Gagnon getting a plea deal? Duh, he's in Lucas County!

Maybe his 'connections' ran deeper than just the cop that sent the text message alerting the bar that he was drinking & driving? Just very sad, I am also disqusted, and feel so bad for the victims family members.

They would not have done this without the consent of the victims' families.

If this had gone to trial, the families, the rescuers, the witnesses and others would have been put through an emotional hell reliving what happened through their testimony - I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

I think that this is the right way to go. Gagnon will still receive punishment, he entered a plea of no contest - he is not saying he is innocent and justice has not been "denied".

this would happen pretty much anywhere in America...because our judicial system is a joke. What goes around comes around....with or without our overly lenient and forgiving judicial system.

...where the Lucas County Judicial System has acted wrongly. I don't know if this problem is because we have lawyers making laws when we should let the laws be made by only those wronged or what. I am sure that a woman raped might make different laws that a man who makes the laws. Or a man whose family is killed might make different laws than a lawyer sitting cooly in the statehouse deciding how to change laws.

The death penalty for vehicular manslaughter (whether drunk or not) might go a long way toward reducing the prison population, and getting some of the drunks off the road.

...sentencing, http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/2929.14.

I assume that was the proper charge (though perhaps I am wrong). This is a felony of the third degree. He could be sentenced to one, two, thre, four, or five years for each count. That would come to a maximum of 25 years. That would occur in any county of the state of Ohio. How he got away with murder in Lucas County is a little beyond me, unless our state law is not "hard" enough. Now there are additional counts of aggrevated vehicular assault. I will try to look up what is the maximum sentence for that degree of felony.

Code, http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/2903.08, Gagon's conviction for five counts of "Aggrevated Vehicular Assault" is a third degree felony (he had no past criminal or misdemeanor history to warrant upping it to a second degree felony). So he can get five years maximum for each of those convictions. Hence, 10 convictions for third degree felonies is a maximum of 50 years (if served concurrently).

...and get away with murder. Othewise, it would be bad for the independent small businessman who owns a bar.

maybe I'm just being too passionate in appreciating life and those impressionable lives around me that too often are taken away from us for no reason other than someone else's malicious selfishness.

It's those type of people that have no business enjoying the freedoms they've denied others.

It's apparent this type of tragedy hasn't happened to some of you.

but thanks for the respect towards my opinion.

I would hardly call 25 - 50 years in prison a slap on the ass. Of course there is rage that this jerk killed this family - I'm not making light of a drunk driver who killed so many people. However, he did not intend to kill anybody, and like it or not, that is a huge condition to meet before a crime is treated as a murder. Like it or not, this could easily be anybody's kid who drank too much & screwed up bad - could be your kid or nephew or grandson. Believe me, that many years in prison won't be a picnic - he will feel every minute of every day, and he will face what he's done every day of his life. And he'll be middle aged by the time he gets out regardless. I am not asking anybody to feel sympathy for him - but I am asking everybody to realistically 'get' that this is a goof ball kid who messed up badly, and knows he did - and the full force of the fact that he threw his life away has probably hit him, square between the eyes, and I"m sure if he could 'take it back', he would. Not having a trial spares the family & tax dollars for a trial, that would probably not result in more time served anyway. Yes, what he did was horrific - but like it or not, it is still considered an accident - by his own stupidity, yes, but still an accident, just as much as if he was sober & ran a red light.

I remember when this story was first posted on SB, and I'd asked users the question if they could remember being that young, and drinking or doping & driving & the youthfull assumption of being immortal, that bad things won't happen. I remember a few users who were big enough to admit that yes, they had drank & drove - some who were far older than this kid is. This kid has getting a huge punishment for what is still, like it or not, an accident . And your kid, nephew, niece, grandchild - could easily be the next Gagnon. And as dispicable as the horrible accidental traffic deaths were, and even though it was the fault of the drunk driver - when that drunk driver is your own loved one - perhaps you'll realize that losing 25 -50 years of your life, deserved or not - is far more than a slap on the ass, and they FEEL remorse & regret with every breath they take. I am not defending Gagnon's actions - my daughter & her friends take cabs when they go out if they'll be drinking, or they don't go out at all. But quite honestly, I know a huge number of people who are not worthless drunks, that have drank & driven - at least once or a few times, and maybe they were just damned lucky nothing horrible happened. How about a poll of who here, has never, ever drank & drove? Even once? Who here has never had a teen or any family member who's been stupid enough to do so? My husband is the most moral, ethical person I know & rarely drinks - he's an easy drunk. But back when he was about 22 yrs old, he did drive drunk & smashed his car into a tree. Could have been worse. It only takes ONE time to kill people, and destroy your own life. Gagnon destroyed his own life along with that families. Putting him away for 50 - 100 years serves no purpose at all. Quite honestly, I question whether even putting him away for 25 years serves any real purpose. Other than "an eye for an eye" (which if taken literally, means they have to give him the death penelty - for something most people have done at least once in their lives, but were lucky it didn't end in a tragedy.

