Throw away the key
What should our society do with a man with four drunken driving arrests who chooses to continue to drive and severely injures a teenager? How can we penalize a man who apparently fears no penalty?
The answer is simple: life in prison.
Joel Robert Simpson of Des Moines is innocent until proven guilty, but the cards are stacked against him once again, despite police saying that alcohol did not seem to be a factor in an unfortunate accident in Union Park last Sunday. Even so, we have no remorse for this 45-year-old man or any others who choose to unlawfully get behind the steering wheel of an automobile.
Melissa Ann Robinson, The 14-year-old pedestrian who Simpson hit and dragged 75 feet, is the one we feel for. As a result of Simpson’s reckless driving, she was placed in intensive care with head trauma and multiple broken bones. Some would like to give Simpson, who witnesses say never even hit the brakes, a taste of that pain. We simply want to make sure he can’t ever do this again.
Simpson has a serious problem, one that apparently can’t be fixed. We want him in a place where he can’t be tempted to drive, where he has no access to automobiles and where he can’t injure innocent people. Claiming not to recall accidents is not an excuse for running over a cop, a teenager or anyone. Choices are made, whether consciously or unconsciously, and severe penalties — in this case, the most severe — must be implemented.
Situations like this can be easily overlooked until the person who is victimized is someone you know. Let’s hope you won’t ever have to feel that pain.
For the good of everyone in our society, permanently jail this man and others like him who continually break the law and make decisions that jeopardize others’ safety.
And throw away the key. CV
