On Dr. Raymond Cook

I'm kind of an expert on malice . . . having been on the receiving end of so much of it . . . courtesy of the right-upstanding people of Asheboro with the small-town-values.

The jury is still deliberating on the case of Dr. Raymond Cook - the Raleigh-area surgeon on-trial for second-degree murder after mowing down a ballerina whilst driving drunk in September 2009.

I've not followed the case on the blog because I'm kind of wondering why there was a trial and not a plea bargain.  There's zero question the man is guilty.

Of course, given that lawyers are involved, the case will turn on the concept of "malice".  And it will be interesting to see if a jury will buy the doctor's lawyerly excuses - that he didn't "mean" to kill Elena Shapiro when he got behind the wheel.  The key issue for me would not be what he did after he plowed into her vehicle at high speed (i.e. the bloody/futile mouth-to-mouth) . . . but  instead, forethought . . . in other words, what was the doctor's state-of-mind and knowledge-base BEFORE he picked up that first drink?

And I'm thinking it played out like this:  He was a big bad important doctor and could do anything he liked and just get slap on the hand. 

He could kill ANYONE.  It didn't matter who got in his way.

3/1 Update:

The jury got lost in the smoke and mirrors of "malice".  Cook was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.  As a physician, I am stunned-but-not-surprised.  The verdict certainly underscores the need for legislative reform when it comes to drunk driving and death-by-motor-vehicle.

The defense team earned their money.  And after they plow through what's left of Cook's assets after not working for over a year, I expect Elena's parents will not see much in the form of damages if and when they sue Cook in civil court.