Theological Thursdays: Corasanti and Justice

Get this out of here.

I cant possibly imagine what the Rice family is going through right now. A jury that convicts a coward of a man for DWI and then lets him walk on all other counts is beyond me.

Essentially, the jury believed he was DWI, but didn't think that had anything to do with the events that ended the night. It's an unbelievable injustice, but I guess I wasn't called on to judge his actions and so I speculate. You always hope that what you leave is greater than what you have taken, but this scum of a person has taken more than he will ever be able to give back, accident or not.

Interestingly, until the late 1920s, if you drove a car and you killed anyone for any reason, you were guilty of manslaughter, drunk or not. The reason is that cars were still fairly new and people walking streets was still very common, and if a car jumped a curb and killed people, then the car driver was defacto at fault. Back then, the streets belonged to pedestrians, not cars.

Seeing that this law would severely hamper the adoption of cars by the general population, the automobile industry mobilized and got those laws removed. They also instituted a new concept, called "jaywalking", which puts the blame for anyone getting killed upon the pedestrian, a complete reversal of the legal assumptions that existed just beforehand.

Guilty or not guilty, that girl is dead and that's the real tragedy.

my conclusion is that those who are encased in two tons of steel have more rights than those who are not (cyclists, joggers, skateboarders, rollerbladers). if you are not encased in steel you have no one to blame but yourself if some rich drunk doctor all but decapitates you and has the smarts to weep on the stand. poor guy.

okay, cyclists, joggers, rollerbladers, skateboarders, this calls for a dignified, unified response. how about a silent ride past the accident site and the corasanti home on the anniversary of her death?

we are *all* alix rice.

The law needs to be written so that the minute you get in a car while drunk you become guilty of any tragedy like this that you cause with your car. Drinking and driving needs to become a serious crime in this country. Hopefully they can at least take away everything the guy has.

How about boycotting the Buffalo Medical Group if they allow him back into the practice? If a bunch of people switch doctors and give that as the reason, it may at least cost him his job. No felonies=keep your license. Although I'd bet he's done in Buffalo, but who knows where the narcissism ends.

The family might have another option . A civil trial as was done in the OJ case after Simpson was acquitted. AFA the doctor, he will simply avoid scrutiny by moving to Naples Fla.

The legal system...however right or wrong in this case is the only system that society has to operate with. The general public, no matter how outraged at the info that was released by the media... will never know what information those 12 jurors made their decision on.
At face value, it too sickens me that a wealthy Dr. beats a wrap..more importantly a young girl is gone... and the family and friends now have to deal with the aftermath.
None of us were there, and wwill never know if Alix Rice ...her actions, contributed to the deadly accident. .
One thing is for sure, laws should be stiffened severely for ANYONE caught DWI!!
It will be interesting to see how Corsanti survives the stigma attached to this... as EVERYONE now knows who he is and the guilt and shame he will carry with him the rest of his life...especially if he decides to continue to reside in WNY.

Here's what we do: We bust into Corasanti's house, tie him up, and have Roseanne Barr come in and fart on him for all eternity. After that, we build a time machine, travel back in time, and hit the batting cages at Fun 'n Games Park off the Colvin Extension. Maybe catch a movie at the I-290 Drive In. Amirite?

Sedita has to go. He overreached on a relatively weak case, if you know your law. He should of went after lessor charges and got the conviction. James Bargnesi is the reason why the doctor is free. He came across as a sacrastic douche bag and the jury made him pay. Daniels played this one as smotth as you can play it. No winners, except Daniels. Sedita says he is shocked, I wonder if it is his imcompetence that is shocking him.

I never cease to be amazed by the number of legal scholars that come out of the woodwork to criticise a verdict without so much as having heard a single days' worth of testimony, much less the weeks of testimony which the jury heard. Nor do they have the benefit of having heard the judge's charge to the jury, explaining the nuances of the law and how to evaluate the evidence in the context of the law. What I have heard outside of this thread are a multitude of comments which establish a total misunderstanding of our legal system, inaccuracies about the law, assumptions about the facts which are incorrect and an inherent bias against an individual who had the intelligence, determination and ability to become a successful physician.

