I am a paraplegic so I know what it is like, mine was due to an automobile acident due to a drunk driver.  First of all just being a quadriplegic having to have someone else take care of u 100%, laying in bed everyday staring up at the ceiling, not being able to breath on ur own, the list goes on and on and on!  One other thing that we are all forgetting is that he has to live with this tremendous guilt on top of knowing that he is a quad for the rest of his life.  Who in their right mind could ever think that this man should even have to spend a minute in jail!  If u do think that he should, than u really have issues and I really do pary for u and I am not religious and i dont even pray!!  Their are 2 different types of wrongs in this world.  The 1st wrong is when someone goes out and intentionally tries to hurt someone else and the other type is when someone makes a bad decision and ends up hurting someone very severe or even kills them when all they did was make one poor decision.  Put urself in his shoes and really think about it!!!

Putting all compassion to one side............Let us be reminded of the horriable shape our beloved State of California is in...... We can't afford to maintain any patients in our jails. That is NOT GOOD BUSINESS..... Let their families take of them...They aren't going anywhere...... Send these offenders to schools, churches and any public place to tell what they did how they got in this horriable position  in their lives.  That's their eternal prison term... God is their judge. And move on............. All this back and forth  talk is NEVER going to change anything... All should pray the banter ends. These offenders will never forget what has happened to the dead because they look in the mirror every day for a reminder.

................................................. ............

You guys tainted Foot until he resorted to name calling.  tsk tsk  (chuckle chuckle)

Sagefever - it sounds as if you had a sense of humor with your Prince Gimp. 

As I have said all along - where is the accountability for one's actions?  It is no one else's fault by his own that he is paralized now.  HOWEVER, there is legal accountability, take the emotional drivel out of the argument, and have this individual assume responsibility for his actions.

OldBlueball haha now OldBlue you have to admit that's funny.....

Be nice now foot. And FYI, it's a violation of the Californian blog rules to change a person's profile name to something other than it is. Like OldBlueball or Guber. Expect a warning e-mail from Jason...

And I really doubt Danny ever drives a vehicle again. However, he just might run his wheelchair into the back of my ankle as I'm walking down the mall someday. Now THAT would hurt.

look audrey i am the only Danny's family on here others in his defense are people who know him and people who are passionate about this and i have no hate for the other family I'm only here to state the facts and correct what is wrong so if you want to talk about his family like that your only talking about me, yes he is at fault he should take responsibility but if you knew the details to his injury you would understand its in the best intrist for everyone.the people who work at the prison, other inmates ,tax payers and dannys life that he not go to prison . and that is the only thing we are fighting of course we have sympathy for the walter family like i said before i pray everyday not just for our family but for there's aswell this whole mess has brought so much heartache to everyone involved we just dont want to make any mistakes and think trial is the most appropriate way to go .

This family epitomizes enabling.  Is it any wonder Mr Espinoza felt entitled to use the public streets as his own little race track?

And, I can feel the anger the Espinoza family feels for the Walter's family.  Why,  because the Walter family wants justice.  It makes me ill.

I'm glad Espinoza withdrew his plea and I hope this comes to trial in Kern County.  Espinoza will wish he had taken the "no contest" sentence.  We may see justice in this case yet. 

 Lastly, the Espinoza family are doing themselves a favor by continuing to post on this blog.  Their blind defense of "Danny" and their lack of concern for the grief of the Walters family is starting to change the opinions of some who initially felt nothing but sympathy for him.

dont let the door hit you on the butt...........................

Wow Guber

Thank you for proving my point.  You have made everyone who has ever looked at your posts feel smarter... so for that thank you.  I will never post on here again if it means you will go away.

OldBlue

wow, i am speechless.  again, i am so glad we are finally learning what kind of people are blogging in here.  At least Dannys family can rest assured that some of the people in this blog who want Danny to get put in prison are morons.  I am not speaking to all of you, but OldBlueball and Guber need some help.  This of course is just my opinion. 

And just to play along with your ignorance, i will answer your first hypothetical question.  If danny drove again and killed someone and it was you mr blue, then I would probably say something like, "Bravo Danny, Bravo" 

Or you can stick a paint brush in quad-boy's mouth and quad-man can paint pictures that you could sell on e-bay to the highest bidder..................................I'll  ;keep then coming........your welcome. 

foot, what if Danny stays out of prison, gets a specialized vehicle he can drive using a mouth straw, and kills a second person. Then what are you going to say?