...passionate about life. Gagnon could get anywhere from the minimum of 10 years (one year for each conviction of aggrevated vehicular homicide and aggrevated vehicular assault) to 50 years depending on how much each victim was "worth". Starling is right; we all do stupid things, and I am sure that Gagnon was quite "passionate" that night about getting drunk. But the original point of this post: that the Lucas County Judicial System allowed a "plea deal" to short-change justice has yet to be proved. I will admit to it if Gagnon gets less than three years for any of the five "no contest" pleas for aggrevated vehicular homicide. Then I will admit that business is more important that life in Ohio.

From this link, http://www.florida-dui-lawyers-attorneys.com/florida_pen_3.htm, it can be seen that conviction for vehicular manslaughter or homicide results in a $10,000 fine and/or a maximum of 15 years in prison. Now I'll try to find out if such convictions are served concurrently, or consecutively (like Gagnon's hopefully will be).

Out in the West where they are tough on crime (unlike Ohio) this guy, http://www.denverpost.com/ci_6503366?source=rss, faces 16 to 174 years. I guess judges have to have some disgression, but maybe we ought to have three judges to decide each case rather than leave it to one man.

I'm waiting for users to speak up - who here, has never, ever, not even once, driven a car after drinking? I'm sure there's some who have not. Personally, I drove once after 1 1/2 drinks in a 3 hour time frame - doesnt sound like much, but it was enough to put me over the legal limit & I'm an easy drunk, doesn't take much to make me dangerous to drive. Or, who here, has a kid who drank & drove even once? I am not trying to diminish the lives that were lost - Gagnon was pretty wasted I guess, and my heart goes out to the family members of those who were killed. But I hear people here talk all the time about 'forgiveness', and God forgiving 'sins' - and yet, these same people are ready to crucify a young guy for stupidly getting behind the wheel of a car - something most people have done at one time or another. When I see Gagnon on the news, he doesn't strike me as being cocky or indifferent about any of this - he strikes me as a young kid who's fully aware of the damage he's caused, the people who hate him, the pain he's caused both the deceased family members as well as his own family, and has been hit square between the eyes that he's destroyed his own life - that when the day comes when he is free again, the odds of him re-building any kind of a life again, is slim to none. I see a kid who looks terrified, ashamed, overwhelmed, doomed.

I was never a fan of Gagnon - he struck me as just another young guy who lived to party, consequences be damned. But in all fairness, I don't know Gagnon - I don't know what his life was, or even how often he drank or partied. I assume he did quite a bit of it at the Rodeo at least. But I doubt he got behind the wheel to drive, with the intent to crash into anybody's car to kill them. If he was a guy who had multiple DUI's, & who just kept drinking & driving - I'd be more inclined to say lock him up for decades. But what I am seeing, is a lot of people with multiple DUI's, who rarely do little if any jail time & they keep drinking & driving with little consequence. And I see this kid - I have no idea if he had prior DUI's - who screwed up royally in his driving, which caused the deaths of several people. I think we do need better drinking & driving laws & punishments that stick. But I honestly don't see what purpose is served by locking him up for so long, his chances of ever being a productive person are gone.

I know several of you are so furious that you'd like the death penalty for him - if it was your family that was killed, you'd be out for blood. But the other side is that this is still a very young guy who probably never imagined he'd cause so much pain & destructtion - out for some fun, not thinking, thinks he's 'ok' to drive, 'won't happen to him' mentality - which describes exactly a large percentage of kids his age - of teens in general. My point is, the next Gagnon could just as easily be YOUR child. And just maybe, it could be the GOOD child who never does anything wrong, doesn't drink, do drugs - except this one time............................................................

