A man who was the victim of a hit-and-run lived at least two days trapped in the driver's broken windshield before dying in the driver's garage in Fort Worth, Texas, police said. Police arrested a 25-year-old woman Wednesday -- a nurse's aide -- on murder charges in the man's hit-and-run death.
According to a police statement, the woman panicked, and with the man still lodged in the windshield, she drove a few miles to her home, parked in her garage, and ignored his pleas for help until he died. His body was later dumped in a park.

Her attorney said police are overreaching in charging her with murder.

What do you think? Is murder too harsh a charge?
For those of you who would like to read the story before responding you can check it out at:
http://www.thecarolinachannel.com/sh/news/stories/nat-news-129101620020307-070307.html
NO!! This woman hit a homeless man and he was stuck in her windshield. He was alive and pleaded for his life. And their overreaching? Get real. This woman is a cold-hearted murderer! She deserves to be charged with murder, and she deserves to recieve whatever punishment the court deems necessary.

By Ginnyk on Sunday, March 10, 2002 - 01:44 am:

I have listened to this story on the radio and found it so unbelievable. I firmly believe she should be charged with murder - first degree, since she apparently knew he was alive for some time and deliberately chose not to get help for him after she hit and injured him. However, the charge will probably be "reckless indifference", along with the hit and run, leaving the scene, etc., etc.. And I think the people who helped her move his body should be charged as accessories after the fact.

As for what her lawyer said - lawyers always present a picture most favorable to their client. It's their job. Prosecutors always say things to the press that put the worst light on whatever happened, and defense attorneys always try to put their client in the best possible light. They are both "doing their job". So I don't get upset about that (at least, not often).

As firmly as I believe in freedom of speech and freedom of the press, there are times when I think favorably of the British rule that the press cannot say anything about a criminal case from the time the police focus on a specific suspect until the trial begins. The rule, I suppose, is partly to not risk prejudicing a jury, partly to protect the accused or suspected person's privacy in case the police later decide s/he is not the person they want, and partly to not mess up any investigation.

By Ginnyk on Sunday, March 10, 2002 - 01:45 am:

P.S. The police don't "charge with murder", the prosecutor does. The police present the evidence to the prosecutor and the prosecutor decides which charges should be filed. Usually they file a whole range of charges on the theory that if the jury does't convict of the worst offense, they may convict of the lesser offense.

By Jujubee9752 on Sunday, March 10, 2002 - 07:23 am:

Thanks Ginny, I was a little upset when I typed that.

By Ginnyk on Sunday, March 10, 2002 - 07:59 am:

I was upset too when I heard the story. (Not when I typed, just my typical "helpful" self.) I can sort of understand if you hit someone and in a panic drive away, but to proceed home and garage your car and, according to reports, check on the victim periodically to see if he has died - I am truly at a loss for words to describe how I feel other than really sick.

By Kim on Sunday, March 10, 2002 - 12:06 pm:

OMG! A flipping NURSE"S AIDE????? What the heck is wron with our society right now? Is this part of the new generation of values that we hear about? That we aren't responsible for anything? How, as a human being, could you listen to a person cry for help for DAYS!

I don't need to read the article. I think she should get the full force of the law. She knew exactly what she was doing, especially as a nurse's aide. And a homeless man is a person just as much as any other person.

By Joan on Sunday, March 10, 2002 - 01:10 pm:

This is a very sickening story. It makes me want to cry for this man. I cann't comprehend how a person can allow this to happen. Poor, poor innocent man.

By Sunny on Sunday, March 10, 2002 - 01:21 pm:

Do I think she should be charged with murder? Yes. She made a concious decision not to report the accident or get help for this man, (who realistically, could have survived his injuries with proper medical care) and enlisted the help of friends to get rid of the body. I can't understand how someone could leave a man to die, slowly and painfully, in their garage and ignore his pleas for help. If that's not murder, I don't know what is.

By Karen55 on Sunday, March 10, 2002 - 02:00 pm:

I saw this on the news and read it in the paper Friday. It's sickening. IMO it is murder and she should be charged with murder.

By Kathym on Monday, March 11, 2002 - 12:57 pm:

I read this story in my local paper on Friday...it literally made me sick. How does someone become so warped that human life is so meaningless? Hitting the man was bad enough (wasn't she high on ecstacy?) but to have him beg her for his life and for her to continue to refuse help is heartbreaking!!! Yes, Yes, Yes she should be charged with murder!!!! The article in my paper also noted she had sex after driving home and leaving the man in her garage!!!