Summary of Parker Pleading Guilty

Flashback to Wednesday, July 25, 2007.....

Commonwealth vs. Christopher G. Parker
Barnstable District Court
Barnstable, MA

I went to court wondering what would happen. As I mentioned I had found it hard to sleep the night before due to the anticipation. Since the traffic had been heavy the last time I had gone to this courthouse I left an hour and forty-five minutes early to make the 50 minute drive. Of course since I had left early there wasn't any traffic and I actually made my way to Barnstable way ahead of schedule.

There is a rest area with a Burger King at the exit I take off of Route 6 so I grabbed a burger and fries and parked in the parking lot to eat. When I was finished I still had forty minutes to spare so I sat there and read out loud the victim impact statements that my brother and myself had written so that I would be familiar with them.

I arrived at the courthouse about ten minutes early and after passing through security I made my way to the D.A.'s office to meet up with Victim/Witness Advocate Kathleen Finnegan. Francine Abbott and her friend were already there. Kathleen had us each sign a paper that will allow us to be notified when Parker comes up for parole.

At about 2:00pm we were taken into the Second Session Courtroom on the second floor of the courthouse. This was a smaller courtroom then the First Session Courtroom. I sat in the front row with Kathleen at my right. Francine Abbott was a couple of rows behind us. Parker was already in the area to the left of the Judge's desk where the people who are in custody are seated. Parker's Court-appointed Attorney Woodrow Brown was standing next to Parker. Also in the Courtroom was A.D.A. Brian Shea who was prosecuting the case, a Clerk sitting in front of the Judges bench and a couple of bailiffs. Additionally a reporter and photographer from the Cape Cod Times were sitting to the right side of the room. It was too bad that George Brennan who had been reporting on this case from the onset couldn't be there...although I can't blame him, I would have rather been in Hawaii too :-)

A few minutes after entering the courtroom one of the bailiffs said "All Rise" and as we stood Judge Lynch entered the room and took her seat. The clerk called out the case "Commonwealth vs. Christopher G. Parker" and the judge asked A.D.A. Shea to recite the evidence. Shea read from the police report, mentioning that when police arrived at the scene they found Diane unresponsive in her Chevrolet Tracker and that her vehicle was so badly damaged it took time for them to extract her. They noticed that she had a very weak pulse and an attempt was made to bring her to a school field nearby where a med-flight helicopter was waiting. When they arrived at the helicopter it was determined that nothing could be done and Diane was brought to Falmouth Hospital where she was pronounced dead due to a skull fracture and bruising in her brain.

There were a number of witnesses mentioned and it was stated that Parker made no attempt to avoid the accident. A satellite radio and headphones were found on the front seat of the Honda Accord that Parker was driving and Parker had admitted that he had been fiddling with the radio at the time of the crash. When A.D.A. Shea finished the judge asked Parker if he agreed with the facts as they had been read and Parker said they were "Fairly accurate". Parker also mentioned, with a red face, that he apologized for the heartache he had caused and that he wishes he could change the events of that day.

Now it was time for the victim impact statements to be read. Francine Abbott went first and she sobbed as she read from the pages she had prepared, standing where she had been seated. When she finished after about four minutes it was my turn to stand. I went to the front and read first what my brother had sent for me to read (he lives in Arizona and couldn't make it) and then my own statement, which I've already posted here a few days ago. It took me about 16 minutes to read through both of them and all the while Parker had to stand there. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and stared at the ground. The statements had to be addressed to Judge Lynch, but Parker could certainly hear what was being read aloud.

When I finished Judge Lynch thanked us for our statements and then asked both the prosecution and the defense what they would recommend for a sentence for the charges of Vehicular Homicide and driving on a revoked license. The Judge thought on it for a moment and stated that the maximum sentence for Vehicular Homicide was 2.5 years. She sentenced Parker to that 2.5 years with 6 months suspended and then 2 years probation when he was released. She also gave Parker 10 days on the the driving with a revoked license charge...to be served concurrently to the 2.5 years.

I admit that I was upset at the sentence, especially the 10 days to be served concurrently. I had this feeling of "why bother?" Unfortunately I was going to get that feeling again in just two days when Parker went before a Judge in Falmouth District Court on OUI charges from October 2006. But that will be in the next post.

Parker was taken from the courtroom by the two bailiffs and I said "Good-bye" to Kathleen Finnegan and A.D.A. Shea and drove home. I called my brother as soon as I got home and let him know what had happened.

I don't think I have to tell anyone that I was disappointed by the 2.5 years and 10 days, with only 2 years to serve that Parker received for killing my Mom. It makes Parker's life seem so much more important. I have been shocked at the overly liberal court system on the Cape. Having sat through a number of arraignments and dispositions while waiting for Parker's cases to be called it seems like a bit of a farce. It is not the District Attorney's fault, their hands are pretty much tied by the laws (or lack of) of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I have watched four different Judges dismiss most cases or continue them without a finding. Numerous people who are charged with driving without a license have their cases dismissed after the Judge asks the defendant if it is a case where they are not able to get a license (illegals). Look through the court reports that the Cape Cod Times prints (link can also be found at left). I've noticed that others on the Cape have written about this same topic on the Cape Cod Times forums.

I've got to go get some work done so I will post what happened last Friday when Parker plead guilty to his fifth OUI later on.