Sorry I could not be there to support the Gaffney family, but I was there in spirit. I will continue to pray that Kinalis (and the doctor who prescribed him all these (five) prescription drugs in ONE DAY) get the max sentence...and is tortured for the rest of their lives to have to live with what they did. :(

I hope Kanalis gets 25 years in jail which is the Max and I hope these irresponsible Doctors start getting what they deserve this is happening way to much in society. God Bless John Gaffney and the whole Gaffney family.

you people are all on a witch hunt. theres a much bigger issue here and its the ease at which doctors give out these medications. You treat this guy like he's a monster, but how many of you have had to deal with addiction? It starts as easy as getting your teeth pulled and if not properly monitored it spins out of control. So, before you sit there and judge people, as if youve been an angel your entire life, think of the constant struggle someone like steven kinalis had to and will continue to have to deal with. Being an addict is NOT always a choice...and getting help isnt easy when youve got nobody in your corner.

Exactly Missy. Even addicts have remorse. Based on his demeanor, behavior and watching him during the trial process, I have concluded that HE HAS NONE. Now he has to pay. An addict with no remorse is a dangerous person to have living freely in society.

To "You people are crazy" you're an asshole and may you get on the floor and repent for such a stupid comment. Steven Kinalis should pray that they never release his ass from jail, because the day they do, the real hell will begin. ~V-Rivera

vjm-you sound very intelligent when you resort to name-calling. Thank you for making a reply to you pointless.
to the others- i never said he shouldnt pay for his crime, BUT, for people to act like he is the ringleader of some drug-ring is absurd. The opiate addiction on long island is an EPIDEMIC. Maybe you dont see it, but your kids or your friends do...bc they are everywhere. That is what my point is...that yes, Kinalis deserves to pay for the crime he committed, but the problem is exponentially greater than just him.

also, i can tell by how some of you speak you've never met anyone who was an addict. its not a choice to take opiates once you're addicted. Withdrawal is incredibly painful and while it may be easy to say "just go get help", when you're in that position, its incredibly embarrassing and some people dont have family to ask for help...like steven...hes been on his own since 18
Opiates are the ONLY drug naturally produced by the body. Once you start to take them in pill form, the body stops producing them. The longer you take pills, the more accustomed your body is to not having to produce it. Once you stop manually taking them, your body doesn't know whats going on and your nerve endings all go haywire...the worst pins and needles of your life at every one of your extremities...and it lasts for weeks.
And you know when they say an athlete plays through pain on "adrenaline"? That is not factually correct...its the opiates your body produces that does it.

Crazy - You have missed the point entirely.. Your buddy, Steven should have stayed home that day.. He chose to drive. His blood test results reveal that he was not fit to drive.. He wasn't detoxing.. He was using.. Using and driving.. Using and driving dangerously.. There isn't a single explanation that you could give that would ever make me see this differently. I don't care that Steven Kinalis is or was addicted.. He chose to drive his car that day.. He killed my very good friend's son. He injured that family in every single way. Yes. He does deserve to pay for his crime.. And pay he will.. Steven Kinalis should receive the same amount of mercy that he showed the John Gaffney the day he put the key in the ignition and put the car in drive.. Like I said, he should never have the opportunity to exist outside of prison. He really deserves to die, but I will settle for decades in prison doing hard time.. Drug addiction is not an excuse for driving while under the influence.. Like I said.. He had a ton of choices that day. He made profoundly bad choices. He should plead guilty, receive the absolute maximum jail time and save the family further suffering.

Back to my original comment, you're an asshole. You sat here and defended a murderer. Disgraceful. You may want to come to the court and see how sorry Mr Kinalis is, it's shameful. He has NO excuses. Funny you should insult my intelligence "You people are all crazy", seems like you may know Mr Kinalis. Maybe you should have been there for your friend, or your brother or your boyfriend the day this nightmare started, maybe you could have saved a life. The people around him should be just as ashamed as him.

