Drink drive killer, please help!!
Discussion
Hi all, have not started a topic in general gassing before and am not a particularly regular poster so please be gentle!
About this time last year a good friend of mine was knocked off his motorbike and run over by a very drunk driver. The woman in question then fled the scene leaving my friend dying in the road. She was subsequently arrested, charged and eventually pleaded guilty at the last available opportunity to death by careless driving. This put the family and friends through an unnecessary 6 months of hell as they endured the wheels of the legal system gearing up for a full trial only for the plea to then be changed. Following this, the judge gave her the maximum sentence possible (with guilty plea discount) of 6 years, to which she could have realistically expected to be released in around 2 and a half...
Fast forward to the present day. She has now served 6 months of her sentence and is applying for early release due to 'undue hardship.' There is a very real chance of this happening and the family of the victim has not been given any opportunity to formally state their case through an impact statement, due to the incompetence of the legal system not informing them of the appeal in time.
The family and friends are doing all they can to state their case through the proper channels and have managed to get a meeting with the CPS a mere 6 days before the hearing starts. In the meantime, a close friend has started an online petition to vent our frustration an hopefully make the point that we feel utterly let down by the legal system as well as disgusted at a woman that has at every opportunity attempted to avoid the consequences of her dreadful crime. If you feel as disgusted as I am at this then please sign it.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-waynes-drink...
Apologies in advance to the spelling/grammar Nazis but she was understandably upset when she wrote it, as am I writing this!
Nothing can bring my friend back but I and everyone that knew him would just like to see justice served in some small form.
Thanks for reading, Dave
About this time last year a good friend of mine was knocked off his motorbike and run over by a very drunk driver. The woman in question then fled the scene leaving my friend dying in the road. She was subsequently arrested, charged and eventually pleaded guilty at the last available opportunity to death by careless driving. This put the family and friends through an unnecessary 6 months of hell as they endured the wheels of the legal system gearing up for a full trial only for the plea to then be changed. Following this, the judge gave her the maximum sentence possible (with guilty plea discount) of 6 years, to which she could have realistically expected to be released in around 2 and a half...
Fast forward to the present day. She has now served 6 months of her sentence and is applying for early release due to 'undue hardship.' There is a very real chance of this happening and the family of the victim has not been given any opportunity to formally state their case through an impact statement, due to the incompetence of the legal system not informing them of the appeal in time.
The family and friends are doing all they can to state their case through the proper channels and have managed to get a meeting with the CPS a mere 6 days before the hearing starts. In the meantime, a close friend has started an online petition to vent our frustration an hopefully make the point that we feel utterly let down by the legal system as well as disgusted at a woman that has at every opportunity attempted to avoid the consequences of her dreadful crime. If you feel as disgusted as I am at this then please sign it.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-waynes-drink...
Apologies in advance to the spelling/grammar Nazis but she was understandably upset when she wrote it, as am I writing this!
Nothing can bring my friend back but I and everyone that knew him would just like to see justice served in some small form.
Thanks for reading, Dave
stoocake said:
Signed. So sorry to hear this 
sickened by it.
Are you on the Rev Counter biker forum by any chance?
Thanks stoocake, am not on any other bike/motoring forums except PH but if you are and would like to re-post then feel free, the more people hear about this staggering lack of justice the better... sickened by it. Are you on the Rev Counter biker forum by any chance?
I would just like to post the comment Wayne's mother Sue made on the petition site when she signed it, think it pretty much sums up the feelings of all:
I am Wayne's mum and I love him so very much. I will go to my grave heartbroken. His life, dreams and future have been stolen and yet his killer appears to think that her pitifully short term in jail is too long for her crimes. I am inconsolable and will never understand how she could leave him to die in the road in front of oncoming traffic. The judicial sentencing laws are disgusting and inadequate. Hackett was apparently only 'careless whilst under the influence' in the eyes of the law- not even dangerous, yet she killed my only son and only child. Let's work together to get these laws changed and make a difference before someone else has to suffer the same devastation and agony. Her sentence should reflect her crime - it's manslaughter and it deserves a much tough sentence. It is a travesty of justice should she have her sentence be reduced through appeal. PLEASE HELP US FIGHT THIS INJUSTICE!
Again, thank you so much for all your kind words and support..
