December 5th / 7th, 2008
"Carr Should Stay Clear of TV"
After serving a slap on the wrist sentence for killing a pedestrian while
driving drunk, former TV anchor Tolly Carr will be a free man in May. In the
meantime, Carr and his attorneys have been busy averting a wrongful death
jury trial that was initially sought by the victim’s family. Late last month,
Carr made what’s called a “confession of judgement”, in which he agreed to
make restitution to the family of Casey Bokhoven, beginning one year after his
release from prison.
The question is, what kind of job will Carr secure that will allow him to
make regular payments to the Bokhovens? Hopefully it wouldn’t be as an anchor
or reporter for a North Carolina TV station. That’s because the last thing
we need is a murdering drunk in a position of prominence, standing as a role
model to kids, being invited to emcee community events, speaking to student
groups, and giving inspirational talks to churches about his difficult
personal journey.
Not long after his arrest last year, Carr tried to peddle his sob story to
the public.
The problem is he didn’t peddle the entire truth. He led friends and
supporters to believe the Bokhoven tragedy was an accident bourn out of a one time
incident.
But the night Tolly ran down young Casey was far from the first time Carr
had gone bar hopping , drinking to excess, and getting behind the wheel of a
car while drunk.
On that fateful night, Carr had been throwing down drinks at three different
bars and was three sheets to the wind when he allegedly phoned not one, but
two different taxi companies to see how much they would charge him for a trip
home.
Not satisfied with their responses, Carr then made a conscious and
deliberate decision to drive drunk, and his friends let him. The result was no “
accident”. It was murder with a deadly weapon.
For that, he should have been given a life sentence. Instead, the Court
was lenient. So be it. But come May, MADD and other anti-drunk driving groups
should keep a close watch on this situation. Carr’s first job out of prison
should be a low profile, behind-the-scenes position. If he wants to return
to television, then he should work as a news producer or assignment editor,
but certainly not as an anchor or reporter. Any station that would put Carr in
front of the camera no doubt would face the consequences of nagging
negative publicity.
Moreover, restoring Carr’s fame would be an insult to the Bokhovens.
After all, it was because of Carr’s notoriety that bar tenders kept serving
him alcohol past the point of excess, which resulted in the brutal death of a
loving son and brother. And speaking of those bars, two of them have
since settled out of Court with the Bokhovens, while the third has declared
bankruptcy.
So Tolly, if you want to be in front of the camera again, go do it somewhere
out of state, and spare us locals your public rehabilitation.
The pain of Casey Bokhoven’s murder is still too fresh in our minds, and you
haven’t yet earned the right to reintegrate into decent society, at least
not as a celebrity.
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