Nelson and a photo of her late son, A.J.

I never understood why people used to make a huge deal about jaywalking. Well, mainly the police. If you want to cross the street outside of the confines of a crosswalk than that’s your business, and a risk you choose to take on your own. How is crossing the street in a way that doesn’t include walking over some painted lines and a light an issue if you wait until the streets are clear? We’ve all done it, am I right? But after a 4-year-old boy was killed in a hit-and-run accident while the young man, his mother and two sisters were crossing a busy intersection to get home in April 2010, the whole freak out about jaywalking makes a little bit more sense. But should a mother possibly face more jail time for jaywalking with her kids than the person who was driving the car and bolted?

For a while there, that seemed to be a possibility for Georgia mother Raquel Nelson. Not only had she lost her son in the accident, but Raquel and one of her daughters were hit as well during the incident. As Nelson and her children waited on a median to cross the busy road after getting off of their bus, a young woman who also was waiting decided to try and beat the traffic by running across the street. Thinking that was his cue, 4-year-old A.J. Newman, Nelson’s son, followed suit and let go of his mother’s hand. As Nelson tried to run out to follow him, Nelson, her son A.J. of course, and her daughter were hit by the driver, who later admitted to drinking before he drove that day, and also taking painkillers before he got behind the wheel. While the driver, Jerry Guy, only served six months of a five year sentence for the accident, although he had two priors for hit-and-run accidents, the state convicted Nelson of reckless conduct, improperly crossing a roadway, and second degree homicide by vehicle. The mother, who was convicted by an all-white jury according to The Huffington Post, was looking at three years in prison. Luckily for her, yesterday Nelson was given community service and 12 months probation. However, Nelson doesn’t want any of that, and we can’t blame her. The mother is looking for a new trial in the hopes that she can be acquitted of all charges and wipe her record clean.

It’s important to note Nelson’s responsibility in this accident, but time in jail? That would have been a travesty, and probation in itself is seemingly way over the top. Especially since it has been proven that there wasn’t a real crosswalk available for Nelson and her kids to safely make it from their bus stop to their apartment. Something that has been complained about consistently by residents of Marietta, Ga., who have to cross the busy Austell Road. Is it not bad enough that she already lost her son? I think it’s pretty clear that the justice system sure knows how to do the absolute most and the least at the same time. Shame…but what do you think?

Do you think Raquel Nelson deserved probation?