VJM-youre still not too bright to resort to name calling. I do know him, as i went to hs w/ him 12 yrs ago, but i havent been in touch. furthermore, i didnt defend him, i said the issue is much greater than one individual. Perhaps your reading comprehension is lacking, but the part where i said he DESERVES TO PAY, wasnt me saying hes innocent. But, hey, IM the asshole here bc i knew him, right?
MIssy-Steven isnt my buddy. I knew him like you knew kids in your high school. you graduate and move on. what i do know, is addiction. at 22 i was diagnosed with cancer and was on heavy medication for 2 years during chemo/radiation/surgeries. After two years of taking Rx from morphine to Oxicontin, i was addicted. i didnt CHOOSE cancer.
i went on with my life for the next 6yrs, being addicted. i got a great job as an accountant, being an addict. moved in with my girlfriend for 3 yrs, as an addict and still, nobody knew...NOBODY. Addicts are smart and hide it very well, which is what makes this(the drug epidemic on LI) so scary. I am the oldest of 4, how was i supposed to set an example for my siblings and tell my parents, who worked so hard to give me everything that they could, that i was a drug addict. im clean over 2 years now. not all addicts are bad people.
again, im not saying he shouldnt get put away...im saying the issue is much larger than one person.
also, my name was from an older post to a diff article.

i went in to get treated for cancer and came out a drug addict and the doctors did nothing to help. No warning about what would happen, ie withdrawal, the chance i may be addicted, how to get help...they just gave me scripts and sent me out the door. I was a 22 yr old who had no idea what an opiate even did...but i was addicted and had no idea what to do.
Not driving is not an option...its not like addicts dont live normal lives. if you take cough medicine, do you not drive to the store for tissues? not everyone is a reckless driver.
again, its easy to say 'just ask for help', but its not easy to do. for someone who has no idea what its like, its easy to judge, but youll never EVER know the pain of being an addict. Im off topic now, bc im not speaking about this case, but about addicts in general...the doctors and pharmacies are the big BIG problem. Not one person told me i could be addicted. Not one said, hey this is hard stuff, taper yourself off.
So, while you will probably all use the fact that i had cancer and became addicted bc of it against me, thats fine, you dont know me. But i got help bc my family found my pills and confronted me...not all addicts have anyone around to be a voice of reason and things like this happen...and the horrible pharmacy murders...

VJM-if i knew steven needed help, id have been there...

And by the way, it isn't a "witch hunt".....Unfortunately for your buddy, HE happens to be the one that the example will be made of. This whole thing is getting out of control and something needs to be done about it. He's got to pay and something has got to be done. If you were truly his friend, you would be happy that he is sitting in jail, NOT doing drugs, getting clean and HOPEFULLY will be straightening his life out and that an example is made out of him and things fall into place as a result to help ALL addicts so that this never happens again.

This is complete insanity that anyone would think we should feel bad for Steven... He took the life of a CHILD... a son, a brother, a grandson, a friend, a cousin..... Addiction is a problem in this world and so is driving under the influenece.. I know people who are alcoholics , both recovering and still suffering... HOWEVER.. if any of them EVER killed someone due to their ignorance or poor judgement I would agree that should get the MAXIMUM penalty. This young boy was innocent.. He did not have a CHOICE to make that day and now, unfortunately, he can not make any choices... this family has to live EVERY SINGLE DAY for the rest of their lives knowing their son was taken from them due to a GROWN mans decision to drive under the influence. As an adult you should feel some compassion for the family that lost their child... Maybe look at pictures of your kids, nieces, nephews, grandkids and ask yourself how YOU would feel at that was your child??!?! how would you feel every morning, afternoon and night, knowing that child will NEVER say I LOVE YOU again, give you hugs, kisses or make you laugh or smile. Knowing all you have are those pictures... I am sick reading "you people are crazy" comments. He is a MONSTER... HE TOOK THE LIFE OF A CHILD!!!!

