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Ken Kifer's Murderer To Be Released 9/12/2005



 
 
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  #1  
Old September 5th 05, 04:03 AM
Rob Perkins
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Default Ken Kifer's Murderer To Be Released 9/12/2005

I was stunned to visit Ken Kifer's pages after a long time and find out
that he had been murdered by a serial drunk driver & drug abuser in Sep
2003. See
http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/index.htm


Now, a quick search of the Alabama Dept of Corrections site reveals that
this *******, Jimmy Don Rodgers, is going to be released on 9/12/2005,
after serving just two years for murder from the date of the killing.
Rodgers had been released from prison for DUI four hours before he,
once more drunk and high, killed Ken Kifer with his pickup truck.
237742 RODGERS, JIMMY DON W M 11/19/1973 Jackson
County 09/12/2005

This is a joke. If I got drunk and high and took a gun out and started
shooting randomly in the street, they'd lock me up for 20 years for
real. If you use a 3000 lb vehicle as a instrument of death, you serve
one year once you're convicted.

I would really like to know what the twisted reasoning is in the
sentencing decisions that are made when somone kills using a vehicle.

Rob
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  #2  
Old September 5th 05, 04:39 AM
Mike Kruger
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Default Ken Kifer's Murderer To Be Released 9/12/2005

"Rob Perkins" wrote in message
om...
I was stunned to visit Ken Kifer's pages after a long time and find out
that he had been murdered by a serial drunk driver & drug abuser in Sep
2003. See
http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/index.htm


Now, a quick search of the Alabama Dept of Corrections site reveals that
this *******, Jimmy Don Rodgers, is going to be released on 9/12/2005,
after serving just two years for murder from the date of the killing.
Rodgers had been released from prison for DUI four hours before he, once
more drunk and high, killed Ken Kifer with his pickup truck.
237742 RODGERS, JIMMY DON W M 11/19/1973 Jackson County 09/12/2005

This is a joke. If I got drunk and high and took a gun out and started
shooting randomly in the street, they'd lock me up for 20 years for real.
If you use a 3000 lb vehicle as a instrument of death, you serve one year
once you're convicted.

I would really like to know what the twisted reasoning is in the
sentencing decisions that are made when somone kills using a vehicle.

You might want to query Google Groups on this.

Here's a link to one earlier thread on the sentencing:
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.b...a317bb3bbda477

Ken's next of kin were consulted on the sentencing process. How much
consultation that was I don't know, but Ken (who I unfortunately never met
and only know through his writings) seemed to be a man of both strong
convictions and of charity and it is likely that his next of kin saw no
point to pressing for a long incarceration.

From a news story at the time of sentencing: "[DA] Perry said. "Nathan Kifer
is a very forgiving man who genuinely wanted Rodgers to succeed in
rehabilitation.""


  #3  
Old September 5th 05, 04:43 AM
Gooserider
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Posts: n/a
Default Ken Kifer's Murderer To Be Released 9/12/2005

Unreal. He would have received more time for looking at child porn. Not that
looking at child porn is good, but killing someone with a car is worse.
That's just wrong.


  #4  
Old September 5th 05, 07:52 AM
Zoot Katz
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Default Ken Kifer's Murderer To Be Released 9/12/2005

Mon, 05 Sep 2005 03:43:44 GMT,
, "Gooserider"
wrote:

Unreal. He would have received more time for looking at child porn. Not that
looking at child porn is good, but killing someone with a car is worse.
That's just wrong.


Welcome to the **** pile cagers have created in place of a just
society.
--
zk
  #5  
Old September 5th 05, 08:19 PM
Bob
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Default Ken Kifer's Murderer To Be Released 9/12/2005

Rob Perkins wrote:
I was stunned to visit Ken Kifer's pages after a long time and find out
that he had been murdered by a serial drunk driver & drug abuser in Sep
2003. See
http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/index.htm


Now, a quick search of the Alabama Dept of Corrections site reveals that
this *******, Jimmy Don Rodgers, is going to be released on 9/12/2005,
after serving just two years for murder from the date of the killing.
Rodgers had been released from prison for DUI four hours before he,
once more drunk and high, killed Ken Kifer with his pickup truck.
237742 RODGERS, JIMMY DON W M 11/19/1973 Jackson
County 09/12/2005

This is a joke. If I got drunk and high and took a gun out and started
shooting randomly in the street, they'd lock me up for 20 years for
real. If you use a 3000 lb vehicle as a instrument of death, you serve
one year once you're convicted.

