*** 10/25/09 Update – The Judge has rejected this motion. I guess you cannot blame someone for trying to get out of jail right?
Imprisoned celebrity motorcycle builder Billy Lane wants a judge to give his fatal crash victim’s family another chance to say what kind of punishment he should receive, in hopes of getting his six-year prison sentence reduced.
Lane, 39, was sentenced in August to six years in prison after pleading no contest to one count of vehicular homicide for crashing his pickup truck head-on into 56-year-old Gerald Morelock’s motorcycle while speeding past slow traffic in a no-pass zone on Sept. 4, 2006.
During sentencing, the victim’s brother and nephew declined to recommend a punishment, but asked the judge to impose a sentence that would use Lane’s celebrity status to help save the lives of young people through a foundation they plan to create in Morelock’s name.
However, Lane’s attorneys recently filed a motion claiming the men have since expressed that intense media and public scrutiny caused them to be “vague” about their feelings on a prison sentence for Lane.
“They were sufficiently overwhelmed by the experience that they did not fully express their feeling that Mr. Lane would better be able to benefit society if he were not incarcerated,” the defense motion says.
The attorneys want Circuit Judge Robert Burger to give the Morelocks another chance to be heard and to reduce Lane’s sentence if he sees fit.
No hearing on the motion has been set.
I must admit, this is one of the most bizzare defense motions I have ever heard. If it is granted I will be shocked.
Welcome, my name is 
Gee Norm! I live 15 miles from where Chopper’s Inc. was located before the drunken Billy Lane had to close it after killing Gerry Morelock.I have never heard of such a motion. I hope it is not granted. I am in total agreement with you that six years is a light sentence for killing someone. I thought Lane was out of money and that there would be no appeal!!! I am surprised that Mark Geragoes is not in town!!!
You will not be shocked Norm. The Judge has rejected this motion. Looks like justice will prevail….somewhat. Six years is not much time for killing someone because you could not obey simple traffic laws!!!
I did miss the update!! I really was not surprised. This Judge is quite conservative….I am surprised he only gave Lane 6 years!!! The lifetime no driving sentence is most fitting. Lane has proved he can not be responsible and has no respect for basic traffic laws.
They should have locked up this Cave Man and thrown away the key.
His bikes are a disgrace to the art of motorcyle building.
I wonder if there is room in his cell for Jesse James. He is another phony baloney that builds crappy bikes.
Oh, did I mention that he is also a retard much like Indian Larry was.
I wonder what Jesse James did to make our visitor Jim Cattle want to see him in jail?? We all have different tastes and it is a good thing because we would not be able to find our car at the mall because we would all be driving the same car!!
I will have to say the individual Jim Cattle is either mentally retarded or extremely sarcastic to make comments that Jesse James builds “crappy bikes”. He must also believe that Boyd Coddington, Chip Foose,and Ed Roth are crappy builders also. Some people who have the least knowledge of the skill it takes to create a world class custom are the ones who speak the loudest. Jim….stick to what you really know….when you find out what that is let us know. Until then save yourself from exposing yourself as a moron.
Nice post. I really liked it.. Don’t forget to update it regularly. I am looking for new updates dying to read more stuff from you.
Jim Cattle : you must be a pile of crap with no life and no women in ur life to talk about people like that … why dont you strap ur fake balls on and give me your address and we can talk about how u feel in person … u FAKE ASS PILE OF GARBAGE !!!!
problem i,ve got with jesse james is he marries sandra bullock and i am jellous! otherwise him and billy lane are way ahead of the times on bike building. doubt jim has ever turned a wrench or rode. problems not bikes or bike building it,s people who get behind the wheel drunk and drive.
I had the honor to met Jesse James and rode 1400 miles on my bike in hopes to met Mr Lane, he wasn’t at his shop my luck. I’ve learned in life that people make mistakes some are alot worse then others. Billy had and has built bikes for people serving this country and gave the bikes to them for free and not cheap ones either. I’m not saying what he did is excused by any means but, he has done alot for people in this country and I think that should be taken in by the judge. I admire his skills and some the things the man as done and still hope that someday I would have the chance to met this one of a kind builder good luck Billy.
who does jim cattle think he is u would’t have the brains to start a bike let alone ride one surprised u can use a computer. u half baked piece of cattle sh.t.y dont u come down to new zealand and i can show u some of the sights my be even a bit of bungee jumping with out the bungee.jesse james is the man. i named my first daughter after him.
I don’t know how Billy’s bike building skills are even an issue in this conversation. He is absolutely brillant when it comes to building bikes and also giving to his country. Yes what happened was tragic and he is serving the time he was sentenced! Knowing him personally he is an amazing person who made a mistake and regrets every minute of it. EVERYONE has made mistakes.
Norm, I understand what you are saying and apparently you didn’t read what I wrote. Billy is serving his time for what the judge ordered for the crime he committed. AGAIN he is serving his time for what he did and you being a criminal defense attorney, I am surprised at your comment. So I am wondering how you can even leave the comments you are when Billy has been convicted of his crime and serving his time. And the comment of OJ .. really? That was a violent intentional double homicide … wow Mr. Attorney.
we all make mistakes! im sure he would rather it had been him! he has to live with this for the rest off his life and that is worse than any thing a judge could do to him !if he had said hey I think ill go kill some one it would be diffrent but it was a acsadent and I think 6 years is harsh! and had a lot to do with being well known !
Sandie you missed my 10/25/09 Update. Look at the first line above!
Norm
Guys lets try to keep it civil.
Norm
Brandi, getting drunk, intentionally crossing a double yellow line, and killing someone on a scooter, is no mistake, it is murder or vehicular manslaughter, depending on what State you are in.
Can you imagine what the victim in this crash looked like after he was plowed into head on?
Let’s not forget what really happened here. Hell O.J. Simpson was a great football player. Does that excuse his actions; I think not.
Norm
My firm does criminal law, I don’t do criminal law. I personally don’t do criminal law anymore because I got sick of representing guilty persons. Some attorney’s have no problem with this, I do. I have some great criminal attorney’s that work for me.
My comment is my opinion and I have no problem leaving it. A personal attack on me or my comment does not change a thing. What Lane did was no innocent mistake. Screwing up and rear ending someone, although illegal, is one thing; getting shit faced drunk and driving is intentional, crossing a double yellow is intentional, and rises to the level of murder here in California. It is an intentional wanton and reckless disregard for human life.
Your original post was a peachy post about how poor Billy is or was a great bike builder. I look at it like any of us bikers could have been his victims that day.
I am sure that 99% of the killers in jail regret pulling the trigger while they are in jail. That is why we have jail, to punish.
Then again 99% of us don’t do what Lane did either.
With respect to OJ, that was an analogy. We attorney’s like to use analogies all of the time to compare things. Whether Lane was a good bike builder or not is not the issue here, the issue is that he killed someone. I see no difference in saying the same thing to someone who tried to diminish what OJ did by saying he was a great football player.
You would be singing a different tune if your brother was demolished by Lane.
Norm
Mark getting drunk, crossing a double yellow to pass someone else, and then slamming into someone on a scooter head on is not a mistake, it is murder.
Norm
If he wanted a reduced sentence why didn’t he put up more of a fight in court? He would have a much easier time getting the initial sentence reduced rather than fighting it after you are in prison already.
I lost 2 friends in college to two separate drunk driving accidents. Plus one of my friends lost his girlfriend to it. I have no sympathy for people like this… irrespective of their status or their so-called public image.