You also have to look at it from this poor little boys families view....have you ever had to bury your child?! Do you know what that is like?! Esp since it could have been avoided. You are looking at from an addicts point of view, what about a mom who has buried her baby? That is pain NOBODY can take away and maybe think she could be reading this...nobody is out on a "witch hunt" If John cant spend one more holiday with his family then why should Steven?! You knew "HIM" in hs well I know his mom...so like Im sure your mom has told you, think before you speak!

People reading may never know the pain of being an addict, but you'll never know the pain of losing a 5 year old son. Please have respect for the true victim and his family. Your comments on addiction are better served elsewhere.

HE is a Monster and deserves life behind bars...

Crazy - If you drove while high on drugs you broke the law. If you would have killed someone while driving, you would deserve life in prison. It sounds harsh because the harsh reality for the Gaffney family is that every single day they exist without their beloved son. You say "not driving is not an option." You are selfish and self-serving. Your body may be in recovery but your mind has not been renewed. You still think like an addict. You want people to show Steven Kinalis sympathy or empathy but I have none for him. It would have been better for him to have over dosed alone at home that day than to do what he did. Better yet, he should have died in that accident and John should be here attending kindergarten and then his family wouldn't cry every single day..
Crazy - John's mother has stumbled upon these comments and your comments have hurt her very deeply.. Please don't comment on here further.. For her to read these comments it is like losing her son all over again.

Your "fault" was coming on a West Islip site, which we are all from, and saying we are crazy and on a witch hunt. To add, you defended his addiction by fighting with us all about your addiction. Saying that we will probably use your cancer and addiction against you is also obsurd, not to mention trying to compare being a drug addict and driving, with cough medicine and tissues, really? Quit while you are ahead! I'm glad you overcame your addiction and I think that you should go to treatment centers to prevent this sort of thing...especially since you know 1st hand. It takes a village to raise a child, and this village buried 1 and made dinner for the family for months, as well as, supported their every need during their grief, which by the way, is much more intense that the pain of being an addict. I can also assure you, that she DOES read this and your comments are not sitting well...enough said.

I am besides myself right now reading what this man wrote. A family lost thier little boy due to his behavior. I know alot about addiction not me personally but someone close to me. It was my biggest fear of someone losing thier life to thier actions.If you get behind a wheel of a car and take someone's life because you needed to get high. You get what you deserve. This family lost their son how dare you say noone is a angel. This little boy was an angel and did not derserve to die cause some guy need to get high and drive. Addicts know what they are doing and getting behind a wheel of a car and driving then hit a family he deserves everything he has coming to him. He should spend the rest of his life knowing he took a litte boy's life and a family is hurting and his sorry's wont bring him back. I would feel this way if my fears that i had came true cause they deserve it. He may get help in jail for his addiction but this family will never have thier son back. You are a horrible person to be writing comments like this on here. You have no heart cause if you did you would not hurt this family ever with your nasty comments. Your as bad as him. I dont know this family but I live in WI and my heart breaks for them and always will.

i apologize for coming off the wrong way...my only point is that this isnt just about one horrible crime, its an epidemic. ive said mutiple times he deserves to be punished, so not entirely sure where you get that i am defending him. im saying our island, yes im not from your town, but i love our island, is going to have MORE of these awful incidents without people pushing for harsher penalties.
Jessica Horvath-i blame nobody but myself for my issues. i didnt ask for help. BUT, the drs could have warned me. Yes, i couldve read the pharmacy paper(not sure how many 22 yr olds who are going through cancer treatment would worry about the fine print though).
Just bc i knew this guy when we were kids doesnt make him my buddy. I came here to support the cause of harsher penalties for things like this and i felt people werent looking at the ENTIRE issue. maybe what you want is to just focus on this one case, and ill respect that.

lastly, bc ill leave you folks after this, i stumbled upon this while looking for help in your area for my 14yr old cousin, who is from islip...I only wanted to bring up that this problem is all over, without directly saying it is in your town, but many think im here for "my buddy". Just do yourselves a favor and please be aware pills and heroin arent going away.

lastly, but most importantly, i apologize to the family of John for offending you bc that was the last thing i intended. im very, very sorry.

