Lisa Pistolis Sentenced To Six Years Will Do Less

On Tuesday Lisa Pistolis, pleaded guilty to one count of felony DUI with death resulting and one count of felony DUI resulting in great bodily injury. She will receive credit for time served and could be released in as little as four years.

 

According to reports, Pistolis was given credit for the 81 days she served in jail before her family was able to post bail and the judge suspended all but four years and eight months.

A report in the Charleston Post and Courier this morning said:

"This sentence was the result of many long and hard discussions with the victim's family and was the result that they wanted," said 9th Circuit Assistant Solicitor Culver Kidd, who prosecuted the case. "I think it signifies an unparalleled level of compassion and understanding by the family of the victim."

Pistolis' car struck a Jeep carrying Serjei Cahuantz and Hart Crouch both of Charleston on January. 27 of last year.

The P&C also added that "Pistolis' arrest drew attention when Facebook photos surfaced (On the CP Blog) featuring her". 

You can read the full P&C story here.

The hat tip goes to friends and patrons of Joe Pasta who pointed out the FaceBook photos of Pistolis drinking and in some cases passed out, binge drinking or obviously drunk, to Cedar Post shortly after the mid-day accident on 526.

According to the Post and Courier report "Before the fatal wreck, she had been drinking with a friend at Gene's Haufbrau, the friend later told the police. They shared the mimosas, a mixture of sparkling wine and orange juice, authorities said."

But police reports paint a different picture, one of a young woman so hammered that she could not comprehend at the accident scene that she had just killed one person and left another fighting for his life.

Pistolis' blood alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit.

Cedar's Take:

In light of several recent lengthy prison sentences handed down in cases like this, I'm pretty surprised at the slap on the wrist. That said, prison even for 81 days is pretty severe punishment. I suspect that 4 years and 8 months will change Ms. Pistolis and finish the job of destroying her life that she started more than a year ago when she got behind the wheel of her car.

I personally continue to push for a national zero tolerance policy on drinking and driving. A BAL of ZERO. Simply eliminate the excuse "I didn't think I was that drunk".

 

Tiger Woods Will Sit Out The US Open

Tiger will miss the US Open in Pinehurst next month, and some including ESPN's Rick Riley must think Tiger is done. Why else would he crack on Tiger's tipping habits while on Conan?

 “I’ve covered [Michael Jordan] his whole career, but I don’t think he can hold a candle to Tiger Woods. You need a court order to get Tiger’s wallet open. It’s unbelievable. He’s always like, ‘I don’t carry cash.’ I know a valet here in town that stands between Tiger and his car just to get his $2. He’s really terrible. I’ve seen Phil Mickelson buy a 50-cent cup of a lemonade from a little girl and give her $100. When he leaves the Masters each year, he gives the guys $2,500. Tiger gives them nothing. I was with Phil once, and it was raining. He sees a homeless guy, and he gets out, parks his car and gets out his umbrella to give to the guy. Tiger would charge the guy!”

When Stand Your Ground Won't Protect You From Killing People

Minnesota law allows the use of deadly force to prevent a felony from taking place in one's home or dwelling, but one's actions must be considered reasonable under the circumstances.

18-year-old Haile Kifer and 17-year-old Nick Brady

Prosecutors said Smith's plan was set in motion on the morning of the killings, after Smith saw a neighbor whom he believed responsible for prior burglaries.

On the day of the killings Smith moved his truck to make it look like no one was home, and then settled into a basement chair with a book, energy bars, a bottle of water and two guns. Smith also set up a hand-held recorder on a bookshelf, which captured audio of the shootings.

At the beginning of the tape Smith calls his lawyer's office making an appointment for the following day. The audio, which was played several times in court, captured the sound of glass shattering, and Brady descending the basement stairs and then the sound of Smith shooting Brady three times. At 3:20 Smith can be heard saying, "You're dead." Prosecutors said Smith put Brady's body on a tarp and dragged him into another room, then sat down, reloaded his weapon and waited.

About 10 minutes later, Kifer came downstairs apparently looking for Brady. One shot is heard, and as Kifer cries out Smith walks up to her and says "Oh, sorry about that" then three more shots are heard on the recording as Kifer screams again and again. Then Smith tells Kifer, "You're dying," followed soon by the sound of one final gunshot, which investigators said Smith described as "a good, clean finishing shot."

Later on the recording, Smith refers to the teens as "vermin." Smith waited a full day before asking a neighbor to call police. Then entire 30 minute recording unedited can be heard here.

The recording was of course Smith's undoing and while Smith may have thought he had every right to execute the two teens, that isn't what the Castle Doctrine or Stand Your Ground laws recognize.

The jury deliberated less than 3 hours, Smith was found guilty of two counts of first and second degree murder and sentenced to life without possibility of parole.

Detailed coverage from the Star Tribune here.

Cedar's Take: While justice was served, the fact remains that two teens lost their lives because of their need for drugs. And the out come of the trial would have been much different without the tape and if the teens were not attractive white kids in a small rural town. But the tape proved Smith was not in fear, but rather nothing more than a sadistic killer.