I am Wayne's mum and I love him so very much. I will go to my grave heartbroken. His life, dreams and future have been stolen and yet his killer appears to think that her pitifully short term in jail is too long for her crimes. I am inconsolable and will never understand how she could leave him to die in the road in front of oncoming traffic. The judicial sentencing laws are disgusting and inadequate. Hackett was apparently only 'careless whilst under the influence' in the eyes of the law- not even dangerous, yet she killed my only son and only child. Let's work together to get these laws changed and make a difference before someone else has to suffer the same devastation and agony. Her sentence should reflect her crime - it's manslaughter and it deserves a much tough sentence. It is a travesty of justice should she have her sentence be reduced through appeal. PLEASE HELP US FIGHT THIS INJUSTICE!
Again, thank you so much for all your kind words and support..
St John Smythe said:
Signed.
People seem to get away with so much where a car is involved. A couple of years ago I witnessed a guy get knocked over whilst crossing on a red light. The chav in the car that hit him slowed down and then just sped off. The poor guy suffered a broken foot but there were about 4 other witnesses including me who saw everything. Fast forward a few months and myself and all the other witnesses attended court for his hearing as he pleaded 'not guilty'. We were all waiting to give evidence where at the last minute he changed his plea to guilty. The guy got a six month ban and small fine. I now occasionally still see him driving his barried polo about like a t
t. The justice system in this country is a f'ing joke.
I do think that there is a strong case for not allowing a guilty plea discount on the sentence unless the plea is made much earlier in the process. To string it out to the last possible moment before changing it shows an utter lack of remorse for ones actions IMHO.... People seem to get away with so much where a car is involved. A couple of years ago I witnessed a guy get knocked over whilst crossing on a red light. The chav in the car that hit him slowed down and then just sped off. The poor guy suffered a broken foot but there were about 4 other witnesses including me who saw everything. Fast forward a few months and myself and all the other witnesses attended court for his hearing as he pleaded 'not guilty'. We were all waiting to give evidence where at the last minute he changed his plea to guilty. The guy got a six month ban and small fine. I now occasionally still see him driving his barried polo about like a t
t. The justice system in this country is a f'ing joke.johnpeat said:
Signed...
What on earth is this 'hardship' idea tho - and why would it lead to someone being released from prison!?
Not sure John, and I don't think we'll get to find out until the hearing. Probably find that her Sky box getting turned off after 9pm infringes upon her human rights or similar....What on earth is this 'hardship' idea tho - and why would it lead to someone being released from prison!?
Fats25 said:
I feel for the family and friends here, so have signed the petition.
Pauline freeman is my wife's aunt.....
http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/...
He got 6.5 years last week........ Makes us sick.
Oh Jesus, that's horrible Pauline freeman is my wife's aunt.....
http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/...
He got 6.5 years last week........ Makes us sick.
johnpeat said:
I have a nasty feeling it will relate to any dependants she has and her not being able to provide for them - I've heard it's possible for someone to seek a parole release in order to return to work rather than have their family fall into social care.
No mention in the news articles whether she had any kids but if she doesn't, I really cannot imagine what grounds she'd make this sort of a claim on.
Hopefully it will be quashed and she can get back to realising what she did instead of STILL trying to wriggle out of it.
Keep us posted plz!
I will definitely keep you all posted, been both staggered and humbled by the responses on here within the space of just a few hours...No mention in the news articles whether she had any kids but if she doesn't, I really cannot imagine what grounds she'd make this sort of a claim on.
Hopefully it will be quashed and she can get back to realising what she did instead of STILL trying to wriggle out of it.
Keep us posted plz!
Thanks again for all the support ladies & gents.
A couple of posters have asked what 'undue hardship' whilst in prison would entail. At this stage we really don't know although we should find out before the time of the hearing. All I know is it had better be bloody serious. There is pretty much no justification that I can think of for unnecessarily putting friends/family through any further suffering. However, given past behaviour I wouldn't be suprised if it was yet another act of extreme selfishness on her part. To call her utter scum is probably being too kind...
A couple of posters have asked what 'undue hardship' whilst in prison would entail. At this stage we really don't know although we should find out before the time of the hearing. All I know is it had better be bloody serious. There is pretty much no justification that I can think of for unnecessarily putting friends/family through any further suffering. However, given past behaviour I wouldn't be suprised if it was yet another act of extreme selfishness on her part. To call her utter scum is probably being too kind...
richtea78 said:
Is someone who kills another person while drunk driving and then leaves the scene fit to be a carer for a child really? Without getting all Daily Mail it does make me wonder what sort of values they would impart to the child.
