Breaking News: Grand Jury Clears Stewart, DA Makes Comments
Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
From a criminal standpoint Tony Stewart can finally begin to move forward with his life following the announcement on Wednesday afternoon that the grand jury decided not to indict him on criminal charges. This decision came after less than two days of testimony before the grand jury. The testimony included statements from drivers who were racing that night with Stewart as well as what is being call “enhanced video” that has yet to be released to the public. However, whatever evidence that DA Michael Tantillo presented to the grand jury, it was not enough for them to feel that charges should be brought against Stewart.
During a press conference Wednesday Tantillo made the following comments regarding the investigation and the grand jury hearing.
"During the course of the presentation approx 2 dozen witnesses testified. In addition they reviewed a number of photographs and videos. The grand jury has decided there was no basis to charge Tony Stewart with a crime.There was no toxicology work done on Tony Stewart but the toxicology reports on Kevin Ward Jr. did show that he was under the influence of marijuana. The levels of marijuana were enough to impair judgement.I made it my goal to bring in front of the grand jury any witness who I felt could speak to what happened on the track. There were two videos, the one on YouTube and the racetracks video. Both videos were similar. Both videos were used in the hearing and were enhanced.The charges submitted were manslaughter in the second degree and criminally negligent homicide."
While this is sure to be a huge relief for Stewart, it would seem that his dealings with court will not be ending. Although it is not confirmed, may people do believe that the family of Kevin Ward Jr. will be filing a wrongful death suit against Stewart in civil court. Such a case would shift the punishment from jail time to that of a financial situation should a civil judge find Stewart to be at fault. The burden of proof is civil court is far less than that of criminal court. In criminal court the burden is supposed to be without any doubt whereas in civil court there is plenty of leeway depending on the judge.
Court issues and ruling aside and what you’re left with is the one thing that both parties will spend the rest of their lives dealing with. Stewart will have to wake up every morning knowing that he was involved in an accident in which a life was lost, a burden that nobody would ever wish to carry. The Ward family will have to go to bed every night knowing that Kevin is gone, something that no parent ever hopes to have to cope with. At the end of the day this was what it always was and that is a tragic accident. An accident that will forever change the lives of all parties involved.
The ruling on Wednesday is the end up one chapter in this saga. From here one can only hope that Stewart and the others involved are finally able to move on and heal from within.
Christopher Olmstead is the Editor of BeyondTheFlag.com on the FanSided Network. Follow us on Twitter @Beyond_The_Flag and “Like” us on Facebook.