Should Mom Go to Prison Over Son's Hit-and-Run Death?

by SodaHead News Posted 2011/07/22 20:00:00

Related Topics: Jaywalking, Hit-and-run, Raquel Nelson, Jerry Guy, Painkillers, Alcohol, Prison, Misdemeanor, Police, Mom, Movie, Mother, Student

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463 votes
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	Yes	47 votes	10%
	No	381 votes	82%
	Undecided	35 votes	8%

What turns a tragedy into an unimaginable horror?

Nothing can compare to the loss of a child. But the story of Raquel Nelson is the kind of Kafka-esque tale of tragedy that only exists in the movies.

Last April, Nelson's 4-year-old son, was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver while she was crossing a busy Marietta, Ga., street with her kids. Police found the driver, Jerry Guy, who admitted that he had been drinking and took painkillers on the night of the accident and that he was mostly blind in one eye and had two prior hit-and-runs on his record. He pleaded guilty and served six months of a five-year sentence before being released in October.

But now Nelson is facing more time behind bars than Guy after a court hearing last week in which she was charged with reckless conduct, improperly crossing a roadway and second-degree homicide by vehicle. The intersection her child was killed in has drawn numerous complaints from nearby residents of the Nelson's apartment building for being dangerous. It has a very low "walk score," meaning that it is recommended that almost all errands around the four-lane road be completed with a car.

On the day her son was killed, Nelson had taken her children grocery shopping for her upcoming birthday party and the working mother and college student had missed the bus she usually took back home, putting her an hour behind schedule. With the nearest intersection three-fifths of a mile away, Nelson did what most local residents do, she tried to cross the road by crossing one side of the divided highway to the median and then waiting for a break in traffic.

Her son walked out prematurely and was struck by Guy's car. After the local paper ran a story a month later titled "Jaywalkers take deadly risks," Nelson was charged with three misdemeanors. She was convicted last week and with each charge punishable up to 12 months in prison, she could spend up to six times as many months in jail as Guy.

+19

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Mack 2011/07/22 20:39:16

No

+23
What I want to know is how did Guy not get slammed with Involuntary Manslaughter? How did that not happen!? So a guy convicted of 3 hit and runs only serves 6 months in prison but the victim's mother is going to serve more time!? Wow!
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More polls by SodaHead News

Lydia 2011/08/15 16:21:13
Shae 2011/07/27 18:57:41

No

Isn't the basis of prision to rehabilitate offenders..... How will a mother whose child was killed going to be rehabilitated? Don't you think she already blames herself? Do you really think three years in prision will change anything, she'll relive this every day for the rest of her life!!! All this will do is put more grief and stress on her family.

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taitaFalcon23 2011/07/26 20:51:23

Yes

I put yes, because this is where we've come to in America. I don't really mean yes but I just wanted to make a small point.. This simply makes does not sense and it doesn't have to anymore bcause we're beoming too stupid to survive ourselves. I'm sure her sentence will be appealed because her crime of inappropriate judgement does not equal the damage caused by the DUI driver's worse example of judgement. And now the judge in her case exercises equally nonsensical judgement...if she wins her appeal and the judge is convicted of cruel and unusual punishment, that judge should get prison time

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Twinky 2011/07/26 08:31:16

No

I find it stupid that car drivers have more protection in the US than pedestrians...

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Cookielane 2011/07/25 15:31:02

No

+1
He hits both the mom and two children, runs away and gets 6 mos, and she gets three years?? Only in America.

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runningintriangles 2011/07/25 15:15:47

No

+1
Hasn't the poor woman suffered enough?

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PS 2011/07/25 14:58:08

No

+1
Who was the hit and run driver related to? The mother has to live with this nightmare for the rest of her life. Who will they kick out of jail to make room if she goes in?

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Rusticus 1773 2011/07/25 14:21:17 (edited)

No

+1
Government responses like this are the reason why I am convinced that it's just not safe for Americans to remain in America anymore.

That's why I now prefer to live overseas, where I'm a lot safer from the ludicrous, neurotic government worker's thought process, which is inevitably followed by the ludicrous, neurotic government worker's ludicrous, neurotic actions against people.

