Chelsea King and Rachel Morrison- two tragedies two reactions

Two vital young women on the cusp of bountiful lives unfolding;  both killed by the action of a single man.  Unlike Chelsea whose name will continue on as defining a state law aimed at preventing such a crime that resulted in her death,  Rachel is never to be known to the public.

Chelsea and Rachel were both victims of criminal actions;  in the earlier event the death was a byproduct of a sexual perversion, in the later it was caused by an individual choosing to drive a vehicle in a condition of inebriation that made it into a random killing machine.  The facts of these two tragedies are not really in dispute, even though the individual charged in the later death is presumed innocent.  This is not about the perpetrators, but about us, the public, the voters, the consumers of information.

The reaction to Chelsea's death was so overwhelming that not only was the murderer sentenced to life in prison, but respected journalists felt comfortable reflecting the widely held wish that the convicted felon be swiftly murdered in jail --  "Vengence is our's sayeth the public."   The law that became Chelsea's memorial, as if she would have condoned it, was written so broadly that the first person charged under it was an older mentally disturbed individual who exposed himself after walking away from his facility.  I remember listening to his incoherent delusional interview where he explained that the boys were his grandsons. The charge was so disproportionate, even though it followed the law, that the Judge threw it out immediately.

Other's will not be so "lucky."  The law casts a net wide enough to attempt to identify activities that may be a precursor to the violence committed on Chelsea, this done with the public consensus that it's better to anticipate such crimes rather than allow it to actually take place.  Unfortunately, wishing this were possible to achieve does not make it so.  The law is also is consistent with our personal repulson of sexual deviance, while being eliminated in some areas, is concentrated on those identified with this particular propensity, this perversion, those in whose face we see can discern the outlines of the monster killer rapist John Gardner.

As to Rachel's killer, there will be no new law named after her, and it's doubtful it will foster a deeper investigation of what course of action could be taken to have prevented it.  It's not because the cause of her death was rare, and that of Chelsea's common.   Quite the contrary, frequency of  homicides associated with sexual violence by a stranger compared to death by drunk driver approximates the chance of being struck dead by lightening compared to getting soaked in a thunder storm. 

Addressing the criminal act that caused  Rachel Morrison's violent death does not lend it self to the satisfaction of a crusade of combating evil, as most of us have had a few too many drinks in our lives, and many even gotten behind the wheel of a car when knowingly just a bit tipsy. These mixed emotions make efforts to rationalize our elaborate automobile culture that includes archaic laws enforcing ignored signage difficult to pursue. Yet, our country has more carnage on the road than others, which indicates that it can be reduced, but first the public must see the inter-related nature of the complex traffic enterprise.    

We are not that far from a time when this vulnerable human cognitive system now controlling cars will be augmented by computer-visual technology that never needs escape into alcoholic oblivion or whose brain shuts off for the needed refreshing of sleep.  As this technology approaches us at warp speed it will change private transportation along with every other aspect of economic-social existence.  Yet, we dare not wait for this day to arrive.  

I mourn for the death of both young women,  but I see in Rachel's death the possibility of an awaking by the public, not to promote rage at a given perpetrator, but to look at the broader array of attitudes, distortions and overwhelming cynicism among the public that dismiss ideas for change before they can even be explored.  From this unreported tragedy, we should be motivated to continue seeking ways that could have prevented her death and the thousands like it each year.  We can create a culture where  getting into a car while drunk will be seen as an obscenity.   Rachel's tragic death should provide the incentive to make this effort.

Al Rodbell
Mr. Rodbell is a member of the Encinitas Traffic and Public Safety Commission.  

Article describing Rachel Morrison's death.

My annotated article on passing of Chelsea's Law