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Linda Hetherington of Parker writes:

I have been closely following the coverage about Jason Reynolds in the road rage murder case. I have been a close friend of both Jason and his parents for over seventeen years.
I would like to offer another perspective on Jason being concerned only for himself and filled with self pity at his sentencing hearing. I would like to ask you to take one moment to consider the possibility, that what you saw at this hearing were the genuine and heartfelt emotions of an innocent person that never from the beginning of this case had a chance. This was a test case so in effect the guinea pig, Jason had his fate cast from the beginning. Did he ever really have a chance? I also feel that there was an incredible bias on the part of the media that certainly contributed nothing positive to this case.
Yes, I am well aware that two people lost their lives in this accident. My heart, along with the hearts of Jason and his family grieve for them and their families. My heart also grieves for the other life lost, Jason’s life. I, along with many others, know Jason is incapable of the heinous acts that he was charged with and convicted of.
Please, report accurately and fairly. You owed that to Jason. You owe that to the public.

This letter has not been edited.

READER COMMENTS

Oh, wah, wah, wah. A belligerent Reynolds was put in jail where he belongs. The trade of his freedom, not his life, is fair enough, I guess, for the two people he MURDERED, who have lost their lives. Reynolds has not lost his life, no matter what mental acrobatics you try to employ. You acknowledge that there were victims in this case, but you then have the gall to proclaim this menace to society "innocent"? Those two innocent people lost their lives on account of the media or trial judge? Is that what you are actually implying? I'm very sure that if you lost a family member due to a road-rage incident, you would be singing a very different tune. Or do you actually believe that low-lifes like Reynolds should be given a slap on the wrist for taking lives with extreme indifference?

He got what he richly deserved. End of story. Long may he rot.

Jason is owed nothing. He was not tried by the judge or the media, he was tried fairly in a court of law in front of a jury of his peers. The system worked, and a calloused individual (with a prior record, in fact, so spare us how he was "incapable" of such acts) is now safely incarcerated.

Perhaps, Ms. Hetherington, instead of blaming everyone else for Jason's crime, you can be an adult and lay responsibility for the act on him. You can even go a step further, and lay blame on yourself for coddling and wet-nursing the actions of this psychopath. Perhaps if he didn't have so many enablers, he would have learned to control his actions better.

While I can understand that a good friend of Jason and his family would try to defend him, and I question the severity of his sentence, I don't think there is room to call Jason innocent.

I also think these remarks by Dan were uncalled for:

"Perhaps, Ms. Hetherington, instead of blaming everyone else for Jason's crime, you can be an adult and lay responsibility for the act on him. You can even go a step further, and lay blame on yourself for coddling and wet-nursing the actions of this psychopath. Perhaps if he didn't have so many enablers, he would have learned to control his actions better."

Of course, contrary to Dan's acrimonious assault, Ms. Hetherington did not engage in "blaming everyone else for Jason's crime", nor does Dan have any intelligent basis for accusing Ms. Hetherington of coddling Jason, since Dan hasn't the slightest idea what that relationship was about.

You'd think from the reply posts that Ms. Hetherington is a bad person. But those posters don't know Ms. Hetherington from Adam. Somehow they seem to get a kick out of attacking her. I sometimes wonder what the anger in such persons is really about.

To Truth:
The gloves came off after this comment:
"This was a test case so in effect the guinea pig, Jason had his fate cast from the beginning. Did he ever really have a chance? I also feel that there was an incredible bias on the part of the media that certainly contributed nothing positive to this case."

To insinuate that Jason's trial was tainted and fixed is an unfair attack on the hard-working people who participated in the trial, nor does she have any intelligent basis or evidence to support such a claim.

Contrary to your assertions, Truth, I am free to criticize Ms. Hetherington for such baseless claims; and her inference that the reason Jason is behind bars is because of some state- and media-sanctioned conspiracy is shameful.

Truth, in the context of the letter, which claims Reynolds didn't get a fair trial, I think there's room to call him innocent, even though most would disagree, and the jury disagreed (I personally have a lot of faith in juries).

The rest of the letters here are just of the mob mentality. I guess if we can't have old-fashioned lynch mobs anymore, complete with rope and pitchforks, we can at least hold lynching parties over the internet. I wonder, too, what in human nature, enjoys this kind of stuff?

Truth,
You are soooo above all of us.

Ms. Hetherington should have been well-aware of people's feelings about this since it's been no secret on these threads after Mrs. Reynolds wrote her little "pity Jason" letter.

And she certainly did blame others (unless you don't count the media as human beings, but that's another argument).

Nobody said she was a bad person but rather that she should look to place the blame for all this heart break on the guilty party....Jason Reynolds.

This was not a case of circumstantial evidence, there were WITNESSES. Witnesses that were so struck by the callous actions of Jason Reynolds that they were compelled to get involved in the whole thing when they could have just as easily driven on.