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V~POTL~PWCM~JLA 2011/07/25 13:55:30 (edited)

Undecided

+2
Only six months for a THREE TIME hit-and-run offender? No indictment for manslaughter? He must be a VERY special person. THIS is why car insurance costs as much as it does -- subsidizing people who have no business behind the wheel.

I have not seen the intersection in question, so I have no idea of the charges against Nelson are appropriate.

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freddy 2011/07/25 13:54:26

No

+2
She should serve no time. Her life has to be a living hell already.

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Aksana 2011/07/25 13:48:56

No

+2
these judges can't be serious, this woman had enough already #shame!

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lisaokapi 2011/07/25 13:42:18

No

+2
Stupid idiot judges and prosecuters. Geez they need to vote these morons out of office. This man with three hit and runs should have gotten 20 years. The mom has suffered enough.

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John 2011/07/25 13:10:18

No

+1
While the mother should have been more careful. She should have known better than not to grab hold of the child's hand and keep him close, I don't believe that this should be dealt with as a criminal act. Even when crossing a street on a red light in a crosswalk, you always hold a childs hand and keep him'her close because you never know if someone may run a stop sign or a red light. For too long, the laws have acted as if there is or should be zero tolerence when it comes to drinking and driving, when these cases get to court, too often it is found that many of these drunk drivers have had found guilty of DUI on previous numerous occasions and they keep getting their licenses back and keep driving. Why wasn't this guy charged at least with Involuntary manslaughter and not allowed to plead guilty.

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hasher 2011/07/25 13:10:02

No

+1
that is so wrong i read another article which states she was trying to save her son. she was hit by the car t0o but survived.

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linda.kirk2 2011/07/25 13:07:42

No

+1
I think she is suffering enough. She will feel guilty for the rest of her life. The man driving the car should have his licence taken away forever. This is his third time. It seems like the victims are always getting the shaft while the criminals are getting a smack on the writs!

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Anon 2011/07/25 12:58:59

No

+1
This is utterly ridiculous. She has lost her son. If anything, she should be suing the highways agency, or whoever is in charge of the roads and highways maintenance, for there being no pavement or adequate provision for pedestrians.

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JAC JAC 2011/07/25 12:23:46

No

+1
That's just sick if she does any time in jail.
we in america have become a vehicle addicted society where those in vehicles can pretty much kill someone.

If this happened to me, I'd sue the city for creating a road that is unsafe.
Every 4 way roadway should have a suitable median in the middle where people can wait safely for the traffic to flow by.

The drive of the vehicle owes a major duty of care to society. In this case, he did not.
He should be charged with manslaughter or the like.
But, such is our society now. If you ever want to kill someone, just run over them...
The automobile is such a well protected entity. To the point of being stupid.

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Aingean 2011/07/25 12:21:12

No

+1
Why on earth did that man get out so fast he was drink on drugs and hit a kid. Involuntary my A**. I think the women should have been older her childs hand or had him in a stroller, but she didn't kill her child that man did. She should have used more caution when it came to her kids but dang, she lost her child.

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L K 2011/07/25 11:54:05

No

+1
No, leave her alone. She has been through enough.

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Peter 2011/07/25 11:48:05

No

Her son should go

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lisaokapi to Peter 2011/07/25 13:42:43

+1
huh? Her son is dead.

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jimbo999 2011/07/25 11:25:52

No

+1
This is not an offense that deserves a jail term. Even though jaywalking isn't too brilliant a thing to do, on the street that I live on, there are people who will walk in the street when, in fact, there is a sidewalk right there. In fact, I saw someone almost get hit by a car because she was walking in the street, instead of the sidewalk. Talk about people doing the dummest thing.

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sbtbill 2011/07/25 10:55:06

No

+1
This is a tragedy. Why make it worse for no sane reason.

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Affinity_of_time 2011/07/25 08:10:14

Undecided

+2
There should definitely be some sort of punishment involved, seeing as her actions did result in the death of her child. But spending more time in jail than the hit and run driver is insane!

