John Haley likely never intended to kill 62-year-old fisherman Du Doan (Sun-Times) when he sneaked up behind him and pushed the Vietnamese immigrant and Vietnam War veteran into Lake Michigan two years ago. But now the 33-year-old man convicted of involuntary manslaughter has 10 years to think about what went wrong.
It's not clear what motivated Haley to push the man into the frigid waters in Septemeber 2007, other than he was drunk and bored. He also pushed another man (Tribune), Ronald Squires (age unknown), into the same harbor one month earlier. Squires swam to safety and testified at trial.
Doan could not swim and drowned shortly after Haley pushed him from behind.
Prosecutors hoped to convict Haley on first-degree murder charges and tried to prove that he had tried to kill Doan, while Haley's Illinois criminal defense attorney argued that he was drunk and thrill-seeking. It was a callous and inexcusable offense regardless, as Cook County Circuit Judge John P. Kirby made clear at the sentencing hearing:
"This was a cowardly act, pushing an elderly man who he could not even look in the eye ... and this defendant thought that was funny. These actions are reprehensible and should not be allowed in civilized society."
Haley also was convicted on charges of aggravated battery for pushing Squires into the lake and sentenced to three years in prison, to be served concurrently with his 10-year sentence for Doan's death. Involuntary manslaughter typically carries a sentence of up to five years in prison, but the judge extended his term because of a prior felony drug conviction.
Haley says he stopped drinking upon news that Doan died as a result of his crime.
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Involuntary Manslaughter (FindLaw)
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About Lake Michigan (I Fish Illinois)
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