Katie's Law and Neil's Voice
by Andrew Malekoff©
Sitting on my desk in my home in Long Beach since early March 2007 are published excerpts of the impact statements made by seven-year-old Katie Flynn’s family before the sentencing of a 25-year-old drunken driver who was convicted of killing her and Stanley Rabinowitz in July 2005. Time and time again I find myself going back to the statement of Katie’s dad, Neil Flynn.
"I have learned that fatherhood is the greatest endeavor a man can undertake. My children are the central focus of my existence. They justify my life. Without them I would be nothing."
On June 21, 2007 the New York State Assembly unanimously passed a bill that was co-sponsored by state Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg and state Senator Charles Fuschillo that makes aggravated vehicular homicide a crime. This crime may be charged when a death is caused by a drunken driver and that includes additional death or serious injury, a previous conviction of driving under the influence, a blood-alcohol content of 0.18 or more and driving with a suspended license.
"From my first waking moments my thoughts are dominated by sadness, grief and anxiety. At least three times a day I am overwhelmed by grief and break down in tears despite the fact that I am on two powerful anti-depressants. I frequently cry in front of my children, which is extremely painful to me and damaging to them."
The first thing I did after reading about the law was to talk to my two sons, ages 18 and 22. I told them, “Boys, we have had this discussion before, but please make sure that under no circumstances do you drink and drive. Not after a party or if you go to a wedding or affair of any kind as you get older. Just don't do it! It is not worth it. I am sorry to lecture you and to be so serious, but I love you and want you to be safe and not make a fatal and life changing mistake. The new law won't stop everybody from drinking and driving, but it could prevent many everyday people who make this mistake from killing someone and then getting sentenced to long and hard years in prison.”
"My sleep is punctuated by nightmares and I wake often. I rarely dream of Katie alive. I have done so only three times since her death. Although waking from these dreams is incredibly painful, I wish I had them more often. I wake after three or four hours and stare aimlessly at pointless television shows. I drift back to sleep in the early morning for a few more fitful hours before starting the cycle again."
Once this column is printed I will give it to my sons. I want them to put my “lecture” into context and to know that beyond the severe penalties that the new law brings that there is a father’s anguish. I want them to hear Neil Flynn.
"I do not know joy. I have no hope for a better future here on earth…I cannot overcome my sadness. I am desolate."
I hope that the new law will serve as a deterrent for my sons. More than that, though, I want them to think not only of Katie’s Law but to also hear Neil’s Voice.
And, although we have never met I want Neil Flynn to know, father to father, how sorry I am for his devastating loss and how thankful I am to him for opening his soul so that others may be saved.
Originally published in Long Island, New York's Anton Newspapers
