There was an article today in the Strib metro section on page 7 about the conviction and sentencing of a young woman for criminal vehicular murder. Within the next few days I expect we'll see the requisite article on the Commentary page of the Strib by the exec. dir. of MADD or Minnesotans for Safe Driving. Not by chance I was in the courtroom to watch the proceedings. I had read in February of the crash and by chance I was in court on another case I was following when Nicole Gebeck was arraigned on the charges. As it turned out I sat next to her father in those proceedings. For those of you who have never sat through a trial or sentencing I would highly recommend it. Be forewarned: it will challenge your mind in ways you would not have imagined. Make no doubt about it, despite the mental gymnastics Judge Aldrich led us through, this woman murdered a man with her vehicle and got a slap on the wrist. It was the most convoluted sentence I have heard. Maybe the judge thinks he is breaking new ground here but it was the wrong time and the wrong case. I don't know this judge's history or the record of his decisions. Maybe there is somone out there who could enlighten me. We have a real problem in downtown Minneapolis. First Avenue North on just about any night but especially on Thursday thru Saturday is frightening. I heard Dan McCafferty, the developer of Block E., say on the radio that we have a great downtown. That in other downtown areas across the country people desert the downtown area. That may be true but unfortunately too many of the people downtown are like Nicole Gebeck who drink themselves to near oblivion and drive off into the night. I know whereof I speak. Believe me were it not for some amazing luck in life I could have sat where Nicole sat yesterday. I nearly did as a young man. The only difference between me and Nicole, aside from the most obvious, are that I killed an inanimate object and she killed a human. I got a break because I had a friend who helped me out and I made the most of it. Like I say, I'm lucky. I agree with Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar's office that they disagree with the sentence. I would also like to suggest that the city look hard at the idea of lobbying the state legislature to allow liquor establishments to stay open later and, god forbid, serve liquor. I know that sounds ridiculous I think it might have the effect of relaxing the atmosphere a bit and lead to a more staggered, if you will, and orderly departure from bars and clubs and make the job of law enforcement of all our laws easier. Just an opinion. Tim Connolly Ward 7 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get Yahoo! Mail - Free email you can access from anywhere! http://mail.yahoo.com/