Locking him up for decades does nothing. A punishment long enough to send a message, but make it equitable for all DUI's. How many elected officials have gotten DUI's? Old enough to freaking know better. Ho;w many got stopped for speeding or running red lights, but nobody died? But they COULD have. I have a lot of respect for the families of kids who were killed by drunk drivers who 'forgive' the person who was drinking. Not an easy thing to do, forgive somebody who took away the people you loved. But people have accidents, make mistakes, screw up, use poor judgement - all the damned time. Just a coin toss whether the screw up will result in a death. But those parents who were able to forgive, knew that it was an accident, and no amount of jail time would bring their kid back. I'm just puzzled over some of the hypocracy - people preach forgiveness, but then they preach "an eye for an eye'. Not the same things at all.

...was usually extra cautious (I remember sitting at a yellow light until I realized it was flashing, and would never turn red). I never tried to escape being arrested, or drove the wrong way on an expresway. So what should be his punishment? Take away his keys? The range of incarceration is very large, anywhere from 10 years to 50 years. How much were the lives worth that he snuffed out? Were they worth only a year each? Two? Three? Four? Or the maximum of five? Or should he get a "discount" for bulk slaughter. How do we know that he has learned his lesson? Or should we just take a chance, and let him out, and see what he does after that? There are those who believe he will never change (once a drunk, always a drunk), or those who believe that the law of averages will never strke him again. Sure, many of us have children that we fear would be in the same situation.

My father told me once that the first time I went to jail he would bail me out, and the second time I could "rot". I took that to heart. Was Gagnon "enabled" by family and friends? Who knows, but we all take a chance if he drives our roads until he learns to imbibe responsibly.

...in Ohio, http://briefcase8.com/2008/05/05/consecutive-sentencing/, seems to indicate that unless the defense attorney strives to ensure sentences are concurrent, common law (if followed) assumes all sentences in a particular jurisdiction (usually county) will be consecutive. If Gagnon had been involved in a "Death Race 2000", and getting in accidents in different counties there might be some problem with him getting a sentence in one county tacked on after a sentence in another county. Funny how law works, what seems sensible to them, seems nonsensical to me.

...sleep in my bed at night rather than be on the roads when the drunks of LEW are out cruising the highways. And be especially wary during the "holidays", because you never know when someone ia ready to smash headlong into the New Year.

indicates no plea bargain. Perhaps the laws of Ohio should be changed just for this offender because more than one member of a family died. Maybe we should no longer be a nation of laws, but rather one of vengeance. The more I read about this (with a cool head) the more I think that everything that should have been done has been done. Maybe our sentencing should be more in line with Florida's ($10,000 fine and/or a maximum of 15 years incarceration for each vehicular homicide), but we have what we have. Most societies have different levels of punishment based on "diminished capacity" (unless they are a "teetotaling" society in which the imbibement of alcohol isn't tolerated). And I have to wonder if the father of the family isn't beating himself over the head with the knowledge that if he'd been off the road in bed instead of out at trying to drive the roads of Toledo at night he would never have meet this Michigan resident trying to have a "good time".

So, Brian, you hold our county's justice in disrepute, but you have yet to provide any factual evidence that this is the result of justice in Lucas County rather than that the county followed state law. Of course, just keep dwelling on what happened. It is a tragedy. But that doesn't change that the prosecution adhered to "state" requirements of justice. Prove to me that such a case would have been handled any differently in any other county in Ohio, and a harsher verdict wouldn't have been overturned in a higher court.

Here's a case, http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/docs/pdf/7/2005/2005-ohio-2929.pdf, from 2005 where a driver from Caroll, OH (served by the Canton Post Office in Northeast Ohio) challenged his sentence for vehicular homicide. I imagine that Gagnon's defense team will also challenge his conviction(s), but the neat thing is that he could get sentences "vacated", but it is entirely legal for other sentences to be extended until the original length of the concurrent sentences is the same. So maybe he'll save himself (and the state) the additional costs of an appeal.

This report shows not only Lucas County "drops the ball" on prosecutions, http://www.woio.com/Global/story.asp?S=3832103&nav=0rd1eN4S.

