Rutland Herald
6/17/2016
In response to “A fatal encounter”:
Ms. Bellis certainly has my sympathy for the loss of her husband. As she stated, not only did she lose her husband but also her best friend.
But I question her characterization of Craig Mosher as the some sort of misanthrope who orchestrated this unfortunate tragedy. He is not Satan or Beelzebub. We have not yet heard his side of the story. Statements like “My personal tragedy is about an irresponsible pet owner who repeatedly chose to avoid taking the steps needed to prevent his pet bull from being out on Route 4” show a disconnect between Ms. Bellis’ personal need for another pound of Mosher’s flesh and the ramifications of this prosecution to livestock and animal owners of any stripe, whether they be farmers or pet owners.
The law does not make that distinction when it applies liability to the animal’s owner. Ms. Bellis is trying to disclaim this vengeful prosecution as not having anything to do with farmers, yet this case will affect all farmers with livestock. It will affect their insurance rates, the cost of fencing, and has already created the fear of prosecution if their animal is involved in some malady as befell the Bellises.
I hesitate to bring up these unanswered-as-yet questions because I do not want to be seen as trying to blame the victim, but if the Bellis’ car was only traveling 35-40 mph on a major highway posted at 50 mph, why is it they couldn’t avoid an apparently stationary (“bull was standing”) object in the road? The road is plenty wide and while the bull was big, its not big enough to block half the road, never mind the whole road. Is it because the driver was distracted, tired at the end of a three-hour drive, or because of his age, 62, somewhat night blind?
An American Medical Association (AMA) statement notes that the large number of senior drivers is a public health issue, because of age-related declines in vision, cognition and motor function. I think Ms. Bellis should take a long and deep contemplation on the realities of the situation. While she may find vengeance in the law, because of our justice system, i.e. precedents and case law, millions of people will be affected. And maybe there are some personal accountability issues that should be reflected upon as well.
VITO RASENAS
Killington
But I question her characterization of Craig Mosher as the some sort of misanthrope who orchestrated this unfortunate tragedy. He is not Satan or Beelzebub. We have not yet heard his side of the story. Statements like “My personal tragedy is about an irresponsible pet owner who repeatedly chose to avoid taking the steps needed to prevent his pet bull from being out on Route 4” show a disconnect between Ms. Bellis’ personal need for another pound of Mosher’s flesh and the ramifications of this prosecution to livestock and animal owners of any stripe, whether they be farmers or pet owners.
The law does not make that distinction when it applies liability to the animal’s owner. Ms. Bellis is trying to disclaim this vengeful prosecution as not having anything to do with farmers, yet this case will affect all farmers with livestock. It will affect their insurance rates, the cost of fencing, and has already created the fear of prosecution if their animal is involved in some malady as befell the Bellises.
I hesitate to bring up these unanswered-as-yet questions because I do not want to be seen as trying to blame the victim, but if the Bellis’ car was only traveling 35-40 mph on a major highway posted at 50 mph, why is it they couldn’t avoid an apparently stationary (“bull was standing”) object in the road? The road is plenty wide and while the bull was big, its not big enough to block half the road, never mind the whole road. Is it because the driver was distracted, tired at the end of a three-hour drive, or because of his age, 62, somewhat night blind?
An American Medical Association (AMA) statement notes that the large number of senior drivers is a public health issue, because of age-related declines in vision, cognition and motor function. I think Ms. Bellis should take a long and deep contemplation on the realities of the situation. While she may find vengeance in the law, because of our justice system, i.e. precedents and case law, millions of people will be affected. And maybe there are some personal accountability issues that should be reflected upon as well.
VITO RASENAS
Killington
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