Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Congressman Bill Janklow was convicted of manslaughter today by a jury in Flandreau, South Dakota.

The congressman, who served several terms as governor of South Dakota prior to running for congress and who has a reputation for speeding, was also convicted of speeding, reckless driving and failure to stop. The charges stemmed from an accident August 16th, in which Janklow ran a stop sign at a rural intersection at high speed, colliding with motorcyclist Randolph Scott, 55, who died from his injuries.

Janklow’s defense was that he was a diabetic, had not eaten all day and was impaired by low blood sugar, but that he did not know he was impaired and was not responsible, because his symptoms were masked by a medication he was taking.

(At the risk of being charged with editorializing, it strikes us that Janklow’s defense was akin to a drunk driver claiming he did not know he was impaired and was not responsible, because he was drunk…Editor.)

Janklow, 64, faces up to 10 years in prison.