The way I understand it brian, is this 'plea', won't lessen his time in prison - it is simply a plea to keep it from going to trial - not necessarily to spare Gagnon, but probably to spare the victim's family members - and the cost of a trial (tax dollars at work). It's possible a trial would result in a longer sentence - but probably not by much. I'm not sure, but I think the victim's family had some say about whether to go to trial or not - it's very possible they don't want a trial, maybe they are just burnt out from it all, & know nothing will bring back their loved ones.

brian said "I know someone that has 12 DUI's and is STILL driving the streets." - And THAT is the problem I'm talking about. The courts would do better to stiffen the laws & make the laws stick, for DUI's - no more slaps on the wrist & minimal fines.. One note - people who make good money, aren't as affected by fines, like the elected officials - to them, it's no worse than paying a speeding ticket. To others who make very little money, that fine can eat up a months salary or more. My daughter's girlfriend got her first DUI, and if I recall, she had to spend a few days in jail (not enough) - which was divided into work release week-ends (to save her job) at Nazareth Hall (not the nice part) and a fine of about $300 (not enough). if I recall (not including court costs).. That was enough for her, I doubt she'll ever drink & drive again. But was it stiff enough? I don't think so.

I don't know enough about the laws - and don't claim to have the answers. But it seems to me that consideration should be given for a first offense with no priors of any kind - which includes Gagnon. I think people made a knee-jerk judgement of who he is when this happened. And while I"m sure he wasn't a virgin drinker - I'm sure he's been out drinking with friends, etc. (who hasn't by 24 yrs old?) - there's nothing to prove that he's ever drank & drove before, no criminal record or felonies. But he wasn't bar hopping, like a lot of young people do - it was a family party, he had a room to stay in he didn't use at the right time. Why isn't anybody who was at the Rodeo Bar being called to task - they knew he was drunk. Can his family be charged with enabling? Of course not.

I do admit that this is a subject close to my own heart (first offenses) - my son was given 10 yrs in max security prison - dispite of having no priors, being an honor's student, dispite dozens of respectable people - teachers, church members - write letters on his behalf - the prosecution wanted 5 years, the judge sentenced my son to 18 - 78 years in maxiimum security prison (for armed robbery, no shots fired - less than $300. 'collected') , but he wrote & said out loud "He will do 5 years". He didn't stand by what he'd said & written in court. A 5 yr sentence would have accomplished as much as 20 years for my son - nothing good was served by tacking on an additional 5 years, after he was imprisoned. He was & is the most moral, ethical, kind person I know - who used horrible judgement to solve what he thought was a life destroying problem at the time (it wasn't, but he thought it was, he was naive. (His record was spotless - so much so, he worked for the warden as his personal secretary - he was trusted, and his crime did not define who he was. During those 10 years, I watched people with lots of worse priors (premeditated murder, rape, bank robbery) - repeating the crimes after being released - getting out in 6 years. Equtable? Hell no. I realize my son's situation was different - he didn't kill anybody. But my point is simply that southendbirdy is right - every case is different. I had Judge Handwork as a prof at UT years ago, and he'd said the same thing - every case is different, each case has it's own variables that need to be considered. I guess I'm saying that for a first offender, when the crime was not intentional - I think the judge should be able to decide whether sentences are to be run concurrently or not , or whether to stack the sentence by how many people in the car were killed - or not. While this is tragic - a family of 5 killed - it could just as easily have been a fender bender or one person killed - and that one person could easily have been a career drunk himself.

I honestly don't know how anybody could go the wrong way on an x-way - but I know of 2 young people who have done it, one drunk, one not (no accidents). Years ago, I found myself going the wrong way down a one way street (busy street) in an unfamiliar area - no accident, stone cold sober - but it scared hell out of me (didn't know the pattern of one way streets, but people who live there, do). I wonder if while doing that, if I had crashed into a car & killed somebody, would I be looking at a prison sentence? I think ''motive" & "Intent" factor into this.

I don't know the answer - but I fail to see how imprisoning Gagnon for 25 years or more will accomplish anything more than a 5 - 10 yr sentence. They've already taken his license for life - which is one of the big problems with repeat offenders, they drive anyway, get slaps on the wrists. But most people FEEL those years in prison (some are plotting the next federal crime to go to fed prison, as a badge of honor, yes) - I somehow doubt Gagnon would be a risk in the future. I think the biggest risk to Gagnon will be suicide attempts - during his prison time, or after release. IF Gagnon had a prior DUI or any criminal record at all, then yes, this sentence would make more sense to me. I just think it's easy to sit on the sidelines & judge other people who've screwed up or had their screw up turn into something horrific, but unintended. The difference is all the people who did the same damned thing, but nobody died & they got away with it, or got off with slaps on the wrists.