Moreover, virtually everyone has been at the mercy of the media to sort through what individual reporters think is relevant or important in the days' proceedings, albeit a mere fraction of what was actually heard in court. That, coupled with the overbearing comments on talk radio, had Dr. Corasanti convicted last July without so much as a bit of testimony.

The jury was comprised of twelve individuals who both the prosecution and the defense were willing to accept as reasonable persons willing to give up a month of their lives to sit in judgment on a serious and highly visible case. Give them thanks for having undertaken a job that most of us would avoided at all costs.

No matter the criminal or civil consequences of this tragic event, I think it highly unlikely that any member of the medical profession would ever be the same for having caused the death of another individual and will forever carry a heavy burden.

>I doubt anybody could create a better one.

Very patriotic. I love America too, but there are almost 200 countries in the world. Why do you think that our criminal law system is the best? Do you know about recent revelations showing that tens of thousands of innocent Americans have been incarcerated? Check out the work of the Innocence Project.

Well said, Rev. Drew.

If that were my child I would have a very hard time not putting a bullet in that man's head. I hope he burns in hell.

Whatever happened to commenters like BobbyCat, BurchJP, Pampinform, and that guy who kept using Kang something or other? Did they get blocked, or did they get fed up with the site.

The non-wealthy public outcry on this is gigantic on and off the Internet, meaning worldwide! We who would be shunned by Corasanti's defense team CAN show our concern!

Here's my suggestion: On the day of Corasanti's next DWI court date, every single person who feels Corasanti should serve more than the equal of a slap on the wrist (which I suspect is what is going to happen) bring a supply of candles and stand in silent vigil at the courthouse. (Candles need not be a religious symbol but a symbol of warm, caring. compassionate hearts for not only those already suffering but also for those who are going to suffer for yet another DWI crime.)

Everyone world-wide or who otherwise can't be there please send a flower to be placed in front of the courthouse.

If Buffalo Risiing or Rev. Drew want to organize this, Buffalo Rising has several florist advertizers here who could be involved.

This is probably the most worried non-wealthy people can do to show concern and support for all victims of the American legal only if you can afford it system. TY

To the Williamsville experts. I too lived in Getzville, as a matter of fact 50 feet from where the accident happened. I also worked until my retirement for one of the largest utilities in WNY. For the record, you can read stock quotes from any newspaper at midnight on that stretch of Heim Road. Happen to know what type of street lights are mounted every other pole up and down Heim Road. Matter of fact there is one directly over where she was hit. Now as for a 7 Series BMW. Driven one, and own another BMW. The headlights shine both sides of the road and onto the lawns. Good for hundreds of feet ahead. As for the crouching defense? I've braked for rabbits and squirrels day and night cause I don't want to clean the critters off my vehicle. As for being drunk? Drunk he was. Don't give me that bull story. Maybe a subpeona of someone, maybe an employee at the Country Club? Tough to do, jobs are hard to find these days. The hood of his car? BMW steel. Solid as a rock. Anyone see it? Pictures? Crumpled 50% up the hood. Only way that happens is she was upright. No doubt. Noise? I could have had Van Halen on with the 100 watt stereo with 10 speakers with the volume all the way and it would have jarred me in my seat. How do I know this? I nailed a full bag of grass one night and pulled over to see the damage. Bag of grass was not good. Car was fine. I heard it and felt it. Bottom line? Ran, Lied, texted, drunk, decided on self preservation over another human. Hippocratic Oath? Ha ha ha ha ha. The Jury Foreman? What actually went on during that short 24 hours of deliberation, out of which you deduct sleep, eating, off the clock. Maybe they deliberated 4-6 hours? Hardly enough to digest all that evidence. I enjoyed the witnesses. The scripts, the lies and the heresay. I saw a very interesting segment on Dateline a few weeks ago about "Expert" witnesses. Maybe one of those fellows should look at this debacle. Good Night Folks.

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>bought his way out.

Evenly matched. Nobody has more resources than the government.

His lack of care for human life makes me wonder if he is fit to be a doctor. If a patient starts to bleed out, he will walk away, say he never saw the patient and call his lawyer.

Hypocritic Oath...