I will always be uncomfortable with a murder verdict.  Murder is intentionally killing someone.  Are prosecutors in Virginia ready to charge all drunk drivers who kill someone with murder or was this special charge reserved for Carlos only?  Manslaughter yes, murder no. 

This case is about drunk driving and about being an habitual offender.  It isn’t about illegal immigration.  It was political theater being played out on a stage contrary to the explicit wishes of the Benedictine nuns.  It took tragedy and turned it into political carnage as Corey Stewart appeared again and again on both national and local TV, trumpeting the evils of illegal immigration.  He even had a Rule of Law campaign soliciting money.  The entire affair was unseemly. 

I hope  Stewart is smug and  pleased with himself.  He is who continually waved the bloody shirt and demanded Martinelly’s head on a platter, again, in defiance of the wishes of the Bristow order of nuns whose sisters were victims of this terrible accident. 

Where does this leave us when the next drunk driver isn’t an immigrant? 

Where will this verdict lead us next time?  Beware of unintended consequences.  I expect we have not heard the last of this unusually charged case.

13 Thoughts to “Carlos Martinelly Montano found guilty of felony murder”

  1. Elena

    Maybe someone can explain why he was charged with felony murder? He should pay for his crime, no question, but do all drunk drivers in VA who commit vehicular manslaughter get charged with felony murder?

  2. Elena

    Did the kid who drove his car on logmill while speeding get charged with murder? Did the person who killed the gradmother and her grandson get charged with murder? What about the guy who was a repeat offender that caused that accident on 29 near the Manassas Battlefield, is he being charged with murder for driving under the influence?

  3. Blue Moon

    Corey is well known to throw back a few then get behind the wheel, himself. He better be careful. His own words might one day come back to haunt him.

  4. The answer to your questions? NO

  5. Cargosquid

    He was charged with felony murder because, by the DA’s reasoning, he has already been imprisoned for drunk driving and that he chose to drive drunk again.

    I think that a good lawyer can get this reduced on appeal.

  6. I don’t believe he has been imprisoned for drunk driving.

    This is the first tme anyone has been charged with felony murder in a dui incident.

    On another note, Jamie the blogger sees this as purely an immigration issue, apparently.

    Where was he during the other egregious dui accidents were people lost their lives?

    Using this tragedy as a vehicle to politicize one’s stand on immigration is just trashy. Using it to bash Ann Wheeler is trashier. Jamie the blogger no longer allows comments on his blog.

    bok bok bok.

    I guess it doesn’t matter. If you wrote something he didn’t like it never appeared anyway. It reminds me of when the dark master allowed you to think you had commented on the dark screen but it only showed up to you. He got busted when people went to work and their comments were missing.

    What ARE these men afraid of?

  7. @Cargosquid

    I think it is going to come back as some sort of prejudicial charge. I have never heard of such a thing.

  8. Proud Conservative

    You liberals are ridiculous. If you enter this country illegally, you ARE A CRIMINAL. YOU BROKE THE LAW. In addition, this vermin killed another human being. His justice will come in prison. I can’t wait for Stewart to be reelected and continue the crackdown on the scumbags who think they can break our laws in this country.

    P.S.: YES, all drunk drivers SHOULD be charged with murder. I can’t believe you people…defending criminals without hesitation.

  9. @Proud Conservative

    Your comments were released here for one purpose–to show the type of people who get put in permanent moderation. Vermin? Is that how you speak of other human beings?
    You probably are in church on Sundays sitting in the front pew while calling others “vermin.”

    Corey Stewart hasn’t done jack to “crackdown on scumbags” other than run his mouth. What is it that you think he has done? He ran his mouth. Anyone can do that.

    Meanwhile, what are you going to do about your problem? No one has defended anyone. We questioned the murder charge. Learn to read, AH. Now…say good-bye.

    PS. Martinelly was brought here as a child. He didn’t break the law regarding his existence in this country. Check with your lawyer, blow-gutz.

  10. Elena

    Alcohol addiction is a disease. Does everyone remember the consequences of the services denied to illegal immigrants? substance abuse was one of those programs. Carlos Martinely came here as a child. I wonder, did not having a real future due to his immigration status effect his addiction? Or maybe he is just another substance abuser like so many others in this country. Should he be punished, absolutely, but the precedent this sets is troubling to me. When you are a habitual speeder, if you have an accident due to speeding, will you be charged with murder?

    FYI, on this blog, human beings are not referred to as vermin.

  11. George S. Harris

    We have all heard of the “Law of Unintended Consequences”. Moe Davis needs to weigh in, but being involved in a car crash and killing someone might be considered just the opposite–if you get drunk and drive, it should be anticipated that you will be involved in a accident. Of course, being drunk impairs judgement and the drunker one gets the more impaired their judgment is. I absolutely disagree with Elena’s proposition that Martinely’s problem was caused by his immigration status. I suspect if you look around t here are many successful “undocumented” or “illegal” immigrants. It would be just as well to blame his parents or teachers for his drinking. But, please, don’t blame h is immigration status.

    He certainly was an alcohol abuser but was he an alcoholic–I don’t know. Should he be punished–absolutely but felony murder is over the top. FELONY MURDER is a legal doctrine in some common law jurisdictions that broadens the crime of murder in two ways. First, when an offender kills accidentally or without specific intent to kill in the course of an applicable felony, what might have been manslaughter is escalated to murder. Second, it makes any participant in such a felony criminally liable for any deaths that occur during or in furtherance of that felony. While there is some debate about the original scope of the rule, modern interpretations typically require that the felony be an inherently dangerous one, or one committed in an obviously dangerous manner. For this reason, the felony murder rule is often justified by its supporters as a means of deterring dangerous felonies. Virginia DUI | DWI | Drunk Driving is a class one misdemeanor criminal offense carrying the possibility of up to one year in jail. Virginia DUI and DWI are interchangeable terms in state courts. Can it be elevated to felony status for repeat offenders? I couldn’t find anything about that, but like many other points of the law, the devil is in the details.

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