No Fingers In Justice's Eye

I guess sometimes justice really is blind, and jurors can put aside the fame, power, and wealth of a defendant and just look at the facts of the case.

Janklow is an unapologetic speeder and reckless driver. He told prosecutors that he "does speed when he drives and he has run stop signs but that he would not speed through a blind intersection on purpose."

Oh. I see.

And in a 1999 speech to the state Legislature, he said:

"Bill Janklow speeds when he drives - shouldn't, but he does," Janklow said then. "When he gets the ticket he pays it, but if someone told me I was going to jail for two days for speeding, my driving habits would change."

In one notorious instance, two reporters were riding with Janklow when he made a 99-mph mad dash, through heavy smoke, down a mountain highway in the Black Hills to escape a raging forest fire in 2002. Janklow had tried to go faster, but the computer in his sport utility vehicle kept the engine from going past 99 mph.

I'm amazed that Janklow has killed only one person [that we know about] in his lifetime. He sounds like an aggressive, arrogant driver who for some reason believed that the worst result of speeding — and I mean REALLY speeding — is a ticket, which you then pay and forget about.

Luck Runs Out

Unfortunately, Janklow's attitude and dangerous driving finally caught up to him and his victim. With his aggressiveness, he ended someone's life and ruined his own. The jury rightly convicted him of second degree manslaughter, as well as speeding, running a stop sign, and reckless driving. He now faces up to ten years in prison.

So it was a good day for justice, but still a very sad day. But maybe Janklow's case will remind the rest of us how dangerous the roads are, how much we take our safety for granted every time we get in a car, and that speed limits exist for a reason.