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Probation ends for S. Dakota lawmaker
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
January 22, 2007
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Former Rep. Bill Janklow will emerge from his manslaughter probation today with a clean record, more than three years after he sped through a stop sign in a Cadillac and killed a motorcyclist.
Janklow, 67, has already regained his law license and can get behind the wheel again, having obeyed all conditions of his release, his probation officer said.
However, his political career is through.
"I think that it's good for everyone involved that this chapter has come to a conclusion," said Ed Evans, the attorney who represented Janklow at trial.
Janklow said he did not want to comment about the end of his probation. He was governor for 16 years, serving four terms in two eight-year stints. In 2002, the Republican was elected as South Dakota's only member of the House.
His record will be cleared because Circuit Judge Rodney Steele, now retired, issued Janklow a suspended imposition of sentence in 2004 - a one-time-only pass for a person found guilty of a felony.
A suspended imposition of sentence is similar to a pardon, and means that a judge has placed the jury's guilty verdict on hold. There is no conviction on record if a person complies with all the conditions specified as punishment by the judge.
On Aug. 16, 2003, Janklow's car struck a Harley-Davidson ridden by Randy Scott, 55, of Hardwick, Minn., at an intersection near Trent, S.D., about 30 miles north of Sioux Falls. Scott was killed instantly.
Janklow, who has diabetes, testified he had not eaten that day and probably blacked out when he approached the intersection.
A jury convicted him of second-degree manslaughter and he resigned from Congress.
He served 100 days in jail, paid a $5,000 fine, temporarily lost his law license and was forbidden to drive during his probation.
Scott's mother, Marcella Scott, declined to comment on the end of Janklow's probation. She and other family members are seeking $25 million in a wrongful death lawsuit filed in federal court, which is set for trial in March 2008. The federal government would be responsible for any damages awarded because Janklow was on official business when the accident happened.
Probation ends for S. Dakota lawmaker
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
January 22, 2007
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Former Rep. Bill Janklow will emerge from his manslaughter probation today with a clean record, more than three years after he sped through a stop sign in a Cadillac and killed a motorcyclist.
Janklow, 67, has already regained his law license and can get behind the wheel again, having obeyed all conditions of his release, his probation officer said.
However, his political career is through.
"I think that it's good for everyone involved that this chapter has come to a conclusion," said Ed Evans, the attorney who represented Janklow at trial.
Janklow said he did not want to comment about the end of his probation. He was governor for 16 years, serving four terms in two eight-year stints. In 2002, the Republican was elected as South Dakota's only member of the House.
His record will be cleared because Circuit Judge Rodney Steele, now retired, issued Janklow a suspended imposition of sentence in 2004 - a one-time-only pass for a person found guilty of a felony.
A suspended imposition of sentence is similar to a pardon, and means that a judge has placed the jury's guilty verdict on hold. There is no conviction on record if a person complies with all the conditions specified as punishment by the judge.
On Aug. 16, 2003, Janklow's car struck a Harley-Davidson ridden by Randy Scott, 55, of Hardwick, Minn., at an intersection near Trent, S.D., about 30 miles north of Sioux Falls. Scott was killed instantly.
Janklow, who has diabetes, testified he had not eaten that day and probably blacked out when he approached the intersection.
A jury convicted him of second-degree manslaughter and he resigned from Congress.
He served 100 days in jail, paid a $5,000 fine, temporarily lost his law license and was forbidden to drive during his probation.
Scott's mother, Marcella Scott, declined to comment on the end of Janklow's probation. She and other family members are seeking $25 million in a wrongful death lawsuit filed in federal court, which is set for trial in March 2008. The federal government would be responsible for any damages awarded because Janklow was on official business when the accident happened.
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