Justice For Eric Kleemeyer

Eric’s Story

Part Five

Jim

     James Earl Trisler and Eric Kleemeyer did not believe that all of the laws and rules that politicians forced onto the public were passed with them in mind so therefore they didn’t feel the need to comply with the ones that didn’t pertain specifically to them. They understood why we needed laws in this country. Basically some people were not very smart and they needed to be told exactly how to do things for their own protection and safety.

     On the other hand if you were relatively sharp and could take care of yourself you didn’t really need all of those laws intended for the dumb people.

     A prime example might be suspending someone’s driver’s license for a long period of time. This must be intended for people who did not understand they did something wrong and the length of suspension were so they had time to learn. What if you got the message in less time than anticipated and you could better serve society by having a job and becoming a productive, contributing citizen rather than another liability. It would seem then that driving a little early was really not such a bad thing. The only down side would be if you got caught because sometimes probation officers and judges were not smart enough to see people as the individuals they truly are. They aren’t capable of making the punishment fit their real needs and instead they dole out a simpler “one punishment fits all” inefficient form of justice. True, there are giant holes in this way of thinking but if you are young, inexperienced, and you really want to drive your new car you can just about convince yourself of anything.

     Perhaps a better example would be something simpler such as jay walking. It is a crime to cross the street except in a marked crosswalk while obeying any traffic lights or signs. This law was obviously made for people incapable of judging oncoming traffic and getting across the street by themselves such as little old ladies. Jay walking is the kind of law any capable person should be able to disregard so long as there are no police around. They will write you a very expensive ticket that has nothing to do with your safety but is really just another way the government gets their grubby hands on your money. At least that was how Jim Trisler saw things.

     All Jim wanted to do was simply cross the street while he stood with a friend by the bus stop in front of the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Moonlight Shopping Center. The only thing between them and their destination was six lanes of traffic on the usually busy El Camino Real.

     Standing on the sidewalk Jim looked left and right. There were crosswalks in both directions but they were at the very ends of the very large parking lot. Jim and his companion stood right in the middle of them. Due to the size of the shopping center it would be over a long blocks walk to the crosswalk no matter which way they went and then it would be another long block walk back to where they wanted to go.

     It was such an easy decisionthat they never even really considered making the long walk and they started across the street without a word of discussion on the matter. It was almost fifteen minutes until 9:00pm and traffic was light.

     The trip across the street could be seen as divided into two  distinct and separate actions because there was a large, raised, and landscaped meridian in the middle of the street that could act as a half way point. You crossed three lanes of traffic and then you were on this little base where you were safe. Here you could catch your breath, get your bearings, and then cross the remaining three lanes of traffic.

    The two friends reached the concrete sanctuary without incident.

     When Jim turned to say something to his companion he stepped off the median and directly into the path of an oncoming green 2000 Honda Accord. The little car had no time to brake and it struck Jim Trisler with a tremendous thud.

     His body flew forward and left through the air landing in the adjacent lane where it was run over by 2003 silver Toyota Corolla.

     Police, medical, and fire units were immediately dispatched but to no avail. Jim Trisler was pronounced dead at the scene. It was too late to learn that perhaps jay walking laws did serve a purpose and needed to be obeyed by everyone after all.

     The coroner was called and the roadway was shut down for the impending investigation. Traffic was diverted through the Moonlight Center Parking Lot. One of the involved drivers had failed to stop so the investigation needed to be thorough taking even longer that the typical traffic fatality investigation. It was obvious that El Camino Real was going to be closed for hours.  

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