borndem, I think this trial will be just as interesting as the first one.
I won't be able to watch it continuously but I do hope to "keep up" with the trial testimony each day. I am hoping that WPTV or another media source will archive it.
I do believe Judge Colbath will have very little patience and will move this trial forward.
I, like you, wonder if John Goodman will take the stand.
Now .. . we can hope that there is no misconduct with any of the jurors (only to be discovered after the verdict . . and Goodman might get another trial!) Yikes!
Scott Wilson had his entire future ahead of him and John Goodman took that away from Wilson. Who knows what greatness he might have achieved in his lifetime. What kind of person would walk away from the scene of such a horrific accident and let a person drown without making any attempt to immediately call 911 or attempt to save Scott Wilson?
My mother was killed in a car accident as a result of a drunk driver. Needless to say, I am not very fond of drunk drivers! Period!
bbm
What kind of person, indeed. Someone who was too drunk to either know what had happened, or to care.
Oh my, Ann-Tx, what an unbelievable tragedy for you and your family. It would be very difficult for me not to have left my seat in a courtroom to just go over & choke the driver, and I am one big wimp. But that would be quite a different story in that situation -- my wimpiness would be totally overcome by grief and anger.
If someone is drunk & he/she gets behind the wheel & starts a car, he is loading a pistol, IMO. If he then gets on a street, he has fired a shot in the dark, knowing it could very well hurt someone . It may hit someone; it may not. Those acts are legal malice. Malice must be proved to convict for 2nd degree murder in NC. Yes, malice is spite & ill will,
however, the legal meaning of malice also refers to a person's intention to do injury to another party. And that is exactly what a drunk behind a wheel is doing -- no regard for others and knowing that he may well do harm. Grrrr. Excuse me for preaching to the choir. And that is what John Goodman did -- he loaded the gun and went out and fired it. And on that night, the bullet hit & killed a fine young man. No, Goodman didn't swerve & try to hit him, but he got behind the wheel when he was way beyond the legal limit. A cab? A friend? No-o-o-o, I'll get in my car & drive myself home.
And that second in time cannot be re-called. And Goodman needs to be punished just like any other stupid drunk behind a wheel should be. In jail. For years.
I watched a trial here in Raleigh & the driver was drunk (0.23), got in his $85,000 Benz & killed a 20 yr old professional ballerina by rear-ending her car while his speed was ~ 85mph. He had a scratch on his forehead -- not even a stitch or a Bandaid. He got sentenced to 3-5 years. The jury had a problem understanding the legal meaning of "malice," (as I said, part of a M2 requirement), so they gave him "Death by Vehicle."
Please forgive the rant.
