Ridge Runner Chronicles: Did They Do “What Needed to be Done”?
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By Bill Hoagland
When a convicted felon goes to jail for the commission of a particularly heinous crime, such as child molestation, and the length of the sentence seems too light for the crime, how often do you hear that once these perpetrators get to prison, the other inmates will “make things right” and “do what needs to be done” with regard to the “light” sentence? I have never really known for sure if that is true. But now we have a case where some inmates were doing what they felt “needed to be done” and there is no doubt that it happened.
This case involves Nathan Rademak, the so-called “ Tesla Road Rage Guy”. His antics have been posted on YouTube for several years. He is the muscular man in his mid-30’s who stops his Tesla in the passing lane, emerges from his car and confronts the driver behind him with a lead pipe, smashing the drivers car window and punching the driver in the face if the window is down. Most of the people he attacks are females. To get a feel for how intimidating he is, type in “Tesla Road Rage Guy” on YouTube and watch one of these videos. This is definitely scary stuff.
Rademak was eventually identified and charged in Los Angeles. Once his name became public, multiple victims came forward with the same basic story that they were attacked by Rademak. Further investigation revealed that over a ten year period prior to his California road rages, Rademak had similar charges against him in eight other jurisdictions. Despite this criminal history, George Gaston, the Los Angeles District Attorney, cut a deal with Rademak before trial without letting the victims know the terms of the deal. Rademak was officially sentenced to five years in state prison but, without prior notice to the victims as required by law, he was released from jail after spending only 10 months there. The terms of his parole were not made public and when the victims tried to determine his current whereabouts, no one could tell them where he was. He had essentially skipped town.
Six months later, while again driving a Tesla, he attacked a teenaged girl in Honolulu by hitting her in her face with his fist; he then attacked her mother. He was arrested for assault and was jailed without bail. Obviously, this guy is a walking powder keg and unfortunately, he appears to be a physically fit person capable of carrying out his threats. (We all know someone like this, don’t we?)
Redemak was placed in the general prison population in Honolulu but was housed in a solitary pod at night. Within 24 hours of being in jail, and with the help of other inmates, another inmate got in his pod and essentially beat him to a pulp. Here are the injuries: broken collarbone, concussion, injury to one eye, loss of two teeth, dislocated shoulder, fractured hip, two fractured ribs, a fractured hand, and extensive leg injuries, such that he was unable to walk and needed to be in a wheelchair. When this occurred, there was no prison staff in the vicinity and surprise, surprise, the video monitoring system for that pod had been turned off.
So what is supposed to be done with the inmate who beat him up and those who assisted him? Rademak, with his extensive record of extreme aggression primarily against women, should have been sentenced for more than five years in the first place and should never have been placed on probation after only 10 months. Maybe the prosecutor is as much as fault as anyone for letting this powder keg back into the public domaine. And let’s face it, the man who beat him in the cell essentially did what the legal system could not and should not do; he rendered Rademak physically incapable of hurting anyone again for a long time. And while lawyers are ethically obligated to support the law at all times, and to not condone mob rule, judging from the comments on the internet about this case, most folks seem to believe these inmates were just doing “what needed to be done”.
It is critical that for our society to be effective and safe that we always respect the rule of law, despite the lure of mob rule. What do you think? Did these inmates “do what needed to be done”?
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ν Bill Hoagland has practiced law in Alton for more than 50 years, but he has spent more than 70 years hunting, fishing and generally being in the great outdoors. His wife, Annie, shares his love of the outdoor life. Much of their spare time is spent on their farm in Calhoun County. Bill can be reached at [email protected].