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lisaokapi to Affinit... 2011/07/25 13:43:19

+1
Why should she be punished? Isnt the death of her child enough?

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Affinit... to lisaokapi 2011/07/27 03:03:45

Just because she lost a child, doesn't make what she did legally alright. The fact of the matter is, she put a dependent in her care in danger, knowingly, which resulted in the death of said dependent. She may be grieving and may have learned her lesson through the death of her child, but that isn't the same as legal punishment. If someone neglects their child, and the child is taken away, do they not have to face legal repurcussions because of the loss of their child?

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lisaokapi to Affinit... 2011/07/27 12:51:53
Affinit... to lisaokapi 2011/07/29 07:04:58

It's not simply crossing the street that is putting her child in danger. Jaywalking across a highway, known by the locals as a dangerous place to cross, at night, is putting your child at risk. I'm not talking about crossing in a crosswalk, or a 2 lane road, crossing in the middle of the day. This was sheer stupidity on the mom's part. Although the drunk driver with a history of hit and run convictions was definitely at fault, none of this would have happened if the mother had chosen to cross the highway in the intended and safe manner - the crosswalk. I never said the drunk driver wasn't negligent, and I'd appreciate if you could debate calmly.

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lisaokapi to Affinit... 2011/07/30 00:33:48

Well Ok I looked it up and your right she did cross a four lane highway!!!!! OMG, it would have been nice if the one who posted question mentioned that! I really couldnt grasp where you were coming from, now I do. Your right.

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Myrle Hulme 2011/07/25 06:52:07

No

Fine her but to put her in jail is really piling on the blame. I jay walk all the time

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Headshot760 2011/07/25 06:45:26

No

+1
Once again America at its finest.

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He'a: ka'ka:' 2011/07/25 06:26:28

No

People jay-walk all of the time. It happens.

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les_gvt 2011/07/25 06:23:59

Undecided

+1
don't know the complete situation , so difficult to make a total assessment, but from what is available here, she is responsible to a large degree, but so is the city if they are aware of the problems of this area, and have done nothing to address it. The most guilty party by far, seems to have come out smelling like a rose almost

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Depsycho 2011/07/25 06:06:35

No

+3
Absolutely not!! If nothing else, it's Guy who should get the slammer for MORE than just six pathetic months!! SHE has to suffer for LIFE without her son and be traumatized for who knows HOW long with images of her son getting hit before her very eyes!!

This is ALL backwards. Letting a man guilty of MULTIPLE crimes, INCLUDING now being intoxicated/impaired by alcohol and painkillers while driving on top of involuntary manslaughter, basically walk free after figuratively slapping him on the wrist and telling him he's been a bad boy before shooing him off, while an innocent woman, guilty of only not reacting soon enough to stop her child, is facing MORE THAN DOUBLE of the sentence this man faced?!

This needs a freaking retrial. This is everything BUT justice. What did Guy do, suck off the entire jury and sell his soul to his lawyer to win this???

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Gunnerdad 2011/07/25 05:24:34

No

+3
She will pay for life. She watched her son die in front of her.
Guy won't even remember which one he hit when.

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Julian 2011/07/25 04:22:57

No

+2
She lost her son, I think that's sufficient punishment.

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Myst 2011/07/25 03:29:41

No

+3
Most major cities in this country are not meant for the pedestrian and here is a perfect example. You have working mother with children having no car, knowing the risks involved given no other alternative forced to walk home and in the process looses her son. The woman made an error in judgement choosing to cross where she did, don't you think she suffers for making that choice everyday. The man driving the car should never see the light of day; one eye, on pills and alcohol, two prior hit'n run convictions serving 6 months. Where were the City Planners, lawyers, and politicians before the accident?

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shonna.stephens 2011/07/25 03:09:20

Yes

Her child's safety is her responsibility, she should have realized that was not a good idea. I do feel bad for her loss.

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Myrle H... to shonna.... 2011/07/25 06:53:01

+1
But to jail her has she not suffered enough

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shonna.... to Myrle H... 2011/07/25 19:29:13

Yes, I understand that and I do deeply feel bad for her. But, she could have made a different decision, instead of rushing, that could have saved the life of her child.

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