There's an article in the Blade today - man in Wood county, drunk driver, crashed into kids on bikes, one dead - looking at about 4 yrs in jail. Now, I imagine if 3 kids died, the courts could easily tack on 4 years for each fatality - 12 yrs in prison. Not sure if he had priors or not. I''m suggesting that for a first offender, no intent to kill, no premeditation - drunk driving offenses - then the judge should be allowed to let the sentences run at the same time. Second or more offenses - then stack the sentence anyway he wants, or not. .

Prison is supposed to be about rehabilitation, as much as it is about punishment for crimes. There is no rehabilitation that will happen in Gagnon's life atter doing 25 yrs or more in prison. That long of a sentence for a first offense just sounds more like vengence, 'an eye for an eye'. You might as well give him the death penalty - his life is over. If he does 50 years - not a chance of a life. Factor in the cost per day of keeping inmates in prison - used to be something like $20,000 a year, per inmate; factor in the cost of him collecting welfare or disability the remainder of his old age when he gets out, the cost of medical dental care per inmate (tax dollars at work). The Amish tend to believe that it is God's place to judge, and Amish people will not only forgive the person who did wrong - they won't pursue it in the courts either. I find it very hypocritical to see some users here preach God & forgiveness - but call for Gagnon's blood & vengence.

brian - I guess I'm glad I'm not a close friend of yours. Your 'off with his head' thinking on first time offfenders -regardless of the variables, the 'what really happened?", regardless of whether the first time screw up was intentional or not, or a youthful screwup - would worry me. A side note regarding your friends doing life in prison - depends on intent & priors, would seem to me, but the courts think differently. My son's ex cell mate is a sweet guy who got into an argument with an ex girlfriend & she got very physical, pushing, hitting - he had a heavy box in his hands (he was moving) & lost his cool & shoved her - but that shove was just enough to make her hurtle down a flight of stairs, where she died. At 20 yrs old, he freaked out, hid the body (which was found shortly after). After the fact, he will tell you that he should have called the police immediately. But at 20 yrs old, he wasn't thinking clearly. He's now in his 15th year in prison, with 7 years to go before he's eliglble for parole - and they always deny parole the first time around. The victim's family sued him for 2 million dollars (and his mother, but she got out of it, wasn't her crime) & won. So when he is released (if ever), he has to pay that 2 million dollars - from a crappy job that require no skills. This guy was not a career criminal - it could have happened to anybody's kid, one angry shove (she was beating him over the head with something that hurt enough for him to react). He was remorseful immediately - he did not intend to hurt her - and yet...................... I just don't see a lot of equity in our justice system at all. Our country has more people in prison per capita, than any other industrialized country in the world - and I've learned that the prison system is big business - huge money makers. I am not suggesting being light on crime. I'm suggesting a re-think for first offenders, non-premeditated crimes. I am suggesting that we have stiffer laws for repeat offenders - and make the laws stick. Gagnon did not walk into a bank with a gun & intentionally shoot people. He did not get behind the wheel with the mindset to cause harm. Yes, he should have stayed at Taco Bell. And why didn't anybody retain him? Because people are afraid they'll get into trouble by restraining a drunk driver while waiting for the cops to show up. Remove that threat. And, why isn't the Oregon cop being taken to task? He knew this kid, knew he was drinking & probably driving - via his text message to the Rodeo Bar. He knew the people at the Rodeo Bar, he knew Gagnon & his family, he hung out in the damned parking lot checking the girls out (I have this on authority). Nothing will happen to this cop - not while Oreogn's mayor Marge Brown is in charge.

.

…wondering: did your son appeal his conviction? In several of the links I posted above about Ohio sentencing the one thread that connects them is that the judge cannot impose a maximum sentence for a first offense unless there are other “prior” or bad conditions. In several cases of vehicular homicide the driver refused to cooperate with the police (by giving his license information), or fled the scene, so s/he received additional incarceration. Maybe your son was convicted before this requirement (to not impose a maximum sentence on a first-time offender) became part of law.

