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'Toyota defense' might rescue jailed Minnesota man

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"Lee's Camry wasn't among those subject to Toyota's recent safety recalls, but Toyota did recall some 1996 Camrys for defective cruise controls that could cause sudden acceleration.

Lee's current attorney, Brent Schafer, said several '96 Camry owners whose cars were not in the recall have filed sudden-acceleration complaints with federal regulators."

The guy's not being set free. He's only getting a new trial. I think there's enough evidence to at least warrant the new trial. Also, they still have his car in impound, so it would be pretty easy to test for these design flaws, wouldn't it?
 
I just can't BELIEVE the heartlessness of whatever cock gobbler actually gave this guy 8 years. Assuming it was not the car and it was just incompetence behind the wheel, yes he killed some people, including his own family members. 8 years? To what end could that possibly serve? And now his remaining kids always asking when daddy will be home? Truly absurd and asinine bordering on evil.
 
Lee, a recent Hmong immigrant with only about a year of driving experience, was driving his pregnant wife, 4-year-old daughter, father and brother home from church the afternoon of June 10, 2006, when their Camry zoomed up an Interstate 94 exit ramp in St. Paul. Police said it was traveling between 70 and 90 mph when it rear-ended an Oldsmobile stopped at a red light.
At his 2007 trial, Lee testified he was certain he tried to brake. But a city mechanic testified the brakes worked fine, and Carruthers, the prosecutor, argued Lee must have hit the gas by mistake. Lee's attorney at trial, Tracy Eichorn-Hicks, seemed to concede as much, arguing Lee's actions fell short of gross negligence
Still, Carruthers said several factors would work against Lee. Lee testified his brakes didn't work, not that his car suddenly accelerated. And two experts - a city mechanic and an engineer hired by Lee's insurance company - didn't identify sudden acceleration as a problem with the car. Schafer said sudden acceleration is the only reasonable explanation for what happened. Really? Lee said he never had driven before immigrating to the United States and settling in St. Paul's large Hmong community in 2004. He was working to get his high school equivalency degree before the crash, and he's still working on it in prison.

Maybe I can ask for a refund for the speeding ticket I got in my '87 Corolla? It suddenly accelerated-nevermind that it has a carburetor and very little electronics. Toyota is like a wounded fish-and the sharks are circling.
 
There is reasonable doubt that he did it. Isn't that enough to set him free? This is the USA so that should be enough.
 
Considering he has only been driving for a year I'd say he mistaken the gas for the brakes. As he panicked when he realized the car wasn't stopping he probably stomped on the gas even more still thinking it's the brakes.

Sad that 3 people died but I don't think he deserved 8 years because it wasn't intentional.
 
jtvang125 said:
Considering he has only been driving for a year I'd say he mistaken the gas for the brakes. As he panicked when he realized the car wasn't stopping he probably stomped on the gas even more still thinking it's the brakes.

Sad that 3 people died but I don't think he deserved 8 years because it wasn't intentional.
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Dude WTF? 1 year is more than enough time to tell the difference between brakes and gas.

He would have to be retarded not to know.
 
RoloMather said:
Dude WTF? 1 year is more than enough time to tell the difference between brakes and gas.

He would have to be retarded not to know.
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True, but 8 years still serves no purpose. Will he learn anything from it? Will you? Society is served in no way good by it.
 
Skoorb said:
True, but 8 years still serves no purpose. Will he learn anything from it? Will you? Society is served in no way good by it.
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Agreed. The US prison system is more about punishment than reform. :\

Is it just that MJ smoker who never harmed anybody go to jail for 30+ years just for possession?
 
Skoorb said:
True, but 8 years still serves no purpose. Will he learn anything from it? Will you? Society is served in no way good by it.
Click to expand...

Sure, the punishment deters people from repeating his offense. You don't want 8 years in prison do you?

If you give him 8 days and slap to his head, people may be less careful than they already are.
 
MJinZ said:
Sure, the punishment deters people from repeating his offense. You don't want 8 years in prison do you?

If you give him 8 days and slap to his head, people may be less careful than they already are.
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Repeating what offense, flooring his car my mistake into others with his family in it?!
 
Skoorb said:
True, but 8 years still serves no purpose. Will he learn anything from it? Will you? Society is served in no way good by it.
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It serves no purpose? Society is served in a very good way-by getting a deadly driver off of the roads for eight years! He was going between 70mph and 90mph on an exit ramp.
 
RoloMather said:
Agreed. The US prison system is more about punishment than reform. :\

Is it just that MJ smoker who never harmed anybody go to jail for 30+ years just for possession?
Click to expand...

even with pounds of marijuana and clear intent to distribute, i don't think you'd get 30 years...

not that i think anyone should go to prison for pot. but for small amounts (ounce or less, maybe?) intended for personal consumption, most states give probation. if you really get boned, you might have to spend 2-7 days in jail.
 
marincounty said:
It serves no purpose? Society is served in a very good way-by getting a deadly driver off of the roads for eight years! He was going between 70mph and 90mph on an exit ramp.
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He's learned his lesson. It would save $20k/year to simply revoke his license, not to mention then his kids wouldn't have their dad in prison.
 
Skoorb said:
I just can't BELIEVE the heartlessness of whatever cock gobbler actually gave this guy 8 years. Assuming it was not the car and it was just incompetence behind the wheel, yes he killed some people, including his own family members. 8 years? To what end could that possibly serve? And now his remaining kids always asking when daddy will be home? Truly absurd and asinine bordering on evil.
Click to expand...

I agree with Skoorb. Insanity.
 
Skoorb said:
He's learned his lesson. It would save $20k/year to simply revoke his license, not to mention then his kids wouldn't have their dad in prison.
Click to expand...

It's not just about him, or his kids. If he was truly guilty, and all evidence points as much, he was probably given the maximum sentence by a Jury. If he isn't guilty, someone is at fault. Either the mechanic who couldn't figure out wtf was wrong with his car, Toyota design or whatever.
 
I believe it that a Toyota as far back as '96 had the acceleration problem. The first time I went out learning to drive was in a Toyota Celica (don't remember the year) and the brakes went out on me with the car going faster and faster despite me pressing as hard as I could on the brakes. Luckily the emergency brake did work and we were in a fairly deserted stretch of road. I don't know if it was just the regular brakes going out on me or if it was the same issue that all these other cars are having, but that was not a fun experience.
 
...ladies and gentlemen of this supposed jury, I have one final thing I want you to consider. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Chewbacca. Chewbacca is a Wookiee from the planet Kashyyyk. But Chewbacca lives on the planet Endor. Now think about it; that does not make sense!

Why would a Wookiee, an eight-foot tall Wookiee, want to live on Endor, with a bunch of two-foot tall Ewoks? That does not make sense! But more important, you have to ask yourself: What does this have to do with this case? Nothing. Ladies and gentlemen, it has nothing to do with this case! It does not make sense! Look at me. I'm a lawyer defending man that crashed a Toyota, and I'm talkin' about Chewbacca! Does that make sense? Ladies and gentlemen, I am not making any sense! None of this makes sense! And so you have to remember, when you're in that jury room deliberatin' and conjugatin' the Emancipation Proclamation, does it make sense? No! Ladies and gentlemen of this supposed jury, it does not make sense! If Chewbacca lives on Endor, you must acquit! The defense rests
 
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