However, if he does end up in prison, he won't have to worry about dropping the soap in the shower and bending over to pick it up with all those buck naked inmates standing behind him.

well i understand that i just dont want anyone getting that confused.

Dvon..whether or not he was under the influence, people need to see the devastating results of making poor decisions when operating a vehicle.    When under the influence, the ability to make a rational decision is even more dimminished.  It's not a matter of being under the influence, it'a a matter of making good decisions at all times when driving.

Guber,

I'd rather be a quadripilegic and have the use of my brain, than be like Guber and have the use of my limbs and be a complete and totally inept moron who hides himself behind his idiotic posts that do nothing constructive but ridicule a handicapped person.

nancy i do agree with most of what you said accept the DUI classes because he wasn't under any influence of drugs or alcahol and i don't want anyone getting that confused , as for audrey she needs to do more research on this because there is absolutely not dozens of cases like this .and guber quad-boy?? you could have just as easily wrote Danny and not have been offensive .and beach ball now that's someone who's insensitive, Ive said this a few times i think house arrest with community service are good we just don't want to see another person die .

I will amend my do not send Mr.Espinoza to prison stance if i am assured he will receive the treatment he needs so as to not worsen his condition or cause his death~ after the trial naturally. That will take place in a courtroom,not here. Signed the Mother of a "quad boy" or ,as he was mostly known Prince Gimp. Look it up in an older dictionary.

Yep! Yep! Foot, maybe people are becoming unsympathetic because of the poor me syndrome. Deal with it, if I were to be in a wreck or involved in a high speed shin-dig, a robbery, etc. and got caught, injured or not, the law would hand me my consequences.

quad boy, quad man You can make t-shirts with a picture or Danny on the front of it and put quad -man on the back and you could most likely sell them for 10 bucks apiece. Kinda like a fundraiser to help pay his legal bills......just a thought........ hope it helps........

gube

Quad Boy??  I think that gives me an idea of what kind of people I am dealing with here.  I cant believe that you just said that.  Any argument you had has just been nullified by your ignorance and insensitivity to the family who is undoubtedly reading this blog.  yeah michele, well said Guber.

Well said Gube!

Foot what makes you an authority on open mindedness?  From where I'm standing I do agree with Audrey on this.....My heart tells me he's been through enough and what purpose will it serve for him to go to jail. BUT my head tells me you do the crime you do the time. All Audrey is saying is She Wants Quad-boy  held to the same standards as anyone Else . His injuries should not be a factor in his sentencing""but it will''. You have to remember there's a FAMILY SOMEWHERE that deserves justice be served.

no, the part of you that I see to be unsympathetic is that you refuse to look at all of the facts.  What i said before would seem to make an open minded person think that prison for this man could be the death sentence, yet you still want him to go there.  I get that you think he needs to be punished, but please stop ignoring some of the crucial facts in this case.

You see my speaking the truth as being unsympathetic.  That's were your whole point of view is stuck.

Audrey,

I will not address my feelings toward your lack of sympathy other than by saying that i find it baffling.  But i do understand your point of view and I respectfully disagree.  Your comment about having no evidence that prison for danny is a death sentence is harshly untrue.  Here is why. 

A U.S. Justice Department report indicated that, “the CMF deprive[s] inmates of their right to be free from deliberate indifference to their serious medical needs.” In another report it was stated, “…CMF was a filthy, vermin-infested, overcrowded prison,” and that medical care there was “grossly inadequate.” 

Now in most cases having inadequate medical care is not a death sentence, but for those who understand Danny's condition know that he needs 24 hour care.  If he is found guilty he needs to be held accountable, but prison cannot be the answer. 

Well said Nancy.

I feel sympathy for your mother.  And I'm sure she's longing for her son to escape his sentence.   Any mother would.  But her giref is not an argument for him to be released from all responsibility for a woman death.   Dorothy Walter's family is also grieving.  Where would they find solace if her murderer escaped justice. His actions killed Dorothy.  Where is her choice?

Danny was involved in a crash that could have been avoided had he been obeying the law.    You will never convince me that this man has "done his time" because he suffers from a self inflicted injury.  There are hundreds of men in prison who were injured during the course of their crimes.  Yet, they're doing their time.  We have laws that we are all subject too.  How is he any different?

