The subject line is not clear in stating that Raquel Nelson was pardoned,
although the text in the message at the bottom mentions it. It's still
important to get the still-dangerous road where her son was killed improved for
pedestrians.
Liz
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Horoscope: You have to stop worrying about what everyone else says, especially
nonsense like "You should dress better," "Nice people don't do that," and "Put
down the gun and release the hostages."
________________________________
From: Andy Bach <[email protected]>
To: Bikies <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 27, 2011 4:33 PM
Subject: [Bikies] Fwd: Atlanta mom convicted of vehicular homicide for walking
across a street
Yes, it's also a plea for signing up and etc for the group:
http://action.smartgrowthamerica.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=7762
but it's an awful story.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Stephen Lee Davis, Transportation for America <[email protected]>
Demand a pardon and innocence for Raquel Nelson. End the
criminalization of walking.
It’s a shocking story that highlighted the equally shocking conditions
that many pedestrians and transit riders face every day.
Raquel Nelson, a metro Atlanta mother, was crossing the street from a
bus stop to her apartment complex with her three children after a long
trip that included an hour plus wait between buses. Along with a
handful of fellow passengers headed to the apartment complex, she
unsurprisingly chose to cross the street at the bus stop rather than
walk more than half a mile in the dark to the nearest traffic signal
and back with her tired children.
They were struck by a hit-and-run driver, killing her youngest son.
Then the unbelievable happened: Cobb County charged this grieving
mother, who did not even own a car at the time, with vehicular
homicide and other charges, carrying a potential sentence of 36 months
in jail. A jury of six – none of whom had ever taken a local bus –
convicted her July 12. Yesterday the judge sentenced her to 12 months’
probation, community service, and the burden of paying court costs. In
the face of widespread outcry, she also offered her the option of a
retrial, and Nelson intends to exercise that right to clear her name.
But we think she should never have been charged in the first place.
Sign this petition to the Georgia Governor and the Cobb County
Solicitor General requesting her immediate pardon or refusal to
prosecute her again in a new trial.
We’re going to combine our efforts with another petition started by
concerned activist Eliza Harris to deliver all the signatures together
and try to spare Raquel Nelson from ever facing these charges again.
The situation Raquel has been placed in is ridiculous and alarming – a
point we’ve been making all week in our media outreach and on our
blog:
What about the highway designers, traffic engineers, transit planners
and land use regulators who allowed a bus stop to be placed so far
from a signal and made no other provision for a safe crossing; who
allowed – even encouraged, with wide, straight lanes – prevailing
speeds of 50-plus on a road flanked by houses and apartments; who
carved a fifth lane out of a wider median that could have provided
more of a safe refuge for pedestrians; who designed the entire
landscape to be hostile to people trying to get to work and groceries
despite having no access to a car?
They are as innocent as the day is long, according to the solicitor
general’s office.
We think that it’s an outrage, and we want to make sure that Raquel
Nelson walks away from this with no probation, no fines, and certainly
no jail time. The death of her son is enough of a burden to bear.
Join us in calling for her to be cleared of these charges and pardoned
immediately.
Thanks for all you do,
Stephen Lee Davis
Deputy Communications Director
Transportation for America
Transportation For America [email protected]
1707 L Street NW #1050 Washington, DC 20036
--
a
Andy Bach,
[email protected]
608 658-1890 cell
608 261-5738 wk
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