curtis mertensmeyer is a convicted killer

I needed to blog this because if I can contribute one tiny bit to the online record of this case, I want to continue to do so.
I watched Mrs. Riemann, a 6th grade teacher of mine, talk about the death of her son here in a great story from WDAF.
I remember her three blond boys -- Daniel being not much more than a toddler at the time -- popping in and out of her classroom. Many years later, Curtis Mertensmeyer would take that boy's life. The gravity of that fact is not anywhere on Mertensmeyer's face -- not in the courtroom footage, not in the (s)mug shot -- and I've looked for it. If you have any doubts whether he got 120 days due in at least some part to the fact that his parents are clearly well-off and connected, go to that link above and pay close attention to the footage of the car. Yes, that is the car Mertensmeyer drove away from the scene, to a garage to hide until his passengers, NOT HIM, went to the authorities. Sure, on some level there is a measure of bad luck involved here -- but the overwhelming fact is that this kid is a menace and a probable sociopath. But punishment for things like leaving the scene of the crime and vehicular manslaughter don't amount to much more than a hefty legal bill when you've got an address in Whitesmugsville, Kansas. Do you think a minority whose family lives off Prospect and who killed a white kid walking on Ward Parkway -- drunk or not -- would've gotten anything less than life? Look at that car again. You can see the imprint of a human torso in the hood. The windshield is completely shattered. In fact, I'm astounded that he was able to drive that car away from the scene of the crime and in an impaired state no less. Well, I suppose crashing into a human body, throwing it over 150 feet while severing its leg probably would sober you up pretty quickly, right?
Please, please, please. People who have the power to do so -- DO NOT RE-ELECT Judge John Torrence to the Jackson County Circuit court bench or anywhere for that matter. This is a reckless disregard for law and human life that goes down the chain from Mertensmeyer, through his passengers in the car, to Mertensmeyer's mother's attempts to hide his crime, to his defense attorney -- this stellar piece of humanity right here -- and the buck stops at the desk of Judge Torrence.
The confluence of morally bankrupt assholes at work here is beyond pathetic. I sincerely hope that decent business people in this town take special note of the firms and parties involved. And lastly, I hope the universe finds a way to right itself and that the Riemann family is able to find peace in that.


**I know this post was totally disjointed and not very well realized but fuck I get ADD when I'm this appalled by humanity.