The Springfield News-Leader is reporting that charges have been filed in the death of Greene County Deputy Gary McCormack. Twenty-five year old Josh Douglas was arraigned on a misdemeanor charge of careless and imprudent driving that could carry a potential sentence of a year in jail.
According to the report: “”This collision occurred as a direct result of (Douglas) not stopping or slowing for the stop sign… Had (Douglas) slowed his vehicle adequately for the conditions at the intersection, he could have seen (McCormack) approaching the intersection…”
As you might expect on such a passion inflaming issue, the comments on the News-Leader message board have been hot and heavy on both sides of the debate. You have some who are glad to see the charges filed and were critical of the fact Mr. Douglas plead not guilty. You have others who are critical of the prosecutor for filing charges in the case.
There was an interesting exchange:
“Bea Feroney” said: “He should man up and plead guilty, pay his fine and move on.”
“paintedpine” responds: “That’s big talk, Bea. This is real life catastrophic my dear-one doesn’t just “move on”. Besides the demons he will carry for the rest of his life there’s a good chance after he is deemed guilty as charged he will be presented with a wrongful death civil suit filed by the attorney for the survivors.”
I have to say I agree with Bea Feroney. According to all reports that have been made on the incident, Mr. Douglas ran the stop sign and was at fault for the accident. He is, according to the evidence we’ve seen, guilty. However, I think it’s likely the “not guilty” plea is likely a legal move designed to get a plea bargain conversation moving along and eventually Mr. Douglas will plead guilty and accept responsibility for his actions. Yes, it would be better if he just did it now before a bargain was on the table but I can certainly understand going in this direction and waiting until a plea agreement is in place. No matter how reasonable a judge can be in his or her track record you just never know what would happen if a straight guilty plea would have been entered today.
“pine” needs to realize a civil suit could happen with or without charges. Even if Mr. Douglas goes to trial and is found not guilty there could still be a civil suit and I would venture it would be more likely if he is found not guilty because the burden of proof is different in a civil suit.
We’ll see how the charges play out in the court system. I’m sure regardless of the legal outcome, Mr. Douglas is going to have this with him for the rest of his life. That, some might rightly argue, could be punishment enough.
It is a tragic event that is compounded by the fact that both involved were acting in official and semi-official capacities.
I wonder how much influence the insurance companies had in this matter. Would they pay off in a wrongful death suit if no charges were filed?
I don’t know . I do know this is a tragic affair and my heart grieves for the families of both men involved.
“I do know this is a tragic affair and my heart grieves for the families of both men involved.”
Right with ya, Jim.