Motorcyclists hail trial's outcome

By Steve Miller, Journal Staff Writer | Monday, January 12, 2004

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So far, so good. Let's see what happens next.

That was the reaction of motorcyclists in South Dakota and elsewhere to Congressman Bill Janklow's manslaughter conviction for the death of Minnesota motorcyclist Randy Scott.

Janklow won't be sentenced on the conviction until Jan. 20. He could receive up to 11 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

"I think he was judged by a jury in our legal system as being guilty, and he should pay the penalty like anyone else," Ron Ronneberg, co-owner of Indian Motorcycles Black Hills, said. Ronneberg said he has voted for Janklow in the past. But he said the Republican congressman and four-time South Dakota governor should serve some time in jail.

"Any other Joe Blow off the street would get the maximum allowed by law," Ronneberg said.

The case drew intense interest from motorcyclists throughout the nation, in part because South Dakota hosts the huge Sturgis motorcycle rally each August.

Sturgis city rally department officials said they had received e-mails from bikers threatening to boycott the rally if Janklow was not convicted.

Monday's guilty verdict for Janklow on second-degree manslaughter, as well as on the lesser traffic charges, should satisfy the motorcycle community, Brenda Vasknetz, Sturgis' assistant rally director, said.

It has satisfied longtime motorcyclist Leo Splinter, 73, of Rapid City - so far.

"I called my two sons in Minnesota and told them the verdict was guilty, so they don't have to worry about starting a boycott," Splinter said.

Splinter said he and his wife and sons are longtime motorcycle riders. Splinter himself is a former racer, and he competed at Sturgis.

He says his sons were satisfied with the verdict, but they also will watch the sentencing closely. "If the judge slaps him on the hand and he gets away with it, there's a possibility it could affect Sturgis."

Todd Witte of York, Pa., has ridden to the Sturgis rally several times and is among bikers around the country who have watched the case. "I'm happy with the verdict," Witte said. "I'm just kind of anxious to see what the sentence is going to be. Are they going to slap him on the hand, or is he going to get some time out of this?"

Witte, a manufacturing company executive, said proper justice is owed Scott's family and might prevent a similar tragedy in the future.

Witte said jail time would be a just punishment for Janklow. "What the applicable term is, I'm not sure."

Cycle World magazine's executive editor David Edwards wrote in the latest issue that Janklow should endure "the thin, hard mattress of a prison cell."

The American Motorcyclist Association has carried news articles about the case on its Web site since the Aug. 16 accident.

The association has encouraged its 266,000 members to urge South Dakota officials to seek justice, spokesman Tom Lindsay said.

"We applaud the jury's decision," Lindsay said Tuesday. "Now, we wait to see what in the form of sentencing the justice system in South Dakota will impose."

Darrel Killion of Madison, state coordinator of the motorcycle group A Brotherhood for Awareness Training and Education, or ABATE, said members seem satisfied with the guilty verdict but are withholding judgment until Janklow is sentenced.

Killion said he wouldn't necessarily be upset if Janklow receives a suspended sentence but added, "He shouldn't be treated any differently than anybody else. If the rule of thumb historically in this state for a manslaughter charge of this type has been a five-year sentence, with two years behind bars, and the balance suspended, fine, that works for me. He shouldn't pay a higher price, but he should pay a price."

Killion noted, however, that Janklow, by resigning his seat in Congress, "already will pay a higher price than the average person would."

State Sen. Bill Napoli, R-Rapid City, who battled often with Janklow when he was governor, is also a lifelong motorcycle rider.

Napoli said the concern of most motorcycle riders was whether Janklow would be found guilty in Scott's death. He said many older riders remember a case in Arizona during the 1970s when a prominent politician ran over and killed a motorcyclist but avoided conviction.

"Speaking as a motorcyclist and a car enthusiast, I don't even care if Janklow does get any jail time," Napoli said Tuesday. "Justice has been served."

Contact Steve Miller at 394-8417 or steve.miller@rapidcityjournal.com