Glenda Rumsey sentenced to 14 years for killing Jose Rincon Jr.
In a room usually used for large county executive meetings, Judge Fields delivered a fourteen-year sentence today to Glenda Rumsey. Rumsey drove into and killed Jose Rincon Jr. last year after spending an afternoon of heavy drinking that left her with a blood-alcohol content of upwards of .260.
Because of public interest in the sentencing, Judge Fields took the unusual move of holding court in a different room. Even so, it was standing-room only in the Board of Supervisor’s Room, which seats 320 people.
The judge heard emotional testimony from Jose’s grandfather, two sisters, his mother, and father, as well as from his friend Oscar, who was with him the night of the accident.
The Rincon family has done a striking job of not demonizing Ms. Rumsey, but instead highlighting the loss that can come from drunk driving. Today they kept up that message, showing a video of Jose and talking about his life. Judging from the pictures and videos, he seemed always to be smiling, something his family remarked on several times. His older sister Gabriela moved everyone to tears as she spoke of what she has lost in her younger brother, and made demonstrably clear how close they were. Jose’s father went into horrific detail of the night they learned of Jose’s death, including details that sent chills up my spine. He spoke for example of how he could not move to the front seat of the car when they went to drive, as instructed, to UMC, because he could not get out of the back seat where he was cradling his daughters in his arms.
He closed by saying that his family “is committed to bringing about whatever good we can from our loss,” and remarking that although a big part of him wanted to pound the table and demand that the judge give Ms. Rumsey the maximum sentence, he always heard his son’s voice calling to him, saying “Don’t force it, papa, let the judge do his job.”
Glenda Rumsey spoke, tearfully and haltingly, and expressed her remorse, remarking that she too has children and can understand the family’s pain. Her best friend spoke very movingly about Ms. Rumsey’s childhood, her loss of her mother to cancer at an early age, and the life she has led since then. It was the first portrait of Ms. Rumsey as a human being that I have heard.
The prosecution asked for an 18 year sentence; the judge gave a 14-year sentence.
My opinion: the point is to make people stop and think and not get behind the wheel after drinking. I think this sentence does that. I thought it was on the slightly low end of reasonable.
–Erik Ryberg
January 20th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Judges sometimes sentence those who intentionally kill, with malice aforethougth, to less than 14 years. The Rincons may think this is a slap on the wrist, considering the loss of a very special child. A 14 year sentence is relatively safe from review by appellate courts. Had there been a 20 year sentence, the Appellate level courts may have sent the case back down for a sentence more commensurate with what judges normally do in a DUI fatality. Last year, Judge Fell sentenced a suburban mom who killed a 20 year old (also academically gifted, like Jose) a three year sentence. She too was a first offender (first time caught DUI, anyway). This woman had no idea of the humiliation of prison life, starting with being issued a pair of dingy, used underwear, frayed and full of holes. She lives in constant fear of other inmates and their advances. Her children had to move to a very frigid part of the country to be with their biological father who apparently had wanted very little to do with them.
My heart goes out to the Rincons. I knew Jose Jr and loved him dearly. The day he died, I was picking my son and another boy up from having taken the Salpointe entrance exam. Jose Jr. emerged from a group of approximately 50 kids waiting for a ride. He opened the passenger door of my car and said “Hello Mr. Hollingsworth, how are you?” How many kids would do something like that???? As always, that was just one more thing that impressed me about Jose Jr. My wife always said, “The Rincons are raising a future U.S. Senator in that boy.” Jose Jr. had the intellect, the charm, the character and the phenomenal family support to go far in life. What a tragedy!! What a tragedy!!
Still, a judge often is forced to sentence a criminal to less time for a far more intentional killing, so I am not at all surprised at the 14 year sentence.
January 20th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Deterrence v. retributive justice. It’s always difficult, especially given that deterrence, though empirical, is slippery to measure in a dynamic world.
January 20th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Some might argue that deterrence has not
been given an adequate chance to take effect.
Evidence being that sentencing is relative
to what has gone before. (Comment 1)
January 21st, 2009 at 7:01 am
Assuming she’s on her best behavior through her incarceration how long will it be before she is in driver seat? Five? six?
January 21st, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Assuming she’s on her best behavior through her incarceration how long will it be before she is in driver seat? Five? six?
I hope never. I was reading the Citizen’s reports on this, and they had nothing on her driving privileges.
January 21st, 2009 at 4:24 pm
She’ll be free to resume drinking and driving after about 141 months, by my reckoning. (85 percent of 14 years minus 56 days served). That’s just shy of 12 years.
January 22nd, 2009 at 10:41 am
The side-by-side articles in Wednesday’s “Star”
concerning the sentencing of drivers involved in
fatal incidences illuminate the need for parity
in DUI-related deaths. One driver received 22+
years in sentences imposed consecutively for
creating a situation in which a fetus was killed.
Because his form of recklessness is deemed a felony,
the judge did not fear the length of sentence being
challenged. Rumsey’s form of recklessness is only
a misdemeanor resulting in the judge’s hesitancy to
impose consecutive sentences in her fatal incident.
The recklessness of both drivers is unquestionable.
The disparity in the sentences in no way accounts
for the time invested in developing and nuturing a
human life. Both are extreme tragedies resulting from
extreme irresponsilbe behavior. The sentences need to
reflect that. DUI at high BAC levels needs to be
elevated to a felony.
January 22nd, 2009 at 1:54 pm
We need a review on the sentencing structure. Which I hope reduces some sentences while making some more severe. Having no jail time for DWI minus extreme DWI. While making addicted drug offenders criminals is pathetic.
I am not for locking people up, but flagrant violations by a large population creating violence needs to be dealt with.