I am so far past angry right now.

[Grant Bentley]

My statements are in yellow.

Not sure why I?m putting this here, but I am so far past angry right now, I have to bitch to somebody, sorry.

Stavros Costoulas sentence for killing my friend Sandra Casey?from CTV News.

Family and friends are stunned after learning the man who killed Sandra Casey won't spend any time behind bars.

Last January, Casey was struck and killed while trying to cross 10 Avenue S.W. (in Calgary, Alberta.)

The driver of the car who killed her left the scene but turned himself into police later. (he didn?t turn himself in for hitting Sandra?he tried to report he was in a minor a fender bender so he could get a police accident sticker to allow him to get his car fixed. The police got suspicious, got a search warrant and found his car in his garage with Sandra?s blood on it.)

Now Casey's friends have received another blow. The man that killed her won't spend a day behind bars.

Costoulas' previous driving infractions and criminal convictions ? include impaired driving (two), failing to provide a breath sample, speeding and driving without insurance or licence.

Stavros Costoulas pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident but was given a conditional sentence with curfew from 10pm - 6am, (he can still go to work), and a 1 year driving ban. However, the driving control board may permit him to drive sooner with use of Interloc - a device he would blow into to make sure he is sober before his car will start (this was a request of defence counsel.)

The ruling doesn't satisfy Casey's friends. "I think the message that's being sent is horrible. I think it's a bad precedent. What it's sending is you can get in a motor vehicle, you can hit someone, leave them there to die, go home, and then 14 hours later go to police, lie about what happened and get grounded basically," says Lynne Gibson.

"He will have a slap on the wrist that won't last even as long as we've been mourning. So far, it's disgusting," says another friend, Jason Wheeler.

Everyone ?knows? he was drunk. All you have to do is read the conditional sentence to know that?curfew and Interloc device??? But, I don?t care if he was drunk or sober. I don?t care if he was speeding or driving the speed limit. None of that matters. This asshole struck Sandra, a pedestrian, a person, another human being, with his car, and drove off leaving her lying in the street to die. My friend is dead and all this useless f**k gets is a ten o?clock curfew and his driver?s licence suspended for maybe one year???? WTF.

The Alberta justice system is a joke and Stavros Costoulas is sitting home with a beer in his hand, laughing. What are these judges thinking? I don't get it, I REALLY don't get it.

I wonder how the judge will react if the next person this s.o.b kills is a friend or relative of his/hers?

Sandra Casey

[Trab]

Grant, this kind of crap is happening continually (nearly continuously) and I swear the reason is because the judges are drinking drivers themselves. There are so many instances of the police drinking and driving and getting off too that it makes you want to puke. We have had several instances of people killed in exactly the same way here in B.C. and I don't think there is any real solution possible with the current public attitude. Regardless of alcoholism being considered a 'disease', it should not be a way of escaping punishment. Something like 5 years in jail just for drinking driving would be much more appropriate.

I don't know what else to say, except I really feel for you, and feel your anger, although probably not quite as strongly.

[Cole Parker]

I don't know if it's still that way or not, but in 1980, when I visited Finland, they had a way to deal with this. As is often the case in countries with long winters and less daylight, they had a problem with citizens and alcohol, and had numerous accidents on their narrow roads.

So, they passed into law draconian penalties for driving under the influence. If you were stopped for driving under the influence in Finland, there was an automatic sentence of one year on a labor gang. This included youths, CEOs, judges, anyone at all. Drive under the influence and you got one year of labor, frequently in the northern parts of the country outside.

The result of this? People didn't drive after drinking. If they were going to drink, they'd alway get a designated driver. The penalty was too harsh and enforcement too rigorous to take the chance. There was no wiggle room. It was universal. No one that I came into contact with drank and drove.

Canada might think of doing the same thing if this is a national problem.

C

[JamesSavik]

In the states you can't get away with vehicular homicide unless you are a professional athlete.

Donte Stallworth

He used to be a Saint. Now he's dropping balls for Cleveland and they can have him.

[ricky]

It is indeed outrageous but when the ones who write and enforce the laws are also the biggest offenders. Don't expect it to get better. The law needs to be first time severe. No exceptions.

I have raised both my boys to know when you drink, you don't drive. I intentionally give the keys to the car to my wife the moment I order even a beer. (She has her own set but it was symbolic) I am proud to say my boys have no problem calling for a ride or taking a cab.

So a lot of it is in the education of our young. If you couple education with a stiff and absolute law I think you could almost totally eliminate these tragedies.

Did you know that in Arizona, if you are too drunk to drive, any cab company will take you home free of charge! Some will even pick you up again in the morning to go get your car.

Yea Arizona!

But I'm damn sorry for the loss of your friend.

[The Pecman]

I'm sympathetic to SmallTown because my longtime partner is a fellow Canadian (also from Alberta), and he's lamented for years about the lame justice that sometimes goes on up there. But it happens in the U.S., too.

My parents both had problems with drugs and alcohol -- not enough to destroy their lives, but it did cause friction and trouble on some occasions. It affected me enough as a teenager that I resolved not to ever drink or do any serious drugs (though I did inhale on occasion in the 1970s and early 1980s). I think I've been tipsy maybe three times in my life, and never flat-out drunk. And in all cases, somebody else drove.

My advice to SmallTown is, it's up to the victim's family to pressure the police and the DA for a stronger sentence. And if the guy gets off in the trial, then my advice would be for them to seek a wrongful death civil suit (assuming they have those in Canada), at least to get financial compensation. It won't bring your friend back, but at the worst, the family can donate the money to promote anti-drunk driving legislation and other charities.

My second advice is, don't channel your anger into something as unproductive as hating the perpetrator. Take that energy and put it into something positive, like campaigning for designated drivers and other good causes. Try to hold on to what was good and positive about your friend, and don't let your anger drag you down. Cherish the friends you still have and appreciate them as much as you can.