For wife of jailed Toyota driver, anger, regret (Koua Fong Lee)

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Pioneer Press

Her outrage lingers over performance of original defense lawyer

By Emily Gurnon

The wife of Koua Fong Lee, the man serving eight years for vehicular homicide in a 2006 crash involving a Toyota Camry, said Friday that she and her family are angry at how Lee's trial attorney handled his case.

"I was really disappointed that he kept on saying Koua put his foot on the gas and not on the brake," said Panghoua Moua, 24, referring to attorney Tracy Eichhorn-Hicks of St. Louis Park. "It's like he was teaming up with the prosecution.

"He was not in the car — I was in the car with Koua."

Lee has filed a petition for post-conviction relief in his case, alleging that the car experienced "sudden unintended acceleration," the same problem for which some 8 million newer-model Toyotas have been recalled since last fall.

Read more: http://www.twincities.com/ci_15536407

---

Pang Houa Moua holds her youngest child Angel Lee, 2, in the backyard of their St. Paul home Friday evening July 16, 2010. (Chris Polydoroff, Pioneer Press)

[border_town]

1. Why hasn't this guy been released from prison?

knowing what we know now, this case should be looked at.

[Festivito]

3. Waiting for years to pass, rather than months, weeks, days and even minutes?

It's beyond shameful and achieving shameless.

[Raschel]

10. From what I understand, the county attorney is examining the car to

see if there is sufficient evidence for a retrial.

Now how they think that's reasonable is beyond me. We know that even Toyota can't determine the reason for the brake failures.

I know that this man had his family in the car with him and was coming from church. He wasn't some kid hot-rodding up the ramp trying to stop at the last minute.

I know that he maintained the entire time that he put his foot on the brake.

[Festivito]

20. They might be stalling trying to avoid creating a new avenue of retrial.

This is certainly a rare case where new evidence comes in that is completely unforeseen.

It also seems that prosecutors these days would kill someone rather than have a smudge on their prosecutorial record.

[Iowa]

16. Because our system of justice is a joke.

[Joe Chi Minh]

2. K&R

[Schema Thing]

4. Why would he be serving 8 years even if he did hit the gas...

instead of the brake? Did they allege that he intended to hurt people?


I've wondered why since I first heard about this case.

[Hepburn]

5. My best guess: Gross negligence...

...it can substitute for "intent" in all but specific intent crimes. Specific intent crimes are crimes like murder ~~ one must have the "specific intent" to have perpetrated a murder in order to be convicted. (Exception ~~ the felony-murder rule.)

My best guess on this: Somehow the jury in his case has to find that his conduct in hitting the gas and not the brake was "grossly negligent." Therefore, one would find a conviction for "felony vehicular manslaughter."

Since all crimes must have a sufficient act and a bad mind set, that is the only way he could have been convicted was because of a finding of gross neligence that was sufficient for the element of intent. And...a factual finding that in fact he hit the gas and not the brake.

Dumbshit defense atty to make the argument that the defendant did hit the brake ~~ sheeshhh....

[Odin2005]

8. Delete, wrong place.

[murielm99]

6. Could it be that his eyes slant and his skin is brown?

Aren't non-white people suspicious characters to begin with?

:sarcasm:

[Hepburn]

7. That could have played into it...

...and probably did.

[Schema Thing]

11. that's what it sounds like.

I can't imagine a blond girl or boy being in prison for this same mistake.

[Odin2005]

9. There is a lot of bigotry against Hmong here in the Upper-Midwest.

[Ysabela]

13. Because he's a recent Hmong immigrant. That's why.

[Schema Thing]

17. that's what I suspected when I first heard of this...

...and it enrages me.

[Omaha Steve]

14. His race went against him

So did the deaths.

The car was inspected a few months ago. They can prove the brake lights were at the time of the impact. The throttle was locked OPEN too.

[SoapBox]

12. What the HELL?

Dear gawd...this guy is STILL in jail?

What the hell?

Hello...the "evidence" is way suspect!

I can't believe that he is still being held...OUTRAGEOUS.

[Hepburn]

15. Boy, is that the absolute truth!

Brakes on...throttled locked open...and he's in jail!?!?!?!?!?! :wow:

[xynthee]

18. link to donate to his defense fund:

http://www.freekoua.com/

I can't make any guarantees about this website, but here's a petition site at change.org (which seems to be a legit site; please feel free to set me straight):

http://immigration.change.org/petitions/view/release_koua_fong_lee

Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/FREE-KOUA-FONG-LEE/344703313820#!/pages/FREE-KOUA-FONG-LEE/344703313820?v=info

[pipoman]

19. As I've been saying since the very beginning of this Toyota

UA fiasco, nearly every one of these reported cases will either ultimately be deemed driver error or a hoax (just like the 1980's Audi UA fiasco), I suspect this case is in fact the former.

That said, the eight year sentence for unintentional vehicular manslaughter seems almost criminally excessive..really unbelievable...