Not in my opinion. It would appear society is full of rights to the detriment of the responsibilities those rights should demand. However, we don't yet know if this is the basis for the appeal or not, it could be something completely different...
I've just been told that the court will allow the family to present the petition as part of their impact statement at the hearing (having previously been told they were too late to submit one), so the more signatures the better. This all may actually have some small effect on things so thanks to all who've taken the time to sign 
In response to 10PS & as stated before, there are one hell of a lot of 'what ifs' with regards to the reasons cited for requesting early release which we will not know for sure until nearer the hearing. I understand that there can be significant reasons but surely if every parent was able to cite dependents as a means of reducing their sentence then the legal system would rapidly descend into farce?! Where is the deterrent factor if you know you can behave this irresponsibly to the point of killing someone and only get 6 months if you can manage to tick the correct boxes? Surely if dependents are involved they should be either looked after by family or taken into care for the duration of the sentence?
Having read and been quite affected by your prison diary in the past it seems pretty clear to me that how a person reacts and their actions after the event is almost as important as the event itself. This woman has done everything she possibly could to avoid taking responsibility for her actions from the moment she chose to get behind the wheel in the state she was in to the moment that she finally pleaded guilty after dragging the family & friends through 6 months of hell. Even now, unless an unbelievably good reason comes to light she is still doing the same thing to us! Most of us just want her to shut up and serve her sentence in a similar way to how you have managed to. Is that really too much to ask of her?
In response to 10PS & as stated before, there are one hell of a lot of 'what ifs' with regards to the reasons cited for requesting early release which we will not know for sure until nearer the hearing. I understand that there can be significant reasons but surely if every parent was able to cite dependents as a means of reducing their sentence then the legal system would rapidly descend into farce?! Where is the deterrent factor if you know you can behave this irresponsibly to the point of killing someone and only get 6 months if you can manage to tick the correct boxes? Surely if dependents are involved they should be either looked after by family or taken into care for the duration of the sentence?
Having read and been quite affected by your prison diary in the past it seems pretty clear to me that how a person reacts and their actions after the event is almost as important as the event itself. This woman has done everything she possibly could to avoid taking responsibility for her actions from the moment she chose to get behind the wheel in the state she was in to the moment that she finally pleaded guilty after dragging the family & friends through 6 months of hell. Even now, unless an unbelievably good reason comes to light she is still doing the same thing to us! Most of us just want her to shut up and serve her sentence in a similar way to how you have managed to. Is that really too much to ask of her?
johnpeat said:
Just to reiterate what a few people have already suggested - contacting ALL of the media outlets who covered her story originally (easily found through Google News) may result in them running something which will bring more attention to this issue.
Not much time left but you never know - it's worth knocking an email out to everyone, really.
Also Twitter - there are plenty of folks on there who'll champion a cause and retweet...
John, I'm not sure I'm the one who should get the media involved although I started this petition thread with Wayne's family's approval. I will suggest it to them, however and offer to assist if needed...Not much time left but you never know - it's worth knocking an email out to everyone, really.
Also Twitter - there are plenty of folks on there who'll champion a cause and retweet...
OK, first a massive thanks to all those that have signed so far, we've managed to get up towards the 4000 mark so far which is fantastic for only a few days
Secondly, I've confirmed the grounds for appealing early release is not dependents (she doesn't have any) but that she is finding prison too difficult. The parents of Wayne went up to CPS on Thursday and raised merry hell over the lack of support in fighting the parole appeal. As a result things are all getting organised now for the hearing a week Thursday and hopefully the judges will see sense and keep her inside....
Once again many thanks for all the support on the petition, it's been incredible in such a short timescale!
Secondly, I've confirmed the grounds for appealing early release is not dependents (she doesn't have any) but that she is finding prison too difficult. The parents of Wayne went up to CPS on Thursday and raised merry hell over the lack of support in fighting the parole appeal. As a result things are all getting organised now for the hearing a week Thursday and hopefully the judges will see sense and keep her inside....
Once again many thanks for all the support on the petition, it's been incredible in such a short timescale!
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff