David Edwards of The Raw Story summed it up quite succinctly:
Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Sunday argued that a Walmart truck driver who allegedly critically injured comedian Tracy Morgan in a car accident should not face jail time because falling asleep behind the wheel was not always reckless.
Yup. That’s exactly what happened, although reading the actual exchange is a bit of a jaw-dropping experience:
Attorney David Schwartz told Fox News on Sunday that the driver could be sentenced to jail if he was convicted of reckless driving for falling asleep behind the wheel.
“Absolutely, 5 to 10 years in jail for death by auto, which is an act of recklessness,” Schwartz explained. “So, if he did fall asleep at the wheel, that’s one of the ways that you could commit reckless driving in New Jersey. And certainly the fact that a death occurred, 5 to 10 years in jail.”
“I’m not trying to take anything away from the tragedy of this,” Carlson replied. “But 10 years in jail for falling asleep? It strikes me as very different from taking drugs, drinking. Has that ever happened? Has anybody ever actually gone to jail for falling asleep?”
Tucker actually asked that question. Maybe he didn’t hear about the train conductor who fell asleep and crashed into an escalator at O’Hare airport or the train conductor who fell asleep and derailed in The Bronx. Mr. Schwartz could hardly believe his ears.
“For falling asleep and causing a death?” Schwartz asked. “Absolutely.”
But Tucker continued…
“But, I mean sometimes people — and I’m not defending anyone here,” Carlson continued. “I’m really struck by the idea that someone who falls asleep — which is something that everybody does every day, not necessarily considered an act of recklessness — does it unintentionally, nods off is a criminal.”
This was where Mr. Schwartz had to Dadsplain to a two year old.
“Tucker, if you’re driving a 16-wheel truck, a truck for Walmart, and you’re on the roads for the state of New Jersey, and you’re drowsy and you fall asleep, it’s certainly an act of recklessness,” the attorney insisted. “Not an intentional murder, but it’s an act of recklessness. And that’s where this reckless homicide comes in.”
I know this is like trying to explain calculus to a toddler, but “The people who drive large commercial trucks, fly cargo planes, and ferry millions of airline passengers are all subject to federal rules governing how much they rest.”
Like most conservatives, Tucker Carlson will understand this all perfectly well the moment someone falls asleep and kills a person he actually cares about.
And not a second before that.
