Story Archive

Don’t Speak Ill of the Dead

“Her husband had passed away and she had no one to turn to,” explained Steve Gosnell, a lawyer representing Catherine Goodwin. “She was not thinking clearly, not thinking as she would normally. She was not aware of the seriousness of what she has done.” Goodwin, 60, from Derbyshire, England, was accused of applying for a passport for her dead husband using a photo of a man she met in Spain. It was the second time she had allegedly made the attempt, and this time officials also discovered her husband’s two traffic tickets that he’d received — a year after his death. The speed camera tickets had been mailed to Goodwin’s house, and she said her husband had been driving, resulting in a six-point penalty against his driver’s license, and 60 pounds (US$100) in fines, which she paid. She pleaded guilty to two counts of perverting the course of justice, and two of making fraudulent passport applications, and was sentenced to six months in jail. (MS/Derby Telegraph) ...The dead only drive on the weekend — and only if their name is Bernie.