You're in the shower, lathering up with a bar of soap, and it slips from your hands, landing on the tiles. Without fail it hits on one of the corners, deforming it, and you have to use it with this deformed corner poking you for a few days until it wears down.
FLANDREAU - Bill Janklow, one of South Dakota's most powerful political figures for most of three decades, will spend the 100 days behind bars in the company of thieves and drunks as punishment for an Aug. 16 accident that killed a Minnesota man.
Circuit Court Judge Rodney Steele today sentenced Janklow to serve his time beginng in Feb. 7 in the Minnehaha County Jail in Sioux Falls for second-degree manslaughter and three misdemeanors in connection the accident. He will be eligible for work release after 30 days but must spend each night in jail. Janklow also received a suspended imposition of sentence, which means if he completes his jail time and a term of probation the felony conviction will be removed from his record.
"If I could trade places, I would," Janklow told the judge and an overflowing courtroom.
Janklow's fall from the heights of influence and power has been quick.
Six months ago, he was hitting his stride as South Dakota's lone member of the House of Representatives. The former four-term governor won the seat in Congress in 2002 and was showing vigor in a job for which many wondered if he had the patience.
There was also talk that the outspoken populist would challenge his friend Tom Daschle for the Senate in this year's election.
He had the president's ear and the people's blessing.
That political momentum stopped suddenly at a lonely highway intersection in rural Moody County on a warm Saturday afternoon. Janklow was driving to his Brandon home after an event honoring Korean War veterans in Aberdeen. Investigators say the Cadillac he was driving ran a stop sign and collided with a Harley-Davison motorcyle ridden by Randy Scott, 55, of Hardwick, Minn.
Scott died at the scene, Janklow received head and hand injuries and a process was set in motion that culminated with Steele's decision this afternoon in the Moody County Courthouse. In this same courtoom, a different judge in a different era told a teenage Janklow, a Flandreau native, to join the Marines to mend his trouble-making ways. This time, with the state and nation waiting for the outcome, there would be no out.
During the week-long trial in December, the front pews of the courtroom were filled with supporters from both sides of the case. Scott's mother, Marcella, his children and friends attended every minute of the trial, including graphic testimony from investigators and medical experts about the details of how their loved one died.
But most of the Scott family was absent from today's sentencing. The family has filed a wrongful-death suit against Janklow and sent word through a court spokeswoman that they did not want to comment on the judge's decision.
Janklow was accompanied by his wife, Mary Dean, and their three grown children. Other family and friends also attended and spoke on his behalf, including Msr. James Doyle and Sioux Falls lawyer Jeramiah Murphy.
Moody County State's Attorney Bill Ellingson charged Janklow with felony second-degree manslaughter and three misdemeanors Ñ speeding, running a stop sign and reckless driving. The trial began with jury selection on Dec. 1 and ended with a guilty verdict on all counts about 5:45 p.m. on Dec. 8. A few hours later, Janklow announced in a written statement that he would resign his seat effective Jan. 20.
At trial, Janklow's lawyer argued the diabetic congressman's blood sugar was low because he had not eaten that day, which clouded his judgement.
Since the guilty verdict, South Dakotans have speculated about the possible sentence and whether Janklow, a hardline law-and-order governor, would have to spend time in jail.
Steele could have given Janklow up to 10 years in the state prison and a $10,000 fine for the felony charge.
But South Dakota does not have mandatory minimum sentences, meaning judges have wide latitude in handing out punishment. A judge takes into consideration a defendant's past record, life history and the testimony of family and supporters during sentencing. Victim's families are also given a chance to speak during sentencing or submit their comments to the judge.
Janklow has appealed his conviction. Earlier this month, Steele rejected a motion to overturn the jury's decision. Next month, Steele will hear another motion from Janklow's lawyers asking for a new trial.
A special election will be held June 1 to fill South Dakota's vacant seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
A multi-million dollar a year outfielder in the major leagues who can't/won't hit the cutoff man.