If my children committed a crime of this magnitude, I would not expect them to escape it's consequences.    I think most people understand that criminal laws were written for the common good.  We enacted them and we're ALL subject to them.

Finally, thre's no evidence that a prison sentence would be a death sentence for him.  It would definitely be more costly to the tax payers to incarcerate him, but that's already being done for dozens of other ill and dying prisoners. 

Bottom line is,  Danny Espinoza's case is no different than dozens of others in California.

Sorry OB, had to do this....... and thanks foot for word definitions!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

I feel dontbeahater's comments are rational however, money can't be a big factor here since the millions mentioned above will never be paid by Danny.  Whatever the insurance company will pay is all those folks will ever get so the amount is a moot point other than to find guilt in a civil suit.

Again, as in this and other posts, strong feelings about a topic does not necessarliy equate into hate.  That's always a very misleading statement.  I certainly don't get the feeling that wanting justice to be served is hating the person who caused the accident.  If one would calmly list the circumstances of the night the picture might be a little clearer.

Fact is, Danny was driving at a rate that is considered reckless driving and did, in fact, cause the wreck.  The woman did nothing other than being on the road at the same time as a person driving irresponsibly.  Of course he didn't mean to kill the woman, but she WAS killed by his actions. 

I'll repeat what I said earlier.  I don't see how anyone would benefit by his being incarcerated and I agree with several here who suggested he do community service by way of speaking to young drivers and to DUI classes.  Maybe a public service film.

This is truely a sad situation for all involved but pointing fingers or denying the drivers guilt by saying "he didn't mean to" does nothing for anyone.  A little honesty and taking responsbility for ones actions is what's needed here.  I understand that apologizing to the family might be admitting guilt but, after all, he IS guilty regardless of how it's couched.

PLEASE, let this blog rest in peace...

This is a comment from my mother Carole, She asked me to post this.

His name is Danny. He is a prisoner to his chair and bed and has a meager existence. He was involved in a horrible automobile ACCIDENT, …Webster’s Dictionary-Accident… “an unplanned or unforeseen circumstance…lack of intention…” Dorothy Walter’s earthly existence ended that day and now, as an angel in another existence with God, she is probably aware of the deep pain both families are going through. I believe that most angels would FORGIVE, “to cease to feel resentment against an offender,” and she would like the attitude of VENGEANCE, “punishment inflicted in retaliation for an injury…with great force,” to stop immediately. Common sense seems to say that Danny is also a victim and already paying a heavy price for the accident. Does he deserve a death decree, by incarceration at a State facility? Is this the secret desire of the Walter family? Let your conscience be your guide and release yourselves from your hateful angst. Let Dorothy Anne Walter rest in peace.

Good morning Catherine,  according to bakersfield police Danny was traveling at a high rate of speed. which is considered (gross negligence) that alone is enough to prosecute. The heartless protectors of justice you speak about, and i have to agree with you, had lied to danny's attorney throughout this whole process. promising then taking away I know that nothing is final until the judge say's it is, but that has been the games the DA has been playing this whole time, there is a reason why he withdrew his plea. Anyway catherine about the wrongful law suit, Danny has been sued for $10.000.000.00 million dollars and also two other people that were supposedly involved , for a total of  $30 million dollars. so yes there is money involved. That being said I would like to add again about danny not apologizing to the other family , which i forgot to add on the other post, he was told by his first attorney to not have any contact with anyone even the other family and was told an apology was an admission of guilt, a basic defense move . After the police report came out, and the first attempt failed , his family thought they would wait till court when everyone was there . When dannys attorney asked the DA if he could speak to the other family, the DA said immediatly "NO thats not gonna happen" I was standing right there I heard him,couldnt belive it but thats what he said . . this is just a very sad case for both families, there is a reason it is called vehicular manslaughter and not murder , because he didnt mean to do it , It was a mistake , a very bad choice, negligence. But if he dies in prison after everyone knowing and being told his condition and that he will die. THAT WILL BE MURDER .. then who is responsible at that point ? again vehicular manslaughter (gross negligence)  does not entail a death sentence.

