Mom Whose Son Was Killed Jaywalking Won't Be Jailed
In April of 2010, Raquel Nelson and her four year-old son crossed a busy street near Atlanta. Her son was struck and killed, by a driver who "had been drinking earlier in the day while taking pain medication, was partially blind in one eye, and had two previous hit-and-run convictions." So naturally, prosecutors decide to arrest and charge Nelson with vehicular homicide, for jaywalking.
And earlier this month, a jury convicted her of it! She faced three years in jail, which would have been more time than the driver who actually struck and killed her son got. Because a mother whose child is killed while crossing a busy street must be harshly punished. But this story actually has a somewhat happy ending: the judge in the case just sentenced Nelson to probation with no jail time, and even offered her a new trial—a clear signal that this was a fucked up case to bring in the first place.
Fine. As long as this doesn't influence our national policy of putting everyone in jail for everything.
