Judge Michael Toto proved that holding police accountable does not mean that justice will be served when he sentenced former Long Branch Police Officer Jake Pascucci to just 8 months in jail for killing Karen Borkowski. Pascucci hit Borkowiski driving full speed while drunk and was found guilty of vehicular homicide on a strict liability standard. He had been sentenced to 12 months before the Court of Appeals reversed his sentence citing a failure by the judge to consider the actions of Borkowiski herself. Pascucci successfully received a 4 month reduction after blaming the victim at re-sentencing. He is currently in the Middlesex County Jail.
As a former police officer Pascucci will be a target and is most likely being held in protective custody where he will get out of his cell for one or two hours a day by himself. That should make it easy for him to avoid fights with other inmates and get released after far less than 8 months for good behavior.
His conviction was due to a new law that takes away victim blaming for drunk drivers as a defense, but still allows it as a mitigating factor at sentencing. Pascucci was allowed to remain free pending appeal, so he was not required to serve any time until this past Friday.