I have had to face both sides of this~ taking care of my son,and had my eldest die without reconciling with him. We would all like to "go" with all our affairs in order,family as safe as possible and close at hand.All our "I love yous "said and all our "accounts " taken care of. Unfortunately that is not the case in most circumstances~ that's why it is important to be prepared as much as possible today.The system will decide this case and I hope for compassion and healing for all sides here.

Seems to me, if this were truly an "accident," then Espinoza would never have been charged with anything.  He would never have been brought to court, he would certainly have never pled "no contest" to anything, and he would never be going to trial for anything.  It appears that the DA (heartless protectors of justice that they are) have SOME evidence of gross negligence or they would just drop it. 

I know that I would never want to be a quadriplegic, but I also know that I wouldn't want to be alive one moment and dead the next, leaving my children without a mother and my husband alone to raise our children by himself.  I would hate to die without saying goodbye to my family, without even knowing that they would be taken care of. 

I think Espinoza should just be grateful he's not being hit with a wrongful death lawsuit by the victim's family.  Now that this case is going to trial, all the facts will come out about what happened.  Maybe it was an "accident" and maybe it wasn't.  The jury will decide.

Believe it or not...but I believe that this man has certainly been punished....he has the rest of his days to reflect on what has happened...after all, where in the hell is he going to run off too-so to speak...this was handled by a higher Judge in a higher court...do you really want your tax-dollars to take care of him?....

Of course, that's just my opinion

Soccer09-what you had copy and pasted form me was not a personal attack.  I choose not to call it a car accident but a tragedy because when you drive excessively over the speed limit you are risking many things when doing so.

Wow after going thru all the blogs i can see its a road with no end. One side wanting complete revenge , an eye for an eye, bakersfield justice. The other side wanting to save their loved ones life. Most of us no the facts of this case and some dont, you know who you are. Danny was driving at a very fast speed in which makes it (gross neglegence) unless it can be proven otherwise. Did he wake up that morning and say "hum today is a great day to go get in an accident" "and cause the death of someone" the answer is NO. Does vehicular manslaghter (gross negligence) warrant a death sentence the answer to that is NO. It is gives a maximum of 2-6 years. But in the end the judge can give any sentence he feels fit. A person who is completely healthy will do his time and come out after 2- 6 years and would continue his life, in a normal manner ,driving , girlfriends, maybe a wife or two, kids, a famlilly of his own, maybe own his own home , playing football with his friends etc,etc , and would probably try to completely forget what had happen in the past.  Danny if he lived thru prison, which he probably WONT , will come out , on a hospital gurny, they will load him up in an ambulance and drive him home to his own hospital bed. Still in his own prison for the rest of his life, being completely dependent on someone for survival. Almost like , if he didnt go to prison it is still a life sentenence for him. Some asked for danny's accountability, well he cant show any accountablility dead . I think and hope if he does anything it will be house arrest, with community service where he can go out to high schools, colleges, etc. and speak to kids about what one mistake has done to two families and a community, and to express his sorrow for the the loss of dorothy walters, and the pain that was caused to the walters family and his own, to hopefully keep this from happening again . there are  two  families who obviously care about their loved ones to no end. I know for a fact that danny thinks about this everyday, he feels remorse and is very sorry for what has happend. please dont think for a second he dont. and by the way all he knows about the accident is what he has been told to him by others. I know you will slam me by asking why he has'nt expressed remorse and tell the walters family he is sorry, he had tried a couple  times once through a mutual friend and once through the DA.  bottom line nobody on here will change the way they think and their passion for what they think is right .,but i for one do have compassion and i hope the judge does to.

Vanity, just co a copy (Cntrl C) and it will work if posting to her in a forum where link will stay valid. If not just refer to google to find one that will. Since its an animated gif that may require setting up a link of your own with Photobucket or some such.

Teacher, that is the sentiment I was expressing as well of course.........

tab for what?

Here is a thought for those supporting house arrest.  Sentence him to house arrest, but with the caveat that the family has to pick up the tab....not the state!  He stays out of the prison hospitals and he doesn't cost the state a whole lot.

Sound good?

I think this whole blog has played itself out, everyone has stated their opinion and the "strong feelings and strong language" has went way over the edge IMO.

