Funny, And Worth Every One Of Those Six Extra Years

Revenge of the tree-huggers:

TUCSON- A woman got a longer jail sentence after a judge heard a recorded jail conversation during which she made light of the bicyclist she had killed.

Melissa Arrington, 27, was convicted two months ago of negligent homicide and two counts of aggravated DUI in connection with the December 2006 death of Paul L'Ecuyer.

She could have gotten as few as four years behind bars, but Pima County Superior Court Judge Michael Cruikshank sentenced her on Tuesday to 10 ½ years, one year shy of the maximum.

Cruikshank said he found a telephone conversation between Arrington and an unknown male friend a week after L'Ecuyer was killed "breathtaking in its inhumanity."

During the conversation, the man told Arrington that an acquaintance of theirs believed she should get a medal and a parade because she had "taken out" what he said was a "tree hugger, a bicyclist, a Frenchman and a gay guy all in one shot."

Arrington laughed, and when the man said he knew it was a terrible thing to say, she responded, "No, it's not."

...L'Ecuyer, 45, was riding his bike the night of Dec. 1, 2006 when Arrington swerved off the road, hit him and then continued for 800 feet before stopping, according to Deputy Pima County Attorney Jonathan Mosher.

Arrington blood-alcohol content was .156 percent, nearly double Arizona's .08 legal limit. She also had been driving on a suspended license for a prior DUI.