Okay, technically, Daniel Biechele did start the fire at the Station nightclub that resulted in the deaths of 100 people. As Great White’s band manager, it was probably his duty as well as his honor to light the pyrotechnics when Great White took the stage. I can only imagine what his other duties included: Handling child support payments, negotiating king-sized beds at the Motel 6, rallying the band to perform “Once Bitten Twice Shy” for the millionth time while discouraging them from playing new stuff. It’s only rock and roll, after all.
“The devastation wrought by the conduct of [Biechele] is unparalleled in our state’s history,” the prosecutor told the court before yesterday’s sentencing. His conduct? He wasn’t drunk-driving or building bombs. Certainly in his wildest dreams Biechele couldn’t imagine that the pyrotechnics would ignite the flammable foam negligently erected by the culpable criminals, the brothers Derderian. Biechele cried as he apologized, “I never wanted anyone to be hurt in any way…I never imagined that anyone ever would be”.
Reporters hounded the victim’s families outside the courtroom after Biechele was sentenced, eager for the emotion-fueled sound-bites of outrage over the sentence of 4 years. The mother who shouted at Biechele’s parents in the courtroom “You get your son back after four years!” could be relied on to comply: “Of course he is getting away with murder… four years for 100 lives he killed? It’s a joke”.
In some states such as Maine and Connecticut, he would not have even been eligible for jail time, as negligence is clearly on the owners of the nightclub. To send him to jail is the height of vengeful justice. The sheer enormity of life lost from an event as random as a nightclub fire is punishment enough for Biechele. People who, say, kill someone in a car accident can hope to attain a life of some normalcy, but Biechele will never be at peace. He will anguish about it every day. The pain of losing a family member in such a unnecessary tragedy is unimaginable, but I have genuine sympathy for Biechele, who must bear more guilt than any of us will ever feel.
