced Tuesday, Arrington received close to the maximum prison time permitted. Cruikshank said that was partially because of the lack of remorse she exhibited in a telephone call from jail two days after the accident. The call, as are all calls to and from inmates, was taped, and it was played in court at Arrington’s sentencing. On it, a male friend congratulated her on killing L’Ecuyer and told her she deserved “a medal and a f---ing parade because you took out a (slur for a gay person), a cyclist, a tree hugger and a Frenchman in one shot.” Arrington's response, captured on the tape, was to laugh. Cruikshank called that "breathtaking in its inhumanity." Now Arrington says she is ready to be remorseful - serving her sentence, turning her life around and working on her idea for her own anti-DUI group. Pardon me if I don't believe her.

[JI7]

1. only 10 years ?

i didn't read the article so maybe there is a reason for this. but seems not much for what they did.

[onehandle]

21. It's usually much less time in this situation because it was an "accident."

Not premeditated. Over three years is rare. Probation is common.

I commend the judge for throwing the book at her.

[Raster]

2. Please, please, oh please release that tape and someone

identify her "friend." Lovely people. Just fuckin' lovely.

[maddezmom]

3. El Pinko

Please be aware that DU copyright rules require that excerpts of copyrighted material be limited to four paragraphs. Please don't combine paragraphs when copying and pasting.

[El Pinko]

5. No offense, but the writer made every sentence a new paragraph...

...I chucked out the bulk of the story and changed the name of the title (although I think the pejorative I used for her the first time was completely fitting), I honestly don't know if this is even copyrighted or if this is a reader submission to the editorial page...

[EFerrari]

9. Paragraphs are an endangered species any more.

I noticed that when putting up the Daily Election Reform thread. Spelling and punctuation, are right behind. Some of these papers look like they had to lay off their proofreader.

[Indi Guy]

4. Just imagine if the person killed was a cop?!...

I'm willing to guess that the sentence might have been a little different..

[terrya]

6. I don't believe for a second she's remorseful

Let her rot in jail.

She's despicable. Her friend is despicable. Two worthless excuses for human beings who don't even begin to come slightly close to the kindness, the generosity, the selflessness of Paul A. L'Ecuyer.

I hate this story. I hate people like those two disgusting scumbags.

[Orsino]

11. This is the usual conservative sense of entitlement...

...stemming from bitterness, that turns into phony remorse only after being caught red-handed.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

16. seconded

[AndyA]

7. I'm sure her friends and family consider her a good Christian.

From her attitude, I'll bet she's a Republican as well.

That makes her a hypocrite on top of everything else that's wrong with her.

Enjoy your time in prison, honey. Your "male friend" will have long forgotten about you by the time you get out, and we can only hope there's a very special place waiting for people like you, where you can hang out forever with your peers.

I cannot imagine anyone laughing about killing someone else. Sick, sick, sick.

[El Pinko]

8. Not surprising. AZ has always been pretty right-wing...

...and in the last decade or so, the hard-right talk shows have only solidified their grip on Phoenix and Tucson airways. I'm sure that idiots about cyclists, the french, gays, etc. come from a heavy does of Hannity, O'Lielly, Limbaugh and "Savage".

[Echo In Light]

12. Exactly. They likely perceive her as a 'victim of circumstance' because she killed an "undesirable"

[taterguy]

10. Our dominant mode of transportation is something that can easily kill others

The only shock is that this doesn't happen more often

[graywarrior]

13. I grew up with people like her

They don't ever change...because they don't want to. Her ass is on fire now, so she claims to be remorseful. And what in hell is an anti-DUI group?

[Echo In Light]

15. Do they rely on "activist judges" in promoting this agenda?

:sarcasm:

[LisaL]

14. The surprising thing to me is that the judge still gave her a year

shorter than the maximal sentence.
Jeez.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

17. Just Got Done Reading This Article On AOL. What A Disgusting Woman She Is.

It depressed me to read it actually, while after having also read a 'noose hanging from the back of the truck' article, and realizing how damn far we still have to go in this country as it relates to hatred.

And there ain't no way you can laugh about killing someone a week after it happened, and then be remorseful later on. It just doesn't work that way. Fuck her.

[FreepFryer]

18. Every now and then, we see the interior of these bigoted fucks. She should rot til L'Ecuyer returns.

[Ilsa]

19. K&R. Hubby told me about this. Put her in a cell with John Gibson.

They should be very attracted to one another.

A little bit of the planet dies when someone as thoughtful as this cycling man is murdered.

[BreweryYardRat]

20. No parole for her, please. n/t

[onehandle]

22. She'll likely be out in 5 to 7 years. nt