I'm sorry, Mr. "I am so much better than the angry masses", you are wrong this time.

Your ever vigilant fan,

Sorry, lost my AKA, certainly want you to know who I am....

Scaat, I sure didn't argue or dispute anything about the facts of the case, so I don't know why you're arguing them to me.

Ms. Hethrington writes:
"I would like to ask you to take one moment to consider the possibility, that what you saw at this hearing were the genuine and heartfelt emotions of an innocent person that never from the beginning of this case had a chance."

Apparently, most are unwilling to consider that possibilty. Right, wrong, indifferent, or otherwise, there's one, and only one, way see this story. Maybe if the press hadn't presented the story the way it did, Ms. Hethrington would not have felt compelled to write.

Saint Anderson, (everyone is bad and stupid but Anderson!) For your information....
According to police reports at the scene, Reynolds said of the two murdered men"they got what they deserved!!" (nice guy huh??)
The police also reported there had been numerous calls from citizens naming Reynolds as a person that had intimidated them on the road, and called to report him. The police even wrote him a letter concerning the road rage incidents. 13 tickets in ten years should tell Hetherington and Saint Anderson, a wee bit about this man and his driving habits! An internet lynching is to good for this maniac!! May he live long and assume the posture!

"I, along with many others, know Jason is incapable of the heinous acts that he was charged with and convicted of. "

So, all of those other road rage incidents never happened?

He had an established pattern of reckless behavior that finally resulted in the killing of two people.

02:39: "Your ever vigilant fan,"

Thanks, your T-shirt is in the mail.

Linda,

You asked this question, referring to Jason.
"Did he ever really have a chance?"

He had a chance to reform his ways after each one of the 13 tickets he got in the last 10 years.

And for every one of those 13 times he did get caught, you know damn well there were surely DOZENS of other times when he did things that he didn't get busted for. He had a chance to change after every one of them, too!

He had a chance to reform his ways after he was notified by the State Patrol that his aggressive driving had been reported to them by a number of other drivers.

Jason had plenty of chances and he blew them all.

I understand that you may not recognize the person that was commiting these acts on the road as the same kid you've known for so long, but to too many people that is the only Jason Reynolds they know. They never got a chance to know the Jason Reynolds you're talking about because their only experience was with a bully behind a wheel.

Jason is paying the cost for his actions. He was not convicted by the media or a out of control prosecutor. He was convicted by a jury of his peers who found sufficent evidence and caused to return the verdict they did.

While I think it's wonderful that he has so many people standing by him, you're not helping him at all by enabling his refusal to accept responsibility for his actions.

Ya know the sad thing here is that Reynold's will probably serve 4 or 5 years and when the public "forgets" his crime he will be let out for good behavior or some other lame parole decision.
So, take heart Virginia Reynold's and all the rest of Reynold's buddies.... ole Jason will be back on the road again in no time.

There are rogue animals such as an elephant that goes on a rampage and kills: Of an animal having an abnormally savage or unpredictable disposition that is no longer obedient and becomes uncontrollable: Jason Reynolds is such an animal and because of the erroneous sanctity of life, he will not be put to death. Jason is a vicious, deceitful, unreliable person and to call him a scoundrel or rascal would be complimentary. Jason is a killer and should be treated as they treat rogue animals. One who stands in the path of a rogue animal should be gored.

The drunk that killed Frank Bingham's babies and his wife will soon go on trial; what do the defenders of Jason Reynolds think should he be convicted? "Oh the poor baby: the devil in the booze is responsible." Give me a break you Jason coddlers.

Define "coddlers". Anyone capable of empathy?

I suggested this with respect to the Duke affair: maybe we should just institute a system of kangaroo courts across the country. We can just turn on the boob tube to see how the trial's going, where we can get up to the minute reports (5 minutes max) on who's right and who's wrong. This could be supported by our auxillary justice system of lynching. This plan will save us all a lot of money and a whole lot of thinking. In Colorado, our former jurists and fellow citizens can while away the hours humming, "and never will be heard, a discouraging word".

Poor Richard Grimes. It is so easy for him to get confused. He thinks that people who are critical of the virulent attacks on Jason's mother are defending Jason. I wonder if it is old age or perhaps alcohol? I just hope the poor guy has someone around to coddle him.

Poor Richard Grimes; poor guy was born in the wrong country. He wants a country in which they treat people like Jason the same way they do rogue animals. Rich, old buddy, there are places like that, but you'd have to leave the country. Sorry.

Saint Anderson and his clone Truth, should show some "empathy" and pay for Reynolds lawyers. Oh, I forgot, we are ALL paying to defend this worthless bleeping piece of murdering scum.
His words came back to haunt him and he got"what he deserved" I wonder how far his temper will get him behind bars?

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