jrel85
Spearfish, SD
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Joined: 11/11/2003
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As a motorcyclist and person who moved recently to SD I was outraged to see what is going on with the William Janklow case.
For those who don't know, Janklow is a long time SD polititian and on August 16, 2003 he reportedly ran a stop sign at a speed above 70mph and killed motorcyclist Randolph Scott.
Now had this been the first time for Janklow I might have thought it a mistake but he is sited to have had numourous other violations and was even reported to have emergency lights installed on his privately owned car, a direct violation of the law.
I am really hoping that SD will finally make an example of "Wild" Bill and make him pay the price for his actions.
The reason that I decided to post this message here is because I found out that Janklow was inducted into the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame in '01. I have decided that I will send an e-mail calling for his removal.
It seems that Bill is only a friend when the rest of us are pouring money into his state during the rally. Anyone not willing to own up to their actions after killing a motorcyclist is not a friend of motorcycling.
Remember 55 year old Randolph Scott: dad, volunteer fireman, farmer, trucker, military veteran, and fellow motorcycle rider. It could have been anyone of us riding home that day.
I would invite many others to do as I have done and send an e-mail calling for the removal of Janklow from the hall of fame. It is only a small step but something that I feel is a worthy cause for motorcyclists.
Anyone who kills one of our members and attempts to get out of it is no friend to motorcycling or motorcyclists.
E-Mail Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame at: info@SturgisMotorcycleMuseum.org
Thank You
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Ernie-SJ
San Jose, CA USA
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Joined: 01/29/2003
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I just sent one. Thanks for the alert.
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spero_meliora
BC Canada
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Joined: 09/22/2003
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that is outrageous. if you were driving and killed a fellow rider, would you ask to go to prison? Or would you get a lawyer and try to stay free. Does his recent ACCIDENT have any bearing on his actions in the past?
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jrel85
Spearfish, SD
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I don't know about you but I don't really call running a stop sign at over 70 mph an accident.
Calling for his removal from the MOTORCYCLE Hall of Fame was something that I felt would be the least that I could do because I do not want him representing motorcycling.
Janklow is there when motorcyclists are spending large amounts of money but attempts to get off when he kills someone.
The man ran a stop sign at 70+ mph without hesitation how is that not murder.
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spero_meliora
BC Canada
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Joined: 09/22/2003
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I don't call running the stop sign at seventy an accident. i call it reckless driving. think about it. if he had hit and killed a pedestrian, you wouldn't be posting this. either way, he is still hiring a lawyer and trying to stay out of prison. 99% of people would do the same, what would you do? it is just bad luck.
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RBRUFFY
HUME, VA
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Joined: 11/05/2003
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i sent an email. also, thanks for the information. i was not aware of the continuing circumstances.
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dgeney
wayne MI
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Joined: 12/26/2002
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If you had read many of the past issues of AMERICAN MOTORCYCLIST magazine, you would have known that Janklow has been cited many times over the years for speeding, traffic violations and accidents. Also, he was found to have been given special consideration for some of his speeding infractions while he was governor by state police. He has often bragged about his reputation for speeding and he has shown little remorse for the death and even tried to justify his actions by remarks like, "everybody speeds". If you think a prison term isn't justified, think of the "Life Sentence" given to his friends and family.
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dgeney
wayne MI
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That's like calling Russian Roullete bad luck.
And of course we probably wouldn't be as concerned if it wasn't a motorcyclist who was killed, but someone with that many violations, an obvious disregard for the law and being a public figure is certain to raise eyebrows regardless of who he killed. Auto/motorcycle accidents are pretty much a one-sided equasion when it comes to us riders (assuming you are a rider) and we need to inform each other and the rest of the public of the seriousness of this even if it appears that we are focusing on this because it was a biker.
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spero_meliora
BC Canada
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Joined: 09/22/2003
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i agree, a prison sentance is appropriate. removing him from the hall of fame is not. why would you try and erase history. if you look at all the baseball hall of famers, don't you think there are some of them with some black marks. EVERYBODY speeds at some point or another, usually things are fine, this time someone got killed. bad luck thats all. i am emailing to keep him in the hall of fame.
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Daichan
Port Richey, FL
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Joined: 11/05/2003
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Ok.. I know accident happens but I can't believe he's actually trying to get out of what he did. Whether the person killed was a motorcyclist or not, the point is that he broke the traffic laws and killed a person. It doesn't matter how you look at this situation, he is still at fault. And being a congressman and not taking the responsibility is just a shame. The remark "Everybody Speeds" is just a smart ass comment. The Judge should give him the 10 years sentence he deserves cuz he doesn't even deserve to be spending his time living at his home. I mean come on, looking at his past record it's obvious that he is not a safe driver.
Daichan's World of Motorcycles (DWM)
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