I have been a therapist for many years and have dealt with people on both ends of these type of tragic events.  I admire the folks on here that are taking up for their friend and ask you to realize that this blog is a lost cause.  Keep supporting your loved ones and don't worry about what the bullies on this site say...they don't know the case and have lost touch with their sensitive sides just to prove a point!!!  I personally feel the deepest sympathy for both families and hope that everyone can (in time) forgive and go on with their lives.  I think if each of us would stop and think "what if it was my loved one" they might rethink some of the harsh comments.  What would you do?  Would you just throw them away or try to understand why they made such a bad choice after everything you taught them?  Would you feel the need to defend them if you came across a blog of horrible comments.  These are real people, not just a story in TBC.

There used to be alot of good discussion on these blogs but I think people are reluctant to post because of the past personal attacks and negative comments.  I enjoy reading the blogs as I feel there is always something to learn from others opinions and there used to be some really good discussions.  Anyway, I'm off my soap box and moving on.

I don't know whether Espinoza should go to prison or not.  I guess there's some who think he should and some who think he shouldn't.  It really depends on whether he's convicted or not, and what the judge or jury decide.  Judges and juries are fair, and they will decide this case fairly.  The only emotions they will consider will be the victim's family's, not the defendant or his family.  I understand it when Espinoza's supporters defend him on this blog, so I expect understanding when I defend MY family member on this blog--AudreyB.  She's my mom, and she's not evil or mean or anything else.  She expressed a point of view and got piled on by people who disagreed with her, so she got sick of it. 

You can't force sympathy.  Ganging up on my mom and insulting her just makes your case weaker.  Maybe Espinoza's attorney should slap all the jurors during opening remarks.  I wonder if that will garner sympathy.

Snarky.

Bonzai..removing this blog would be censorship with no cause.  The rules were not broken here.  If this particular blog offends you I also suggest you read the Fresno Bee blog.  Unless they've cleaned it up, it had no rules.

People talk about news whether in the office, at home, or on a blog and they aren't all going to agree with you.  If you can't take that, then perhaps blogging isn't for you.

I am disgusted. I have never “blogged” prior to this, and really have never even paid attention to any of them, and after I post this, I probably never will again. I have known the Kolkman family for many years, so I have kept abreast of this story. When I was following up on the events of this story on line (I have moved away from Bakersfield, so I don‘t get the print media or television), I saw the question, thought it was provocative, and decided to respond. I naively thought that people would be respectful of each other, state their opinions and read other’s opinions. I figured that people would agree with like-minded people and civilly agree to disagree with others.

The constitution of our country does guarantee us the freedom of speech, but with any freedom comes responsibility. Some of you people need to realize that there are strong emotions running on both sides of this issue. To assume facts, insert innuendo, call each other names and go off on rants with inflammatory verbiage is not only morally wrong, it is disgusting in a situation like this. Many of you don’t even seem care that family members on both sides of this are affected by your words. I think of the movies of the medieval mobs with the prisoner in cart when I read through many of these postings.

I don’t think I have ever run across any one as evil and viscous as one of the “ladies“ posting on this blog. To obviously have no knowledge of the facts, and then spew forth the bilge and disgusting comments about a family whom she has never met is repugnant. And if you are now going to claim that you do actually have the facts, and are closer to this story then you are leading on, then that would make your rants disingenuous and even more disgusting.

I now regret that that the editor even started this blog. In my opinion, this blog is far more destructive then it is informative. It is my hope that the editor will remove this blog from this site.

Did they survive this terrible tragedy? (note, I will not refer to it as an accident)

Still going on about that "he did it intentionally" now, aren't you?

Ground Rules for posting comments:

• No profanity or personal attacks.
• Please comment on the subject of the post itself.

If you do not follow these rules we will remove your comment. Please keep it civil.

I'm so glad some of you learned to follow directions. I wonder if in all your years, elementary school has been forgotten. This isn't even civil anymore. This is just getting brutal.

A question above "have you ever gone over the speed limit?"  I have.  But I've never driven 90 MPH on a city street and, by my reckless driving and disregard for safety, caused the death of another human being.

As for hate.  Why do people always assume that strong feelings and strong language equate to hate?  No one hates the young man in question, but they DO have strong feelings about the sentencing.  Please bear in mind this blog started asking the question "How do you feel about a quadriplegic being sentenced?"  The question was asked and people answered.

If any of you are unhappy with this, you might refer to the constitution which gives us the right to voice an opinion.

Chico, that graphic is clever. How do I send it to my mother-in-law?