The last thing you'll probably hear is a ringtone...

There are times I find myself thinking the justice system just doesn't work. Then, there are those times I know the justice system doesn't work. Of course, since I'm writing about it at all, you know it has to be one of the latter times.

For this, we head to Urbana, Illinois, also known as the home of the University of Illinois. Jennifer Stark, a 19-year-old of Urbana is in court, tearfully awaiting to be sentenced "for actions that led to the death" of Matthew Wilhelm. She nods that she understands the maximum sentence Judge Richard Klaus is handing down - six months of conditional discharge, a $1,000 fine, and traffic safety school. Yeah, that was the maximum sentence for "actions that led to the death" of a person.

The quotation marks highlight the phrase "actions that led to the death of Matthew Wilhelm," which translates out as Ms. Stark hit him with her car, and he would die from the injuries he suffered six days later. The reason that happened was because Ms. Stark was on her cell phone, downloading a ringtone while she was driving, and somehow, if you can beleive this, she was not paying a full 100% attention to the road. She then struck Wilhelm, riding a bicycle and traveling in the same direction as she.

To compare sentences, I was busted at 18 for unlawful consumption of alcohol by a minor. I pled guilty as received six months of non-reporting probation (also known as conditional discharge), a $250 fine, plus court costs. Thank goodness I didn't run somebody over. I'm not sure I could have scraped up $1,000 when I was 18. For the record, Jennifer Stark pled guilty to and received the maximum sentence for improper lane usage.

Improper lane usage? That's not signaling when you cut somebody off and draw the wrong kind of attention in the morning commute. She hit somebody on a bicycle with her car, because she was messing with her damn cell phone. And the most severe charge the State's Attorney can cough up is improper lane usage? When the accident occurred September 2, Stark was traveling north on Illinois 130 when she hit Wilhelm from behind, so far off the road that she nailed him with her driver's side. Pretty improper damn lane usage, I would say.

Who really boggles my mind is State's Attorney Julia Rietz, who decided on the charge after saying Stark's actions did not fit the legal definition of recklessness, which is to sustain reckless homicide or reckless driving. Huh? How is someone killing another person with a car because they were downloading a ringtone instead of driving, as they were supposed to be doing at the time, not reckless? By Rietz's logic, I should be able to go throw someone into moving traffic, and only have to plead guilty to aggravated loitering. Or would it be littering, instead?

To further compound the confusion of someone like me, observing from the fringes, Rietz went on to say that "this is a tragic case and one which has demonstrated to us there are many things we can't adequately resolve in this building, unfortunately. The law doesn't give us an adequate remedy to address the loss to the Wilhelms and society."

Yes, counselor, I would agree with you. You have fully proved the inadequacies of the justice system, at least in Illinois, and most assuredly to the friends and family of Matthew Wilhelm. However, to say that "no adequate remedy" can address the Wilhelms' loss has to make the medium list of the dumbest things I have ever heard. To be fair, I am still young, has six years of Bush administration rhetoric to pick through, and I haven't heard anything else from Rietz to determine if this is a pattern, or just a one-time loss of common sense.

Judge Richard Klaus pronounced from the bench that he was "appalled" by Stark's conduct and her driving record, which had three convictions, one for running a red light and two for speeding in the sixteen months before the accident. Yeah, I hear ya, your Honor. Too bad that doesn't account for much in this situation.

I've had a joke with some friends for years now that I am at least as qualified as a public defender, as I have seen almost every episode of Law & Order. Now I know that it also probably qualifies me to be an Illinois State's Attorney. Too bad it doesn't seem like that funny a joke anymore.