...than time served. I often wonder why more parolees don't commit suicide. Who is likely to hire them? Who is likely to come to them for services (if they do start a business)? Whole areas of life are forever closed to them (they can never be a lawyer, they are unlikely to ever hold a job in civil service, and they can't even vote in some states). Perhaps I am a "sniveling liberal" but I have often thought that the threat of prison should be enough for most of us to follow the "straight and narrow". Maybe I don't give people enough credit. Maybe many are more forgiving that I give them credit for, but I have often wondered if I ever went to prison how would I earn a living afterwards? So paying my taxes is always at the top of my list.

I believe if you read the story correctly, Gagnon entered a plea to all charges with no
promises of anything. The maximum sentence provided by law is 2-8 yrs for each count of aggravated veh. homicide and 1-5 years for each count of agg. veh assault.
Until the law is changed, there is no more severe penalty available. Any time he gets is mandatory with no early release and he will lose his license for life. The case law allows for concurrent or consecutive sentences, which are up to the judge.

I don't understand the claim of some great deal, it would have been the same if he went to trial or not.

southendbirdy - my son's case never went to trial, he confessed to what he did (and was confessing to some the cops accused him of that he didnt do, because he was scared shitless - but they said 'cooperate & we'll go easy on ya'. I had a hell of time finding an attorney we could afford (some wanted a minimum of $20,000, few would take the case because he'd confessed & because the Blade turned it into a media circus - it was a no-win). Actually, we got lucky & had Jon Richardson - but no appeals happened. I remember sitting in court & hearing the prosecutor ask for 5 years, because he was a first time offender, no prior record, and hearing the judge repeat (and wrote it down) that my son would serve 5 years in maximum security prison (but sentenced him to 18 - 78 years). That 5 year mark came & went, the judge made him serve another 5 years. Then when the judge 'brought' him home, I remember watching my son start to fall apart when this same judge ordered him to serve another 6 months in work release downtown (not better than jail - more restrictions, one slip up & you can be sent back to prison for probation violation - and that 'slip up' could be as little as being 5 minutes late returning from your job). Judge McDonald said that he felt my son needed time to 'adapt to society' again - which made no sense, because my son is one of the most 'adjusted' people I know & the judge knew that. Six months more doesnt sound like much - but when you've waited 10 years to come home, and the judge says you are coming HOME, you think you will get to go HOME, not to jail again. I honestly don't understand how the system works. But I do know, that Hodges (the UT security cop who shot & killed that female student just because he 'felt like it' ) - got something like 30 years, for pre--meditated murder. When you consider that Gagnon may be serving 50 years - it hardly seems equitable.

It is damned hard creating a life again after being in prison for 10 or more years. Technology changes, you have to relearn everything. And nobody wants to hire somebody with a felony on their record. Not being allowed to vote is not a big enough deal, compared to the other real difficulties they deal with. Just finding an apartment that will rent to you is a task (credit checks), or buying a car. For 5 years after my son was released, he had to meet with his probation officer to be drug tested - even though my son never used drugs in his entire life, and drugs played no part in his crime. Made no sense, but they do what they have to do. My son worked his ass off applying (begging) for jobs - & he finally got one, that helped him re-start his life again. In the 6 years since he's been home, he's accomplished more than many people do in their entire life. My point is simply that they can re-build a life, but it's damned hard. And making Gagnon serve even 25 years, is pretty much a guarantee he'll end up on the streets when he's out, or living off welfare, or committing suicide. But maybe the victim's surviving family would feel justice had been served. Just feels more like 'an eye for an eye' to me though - vengeance, for the sake of vengeance. To ensure he'll never have any kind of life again - I fail to see what that accomplishes.

the link to that thread is right here

...who had a record. He had stolen a motorcycle, and convicted and sentenced after some change in the law. The judge felt sorry for him, and told him that if he had come before him a month earlier he would have given him a suspended sentence for his "joy ride". Instead, the judge told him that he had to sentence him to the minimum (three years). When he got out he went to another city where the postmaster there had known his parents (who worked in the Toledo post offices). He begged him for a job, and the postmaster decided to take a chance on him. He worked there three years, and transferred back to Toledo. He has walked the straight and narrow ever since. But he is the only one I knew among about 400 employees back then who had a record. it isn't that you can't be employed, but the likelihood is that you never will be (in civil service).

My son was sentenced in 1992, bad timing, I guess.

The paper said that Gagnon had not had drunken driving charges before. It's a tragedy. For his victims family, for his family and for his own lost life. He will be in his 70's before he is free again. This is a very sad story. Sometimes there is a thing that is so tragic there is not going to be an adequate remedy. Ever