I understand that the man was suicidal, but I'm having trouble feeling sympathy: if you want to off yourself, go do it where you won't harm others (beyond them having to deal with the brains splattered in your shower stall or car, whatever).

Just don't take anyone with you. Is that such a f**king difficult concept?

The death penalty would be imposed.

Or would it? Can terrorists who commit such an act be considered sane, I wonder?

Hey, I dunno, just firin' stuff out there...

He would certainly have to have known of the possibility, DCL's proposed defense notwithstanding (does California even still pay so much as lip service to the "reasonable person" test?).

The families that lost loved ones won’t get them back.

This would have been true even if the derailment and associated deaths had resulted from a genuine accident. It isn't necessarily material.

It was many years ago on an extremely foggy night by Mobile Bay when my front tire went off a very deep shoulder of the road while crossing a railroad track. It left my car's axle balanced on the edge of the asphalt and the track, my wheel dangling a good foot and a half above the ground. I tried to build up the space, stuffed logs, debris, piled gravel, anything to bridge the gap between my front tire and the ground. I even thought of jacking the car up, lifting the chassis off the pavement and giving it a good shove, but my husband persuaded me it was too hazardous with the ground so loose. And we'd never have the force necessary to get the wheel onto the pavement. We got all of our important belonging from the vehicle, stacked them under a street light by a nearby wharehouse and waited for the inevitable.

The cargo train came. We hollered in hopes of warning them. Then we watched as our little old Toyota went screeching down the track, sparks lighting up the front of the train with a fiery rooster tail.

The car was pushed about 100 yards down the track before the train stopped. CSX Officers were at the scene in no time. They threated to sue for damages if any were sustained. We were lucky in that regard. The train received no serious damage, nor did the tracks. Only our tiny Toyota was crushed beyond recognition.

Lunacy