I would really like to know what the twisted reasoning is in the
sentencing decisions that are made when somone kills using a vehicle.

Rob


The result that you and many others (myself included) find
objectionable about this instance has nothing to do with vehicles per
se and everything to do with the legal concept of intent. Since no one
else is chiming in I guess it's time for my semi-annual explanation of
the "twisted reasoning is in the sentencing decisions that are made
when somone kills using a vehicle".

The legal difference between a person getting drunk and shooting a gun
randomly in the street and the drunk that gets behind the wheel is
their intent. Presumably, the drunk driver's intent is get from Point A
to Point B. He is engaging in the otherwise legitimate action of
transportation. That his impairment endangers the lives of others is
unintentional. The drunk shooting a gun randomly in the street has no
legitimate purpose and a reasonable person could infer that his intent
is to at least threaten the lives of those on the street.

Murder requires either the intent to cause death or performing an act
that a reasonable person would know is likely to cause death. That's
*likely* not "possibly". Since the overwhelming majority of incidences
of drunk driving do not result in anyone's death, most DUI traffic
fatalities- absent any evidence of malicious intent or particularly
egregious driving behavior- simply don't possess all the elements of
the offense of murder. That's why the various States have laws dealing
with vehicular homicide as an offense separate from murder. The States
could make the penalties for vehicular homicide more severe of course
but then the law of unintended consequence could kick in. Do we really
want to risk seeing judges and juries refuse to convict the guilty
parties not because they believe the accused aren't guilty but simply
because they think the punishment for an *unintentional* act is too
severe?

Regards,
Bob Hunt

  #6  
Old September 5th 05, 08:19 PM
Bob
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Posts: n/a
Default Ken Kifer's Murderer To Be Released 9/12/2005

Rob Perkins wrote:
I was stunned to visit Ken Kifer's pages after a long time and find out
that he had been murdered by a serial drunk driver & drug abuser in Sep
2003. See
http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/index.htm


Now, a quick search of the Alabama Dept of Corrections site reveals that
this *******, Jimmy Don Rodgers, is going to be released on 9/12/2005,
after serving just two years for murder from the date of the killing.
Rodgers had been released from prison for DUI four hours before he,
once more drunk and high, killed Ken Kifer with his pickup truck.
237742 RODGERS, JIMMY DON W M 11/19/1973 Jackson
County 09/12/2005

This is a joke. If I got drunk and high and took a gun out and started
shooting randomly in the street, they'd lock me up for 20 years for
real. If you use a 3000 lb vehicle as a instrument of death, you serve
one year once you're convicted.

I would really like to know what the twisted reasoning is in the
sentencing decisions that are made when somone kills using a vehicle.

Rob


The result that you and many others (myself included) find
objectionable about this instance has nothing to do with vehicles per
se and everything to do with the legal concept of intent. Since no one
else is chiming in I guess it's time for my semi-annual explanation of
the "twisted reasoning is in the sentencing decisions that are made
when somone kills using a vehicle".

The legal difference between a person getting drunk and shooting a gun
randomly in the street and the drunk that gets behind the wheel is
their intent. Presumably, the drunk driver's intent is get from Point A
to Point B. He is engaging in the otherwise legitimate action of
transportation. That his impairment endangers the lives of others is
unintentional. The drunk shooting a gun randomly in the street has no
legitimate purpose and a reasonable person could infer that his intent
is to at least threaten the lives of those on the street.

Murder requires either the intent to cause death or performing an act
that a reasonable person would know is likely to cause death. That's
*likely* not "possibly". Since the overwhelming majority of incidences
of drunk driving do not result in anyone's death, most DUI traffic
fatalities- absent any evidence of malicious intent or particularly
egregious driving behavior- simply don't possess all the elements of
the offense of murder. That's why the various States have laws dealing
with vehicular homicide as an offense separate from murder. The States
could make the penalties for vehicular homicide more severe of course
but then the law of unintended consequence could kick in. Do we really
want to risk seeing judges and juries refuse to convict the guilty
parties not because they believe the accused aren't guilty but simply
because they think the punishment for an *unintentional* act is too
severe?

Regards,
Bob Hunt

  #7  
Old September 5th 05, 09:39 PM
Bill Henry
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Ken Kifer's Murderer To Be Released 9/12/2005

Bob wrote:

It's not a matter of "attitude" but of the law. Having said that, your
opinion and mine differ only in that I don't think that posts in r.b.m.
will make any difference at all. What *could* make a difference is if,
instead of simply ranting in a Usenet group, every poster directed
their comments to their elected legislator(s) and asked that the
penalties for vehicular homicide be made tougher. How many
emails/letters to people that can actually change the law, i.e. State
legislators, would have been generated from just this NG if that had
happened say five years ago?

