Congressman convicted
The week's news at a glance.
Flandreau, S.D.
Rep. William Janklow (R-S.D.) announced this week that he was resigning from Congress an hour after he was convicted of manslaughter. He ran a stop sign and killed a motorcyclist in August. Janklow will be replaced in a special election, and the Democrat he narrowly defeated in 2002 is an early favorite to win the seat. Janklow’s white Cadillac was traveling 71 mph in a 55 mph zone when it collided with the motorcyclist, Randolph Scott, 55. Janklow, a diabetic, said his blood sugar was low. His lawyers said the condition left him “confused.” Dismissing that defense as “goofy,” prosecutors noted that Janklow had gotten 12 speeding tickets between 1990 and 1994, and said he’d been playing “a deadly game of Russian roulette.” Janklow faces up to 11 years in prison.
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