Youth pastor can thank prosecutor for $150 sentence in death of teen who he let ride on the side of his moving van

The child launched into the air and landed in his head. He had sustained a traumatic brain injury and a fractured skull. In a few days he would die after being unconscious.

This is the story concerning how Malachi Nichols-Williams perished due to a youth pastor’s unintelligent actions. Also, it outlines how based on a technicality, the state couldn’t prosecute Rushon Patterson II on the grounds that the laws for the state of Ohio can’t link an involuntary manslaughter charge to a moving traffic violation. Patterson just has to pay a $150 fine.

Now this brings up an interesting situation. How can someone allow a youth to ride alongside a van, hit a pothole, bust his head severely, and skate on a manslaughter charge?

This is a pure example of how the justice system is robust but fractured. Some men and women go left off the hook because of some minor flaw in the legal system.

It only worsens our system of the courts when the state misses or overlooks the reality of punishment that should be doled out to the guilty.

If this system wants to be objective and fair, it should take a look at the facts. There should be no room for loopholes for those who are not innocent. Patterson should pay not just almost $200 but should receive time for his crime.

When the facts weigh on the balance, they point to a twenty-seven-year-old man who permitted a teen to take a ride alongside his vehicle. Though he did not intend for Nichols-Williams to be killed, he essentially precipitated it. He was reckless and knew that the action could prove fatal. It did, obviously.

So what does he do? He pays the fine. But in his mind, somewhere lurking in the corridors of thought, he may be pleading for a stiffer sentence. A young man lost his life trying to have fun with other youths.

This responsibility lays squarely on Patterson’s head. He should have read the room and been conscious of his behavior. When he agreed to carry the young man in question on the side of his van, he should have realized this would not end well, possibly. So, for the simple fact he is being ordered to pay a paltry sum, this reflects on the law system that sees technicalities as a means for the guilty to walk free with a minor penalty.

Williams-Nichols just wanted to have a good time. Sadly, it cost him his life. What Malachi failed to see was this could be injurious. But what Patterson neglected to understand is that he could precipitate the death of this youngster.

Maybe if his friends had been killed also, then what would that have looked like? Would there have just been a higher fine?

It’s impossible to know. It drives at the notion that life is too precious to take wild risks for joy rides on the side of vans. That pothole that spelled doom for Malachi should be burning a hole through Patterson’s mind like a hot lamp over cooked food.

No matter what he does, paid fine and all, he might never forget this entire situation. All of his powers to create a better, more stable existence will always be hampered by the memory of his crime.

Whether he stays in Ohio or uproots, the stain of this occasion will follow him for the remainder of his life. With the manslaughter case being tossed on a technicality, it might seem as if Patterson’s relieved. But it could be noted that he could possibly be wracked with guilt. Could he plead the court for a conviction for the greater charge? The petition would probably fall on deaf ears.