Regards,
Bob Hunt


I think mandatory sentences and penalties for vehicular manslaughter
don't allow for certain cicumstances to be taken into consideration.

Certainly there should be some penalties and it's a tragedy, no question
about it. But there are cases where the victim's family wants to grant
leniency to the offender. Sometimes they don't even want the person
prosecuted. I've heard of cases where teenagers (drunk) killed their
best friends who were in another car.

Part of the reason we have judges to administer sentences is because
they're experienced enough to understand certain circumstances, whether
the person is remorseful about what happened, whether the person was
drunk, whether it was an accident or intentional, etc.
  #8  
Old September 5th 05, 09:56 PM
The Wogster
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Ken Kifer's Murderer To Be Released 9/12/2005

Bob wrote:
Rob Perkins wrote:

I was stunned to visit Ken Kifer's pages after a long time and find out
that he had been murdered by a serial drunk driver & drug abuser in Sep
2003. See
http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/index.htm


Now, a quick search of the Alabama Dept of Corrections site reveals that
this *******, Jimmy Don Rodgers, is going to be released on 9/12/2005,
after serving just two years for murder from the date of the killing.
Rodgers had been released from prison for DUI four hours before he,
once more drunk and high, killed Ken Kifer with his pickup truck.
237742 RODGERS, JIMMY DON W M 11/19/1973 Jackson
County 09/12/2005

This is a joke. If I got drunk and high and took a gun out and started
shooting randomly in the street, they'd lock me up for 20 years for
real. If you use a 3000 lb vehicle as a instrument of death, you serve
one year once you're convicted.

I would really like to know what the twisted reasoning is in the
sentencing decisions that are made when somone kills using a vehicle.

Rob



The result that you and many others (myself included) find
objectionable about this instance has nothing to do with vehicles per
se and everything to do with the legal concept of intent. Since no one
else is chiming in I guess it's time for my semi-annual explanation of
the "twisted reasoning is in the sentencing decisions that are made
when somone kills using a vehicle".

The legal difference between a person getting drunk and shooting a gun
randomly in the street and the drunk that gets behind the wheel is
their intent. Presumably, the drunk driver's intent is get from Point A
to Point B. He is engaging in the otherwise legitimate action of
transportation. That his impairment endangers the lives of others is
unintentional. The drunk shooting a gun randomly in the street has no
legitimate purpose and a reasonable person could infer that his intent
is to at least threaten the lives of those on the street.


#MODE RANT=ON

Which is the problem, did he intentionally drive or intentionally drink,
or both. He made a decision to drink, when the only previously arranged
method to get home was to drive a motor vehicle. Whether he intended to
mow down a cyclist should not be part of the equation, because as long
as it is, they will continue with slap-on-the-wrist sentances. Instead
the law should consider only the question of the intent to DUI, in these
cases, and make the individual involved pay as if the result was
intentional.

#MODE RANT=OFF

W










  #9  
Old September 5th 05, 10:19 PM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Ken Kifer's Murderer To Be Released 9/12/2005


Bob wrote:


Murder requires either the intent to cause death or performing an act
that a reasonable person would know is likely to cause death. That's
*likely* not "possibly". Since the overwhelming majority of incidences
of drunk driving do not result in anyone's death, most DUI traffic
fatalities- absent any evidence of malicious intent or particularly
egregious driving behavior- simply don't possess all the elements of
the offense of murder. That's why the various States have laws dealing
with vehicular homicide as an offense separate from murder. The States
could make the penalties for vehicular homicide more severe of course
but then the law of unintended consequence could kick in. Do we really
want to risk seeing judges and juries refuse to convict the guilty
parties not because they believe the accused aren't guilty but simply
because they think the punishment for an *unintentional* act is too
severe?

Regards,
Bob Hunt


I understand your points. And I understand that you, too, find the
early release of this scumbag to be distasteful.

But these attitudes, and the policies and decisions they precipitate,
are subject to change. It's my understanding that many European
countries are far stricter about DUI than the US is. And certainly,
the US is stricter than it once was.

I think posts, complaints, letters, etc. expressing outrage have some
vaule. I think these things will slowly start to change the attitudes.


- Frank Krygowski

 




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