MrsSpringsteen
Blue Crack Addict
The band manager for Great White was sentenced to only 4 years yesterday out of a possible ten per his plea agreement-he lit the pyrotechnics that caused the fire at the Station nightclub in RI which killed 100 people in Feb of 2003. He could be out on parole in 16 months, that would be the five days for each life if that happens.
I can't imagine the pain of the family members, on the other hand I do agree with what the judge said-the worst punishment for him will ultimately be living with what he did every day. But how do the families get past it if he gets out in 16 months, do they think that's all their loved ones were worth in the eyes of the law? Will the owners get the same lighter sentence?
I'll never forget the one woman who said in her victim impact statement that what was left of her child was in a pouch.
Inadvertently? Yes he didn't intend to start a fire and kill people, but the foam on the walls and ceiling was obvious from everything I've read-and there's the whole issue of permits, etc. They had no moral right using pyrotechnics in a place like that, even if somehow they can get around the legal stuff. But I guess the legal stuff is what will save their behinds, even the owners.
Boston Herald
Relatives of the 100 concert-goers who perished in the Rhode Island night club inferno vented rage last night after learning the band manager who inadvertently killed their loved ones could serve only five days behind bars for each death.
“Damn. It’s like nothing,” said Michelle Hoell, sister of 29-year-old Tammy Mattera-Housa, who was killed in the Feb. 20, 2003, blaze at The Station nightclub in West Warwick.
“It makes it even more depressing . . . her two children deserve more,” Hoell said. “Five days. . . . It’s almost the same amount of time it took to confirm she wasn’t coming home.”
Great White band manager Daniel Biechele, who lit the pyrotechnics that sparked the fire, could have been sentenced to up to 10 years in jail under a plea deal with prosecutors but now will be eligible for parole in just 16 months with good behavior. That would be less than 500 days, or five days per victim.
When the sentence for involuntary manslaughter - 15 years with 11 of them suspended - was handed down, the courtoom erupted with emotion.
“Typical (expletive) Rhode Island!” one man yelled, as outraged relatives stormed out.
Biechele had listened contritely to two days of presentencing testimony from distraught family members.
“What do you think of your son now?” Patricia Belanger shouted to Biechele’s mother. Belanger, the mother of victim Dina Ann DeMaio, 30, said, “Now it’s her turn to suffer, just like we’ve been suffering because of her son.”
“We’ve already suffered almost that long - four years. We’ve already suffered that long,” said Annmarie Swidwa, the mother of victim Bridget Sanetti, 25.
Biechele apologized for the blaze, saying, “I don’t know that I’ll ever forgive myself for what happened that night, so I can’t expect anyone else to. I never wanted anyone to be hurt in any way.”
In powerful family testimony, some described a grief so intense they could not get out of bed, and said they looked forward to nothing but being reunited in death.
Judge Francis Darigan Jr. told Biechele, “The greatest sentence that can be imposed upon you has been imposed upon you by yourself, that is having to live a life, an entire life, knowing that your actions were the proximate cause of the deaths of 100 people.”
The Station owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian are now awaiting trial for manslaughter. After the pyrotechnics ignited soundproofing foam, many of the 100 dead were overcome by fumes or were trapped in a crush at the door.
I can't imagine the pain of the family members, on the other hand I do agree with what the judge said-the worst punishment for him will ultimately be living with what he did every day. But how do the families get past it if he gets out in 16 months, do they think that's all their loved ones were worth in the eyes of the law? Will the owners get the same lighter sentence?
I'll never forget the one woman who said in her victim impact statement that what was left of her child was in a pouch.
Inadvertently? Yes he didn't intend to start a fire and kill people, but the foam on the walls and ceiling was obvious from everything I've read-and there's the whole issue of permits, etc. They had no moral right using pyrotechnics in a place like that, even if somehow they can get around the legal stuff. But I guess the legal stuff is what will save their behinds, even the owners.
Boston Herald
Relatives of the 100 concert-goers who perished in the Rhode Island night club inferno vented rage last night after learning the band manager who inadvertently killed their loved ones could serve only five days behind bars for each death.
“Damn. It’s like nothing,” said Michelle Hoell, sister of 29-year-old Tammy Mattera-Housa, who was killed in the Feb. 20, 2003, blaze at The Station nightclub in West Warwick.
“It makes it even more depressing . . . her two children deserve more,” Hoell said. “Five days. . . . It’s almost the same amount of time it took to confirm she wasn’t coming home.”
Great White band manager Daniel Biechele, who lit the pyrotechnics that sparked the fire, could have been sentenced to up to 10 years in jail under a plea deal with prosecutors but now will be eligible for parole in just 16 months with good behavior. That would be less than 500 days, or five days per victim.
When the sentence for involuntary manslaughter - 15 years with 11 of them suspended - was handed down, the courtoom erupted with emotion.
“Typical (expletive) Rhode Island!” one man yelled, as outraged relatives stormed out.
Biechele had listened contritely to two days of presentencing testimony from distraught family members.
“What do you think of your son now?” Patricia Belanger shouted to Biechele’s mother. Belanger, the mother of victim Dina Ann DeMaio, 30, said, “Now it’s her turn to suffer, just like we’ve been suffering because of her son.”
“We’ve already suffered almost that long - four years. We’ve already suffered that long,” said Annmarie Swidwa, the mother of victim Bridget Sanetti, 25.
Biechele apologized for the blaze, saying, “I don’t know that I’ll ever forgive myself for what happened that night, so I can’t expect anyone else to. I never wanted anyone to be hurt in any way.”
In powerful family testimony, some described a grief so intense they could not get out of bed, and said they looked forward to nothing but being reunited in death.
Judge Francis Darigan Jr. told Biechele, “The greatest sentence that can be imposed upon you has been imposed upon you by yourself, that is having to live a life, an entire life, knowing that your actions were the proximate cause of the deaths of 100 people.”
The Station owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian are now awaiting trial for manslaughter. After the pyrotechnics ignited soundproofing foam, many of the 100 dead were overcome by fumes or were trapped in a crush at the door.