...









...yeah, that's all i got. Ugh.

that's just...not fair. and not right. appalling.

Pasta wrote:Fuck. So, Becky (John's Wife) did testify in the sentencing hearing? Leah (my fiance) was worried she wouldn't be able to. She drove out of Portland less than 2 weeks ago.


FUCK.

This is fucked.

Better go start the old lady a bath, and pour a glass of wine. It's gonna be a long night.

Becky did great. Scott Meis did great. I did great.

It meant nothing in terms of Sliwinski's sentence, but all we could do was shift the focus for a while, so we did that.

It is very fucked up, but to state the obvious, the fairness of the situation went out the window the moment she killed our friends.

The judge was hamstrung the moment he decided she wasn't guilty of 1st degree murder. In essence, he had to choose between life in prison or what she got today.

If he's right, and she is not a threat to society from here on out, then whatever. Good for her for avoiding life in prison. If she's not going to do anything remotely like this again, then it's not going to make our lives any better if she stays in there and rots.

I just hope he's right. I hope she doesn't hurt anybody else. I would not bet against this happening, myself.

Which is why I wish she'd been put away, as a friend put it, 'past her partying years.' As it is, she'll have plenty of time to drink/drug/drive in the future. Or not. Crossing one's fingers on this one doesn't feel like enough, but that is what civilized people are left to do.

So glad it's over. So many people, so much pain, so much money out of pocket on travel and hotel rooms and so forth. So many goddamn court dates.

It's over.

Spending one more minute thinking about some flimsy pole jockey is wasted time.

Becky and the rest of the Glicks, the Dials, the ex-Returnables, the Meis family, Heather and my wife and the rest of my friends and family, me--we're all still here, we're all still dealing one way or another, and we all still need each other and YOU more than you can know.

Thanks.

Tim

tmidgett wrote:

Pasta wrote:Fuck. So, Becky (John's Wife) did testify in the sentencing hearing? Leah (my fiance) was worried she wouldn't be able to. She drove out of Portland less than 2 weeks ago.


FUCK.

This is fucked.

Better go start the old lady a bath, and pour a glass of wine. It's gonna be a long night.

Becky did great. Scott Meis did great. I did great.

It meant nothing in terms of Sliwinski's sentence, but all we could do was shift the focus for a while, so we did that.

It is very fucked up, but to state the obvious, the fairness of the situation went out the window the moment she killed our friends.

The judge was hamstrung the moment he decided she wasn't guilty of 1st degree murder. In essence, he had to choose between life in prison or what she got today.

If he's right, and she is not a threat to society from here on out, then whatever. Good for her for avoiding life in prison. If she's not going to do anything remotely like this again, then it's not going to make our lives any better if she stays in there and rots.

I just hope he's right. I hope she doesn't hurt anybody else. I would not bet against this happening, myself.

Which is why I wish she'd been put away, as a friend put it, 'past her partying years.' As it is, she'll have plenty of time to drink/drug/drive in the future. Or not. Crossing one's fingers on this one doesn't feel like enough, but that is what civilized people are left to do.

So glad it's over. So many people, so much pain, so much money out of pocket on travel and hotel rooms and so forth. So many goddamn court dates.

It's over.

Spending one more minute thinking about some flimsy pole jockey is wasted time.

Becky and the rest of the Glicks, the Dials, the ex-Returnables, the Meis family, Heather and my wife and the rest of my friends and family, me--we're all still here, we're all still dealing one way or another, and we all still need each other and YOU more than you can know.

Thanks.

Tim

Very nicely said sir.

Know that there is much love and concern for all involved coming from Portland.

now, Lets get some more Dials music (we can't find our CD).

Tim, I cannot imagine having to tell people things about this out loud in open court. Literally cannot imagine myself doing it. You and the other witnesses have a kind of bravery (is that the right word?) I could not summon, and I admire it. You all did an important thing.

Whether or not it had any effect on the sentence (or the Sliwinski), making one more formal public appreciation of Michael, Doug and John at very least reminds the official part of the audience that this was all about them, not her.

Throughout the trial it was evident that the prosecution, the judge and the victims' loved ones were not out for revenge, but for some reasonable and honorable resolution. Whatever Sliwinski is allowed to do with the remains of her life, it will be because the court took a kind of pity on her.

Maybe with some reflection she can see the difference between herself and people like that -- people who, having suffered an incapacitating loss, are still capable of having a measure of human compassion for the selfish fuckup who killed three people they loved. Maybe a few more years in prison will suggest a better way to see the world than as something she can exploit to indulge her momentary desires.

Or not. I don't harbor any fantasy that she will change her stripes at this late stage. But the way everyone hung together and behaved honorably and respectfully throughout the whole process must have been apparent even to her, and that everyone did so is another testament to what Michael Doug and John meant.

Whatever the circumstances and however it was framed for legal reasons, Jeanette Sliwinski killed three beautiful people and nobody should do that without going to prison for a while.

I have followed this/these thread(s) from the git-go and have sometimes felt that I missed out by not knowing these folks personally. After all this, strangely, I feel that I do.

I can only hope that when I pass on my friends will be as decent, reserved and introspective as everyone here has.

Bless.

P.

steve wrote:Tim, I cannot imagine having to tell people things about this out loud in open court. Literally cannot imagine myself doing it. You and the other witnesses have a kind of bravery (is that the right word?) I could not summon, and I admire it. You all did an important thing.

Whether or not it had any effect on the sentence (or the Sliwinski), making one more formal public appreciation of Michael, Doug and John at very least reminds the official part of the audience that this was all about them, not her.

Throughout the trial it was evident that the prosecution, the judge and the victims' loved ones were not out for revenge, but for some reasonable and honorable resolution. Whatever Sliwinski is allowed to do with the remains of her life, it will be because the court took a kind of pity on her.

Maybe with some reflection she can see the difference between herself and people like that -- people who, having suffered an incapacitating loss, are still capable of having a measure of human compassion for the selfish fuckup who killed three people they loved. Maybe a few more years in prison will suggest a better way to see the world than as something she can exploit to indulge her momentary desires.

Or not. I don't harbor any fantasy that she will change her stripes at this late stage. But the way everyone hung together and behaved honorably and respectfully throughout the whole process must have been apparent even to her, and that everyone did so is another testament to what Michael Doug and John meant.

Whatever the circumstances and however it was framed for legal reasons, Jeanette Sliwinski killed three beautiful people and nobody should do that without going to prison for a while.

Repeated for emphasis. I am sorry she did not get more time, but, given the charges, not surprised at the sentence. My thoughts are not of her (and I hope never to have cause to think of her again), but of everyone in that courtroom and outside of it who have struggled with the consequences of her actions for the past 28 months.

I only met Michael a couple of times, once in the bathroom at the Carnegie Mellon show he describes in the September 7, 1998 entry of his tour diary at http://www.silkworm.net/ . The first thing I did when I heard the news today was to read his recollections and remember him fondly. Tonight will not be the final time I do that.

tmidgett wrote:So glad it's over. So many people, so much pain, so much money out of pocket on travel and hotel rooms and so forth. So many goddamn court dates.

It's over.

Jesus.

Tim and others, again - I am very sorry for your loss. I'm just very, very sorry about it.

I'm thinking about that picture of Michael looking out the side window of a speeding car and the "Treat the New Guy Right" video. Fuck, it's awful.

= Justin

My heart is broken, but it has been broken for two and a half years. Every hearing was horrible for different reasons. The lack of humanity from JS and her entire family was unbearable-- even today. I am glad that today is the last time I will ever have to see her. But it also made the prosecutors and all of the prosecution witnesses fill my heart with warmth as I watched humanity flow even when I did not expect it.

Everyone was so careful and conscientious while testifying. From the coroner who could barely look up and quickly turned photos over as to hide them from our view to the EMT who was on the verge of tears to the two police officers (one who was the commander and is now retired) who not only testified but showed up for the verdict and today's sentencing hearing.

ASA Michelle again fought and fought with vigor and grace. She tried to use existing case law to have the sentences run consecutively. This trial has impacted her so much that she is going to try to personally get involved in changing the vehicular homicide statute so that being sober is not a mitigating factor.

Myself... I'd like to see the "truth in sentencing" statute be applied to all convictions, not just first degree murder.

Becky, Scott & Tim were amazing! I don't know that I can say that I have ever taken pleasure in being "the better person." But after watching how everyone behaved throughout this whole fucking nightmare I can truly say that I am happy that I get to wake up and me, with all of the people who have become my chosen family, and the Sliwinski's have to wake up and continue to be them. What a horrible life that must be.

Don't get me wrong, I am angry and sad beyond description, but Michael, John & Doug... what great guys. And if you knew them or felt their immense impact what a better life you have because of them.

It's late, and I'll try to be brief..

Tim,
I really apreciated your statement, as I told you at the courthouse.
You spoke in a way that really appreciated John, Michael, and Doug. I know it was a difficult mile to walk.
I'm grateful for the love and strength you, and everyone else has given over ther past two and a half years. It means everything.

This whole thing makes absolutely no sense. And that is where it shall always stay, sadly.