-erik

And by the way, I just drove to Target to buy toilet paper and I took Dayquil earlier today. The difference is that, unlike your buddy Stephen, I wasn't driving 100 mph like a MANIAC thereby prompting dozens of motorists to call the police and request that police come and stop him BEFORE HE KILLED SOMEONE.

Hey, "you people are crazy” I see that since you are an addict yourself you have sympathy for this guy, because you think WOW that could have been me when I was using. But instead of being so sensitive to him and blaming, pointing fingers and defending him, this story should fuel you to take responsibility for yourself. Encourage you to continue to control your addiction, life and choices so that you don’t have to feel empathy for him one day because you killed someone else’s child, brother, friend …whoever. Thank God that you weren’t ever in Kinalis’ shoes and pray you never have to be in the Gaffney’s shoes. They are who you should be being sensitive to. They set out for a family day, driving responsibly, breaking no laws (regardless of the tough things life through at them). I am sure we can all find things in our past that lead us to substance abuse but I find it hard to believe or succumb to the excuse that it isn’t a choice. That is bullshit, think about it, there is a choice there. The Gaffney’s were the ones with no choice that day.

It breaks my heart to sit here and read this. Is everyone forgetting why this discussion is even happening? A poor innocent 5 year old boy lost his life because of a man who CHOSE to drive that morning. Say a prayer for the mother who won't have her son to celebrate Mother's Day with him this year.

keith,
i apologized...but yes, i know this issue goes beyond just one person. how was he able to fill all those scripts? as a police officer, do you not see all the overdoses and drug dealers and busts going on? I NEVER SAID IT WAS AN EXCUSE...i said it was part of a bigger problem, and it is. As an officer youve seen the dirty doctors handing out pills to 15 yr olds like its candy, have you not? I admit that i screwed up. I was taking them for 2 years during chemotherapy, radiation and 3 major surgeries. When i left, all i worried about was trying to get a normal life together, i didnt realize the overpowering control pills have...this was 7 yrs ago mind you, before it took over the island the way it has now. I didnt know how to get help, and its not easy to admit youre a screw up. I never said Kinalis wasnt to blame.

So, Keith, i apologize for a 5th time. I am sorry my comments werent worded understandably and i am incredibly sorry for your family's loss.

No one is saying that prescription drug misuse is not an epidemic here, and across the country, however, this is not a forum for that. A beautiful little boy lost his life because someone made a very poor choice that day. Everyone makes mistakes, but to act as if this man did nothing wrong is insane. He shows absolutely no remorse for what he has done to this family. "Not Guilty"...really???!! Yes, he is guilty!!! Addicts often have a "not my fault" attitude for the things that occur in their lives. At some point we all need to take responsibility for the things we choose to do, and accept the judgement that comes down on us. That is called being an adult and accepting responsibility for the damage we cause!

Here let me cut down that bush you're hiding behind. Yes I agree there is a huge problem with the way prescription narcotics are so easily obtained, but the addict himself in his devious ways contributes to that by Dr shopping and playing a victim in hospitals all across his/her region. My cousin wasn't killed by a Dr. Remember those 4 people shot in the pharmacy in Medford? They weren't killed by a Dr! The difference between the two is that the murderer in that case admitted guilt and remorse, Kinalis hasn't and is still acting like the devious active addict by trying to play the victim of circumstance and plea to a lesser charge. Accountability is under A in the dictionary, you obviously didn't follow my instructions and look it up.
Steven Kinalis awoke a strong loud giant my friend. We will not rest or compromise. He WILL BE THE EXAMPLE! Trust me I would feel the same way whether I knew him or not. I want better for my child's future then what we're creating now and the only way to make it better is to man up, be accountable and start to change from the inside out together! This behavior has no place in my community or my family!

Keith,
My name is Anthony Parinello. I grew up in Bethpage, NY. I went the Bethpage High School where i was an average student and a superb Ice Hockey player, earning a division I scholarship. I spent all my life being a straight edge and focusing on hockey. I graduated and went on to blow out my knee my freshman year. STill, all i had done until that point was drink at the occasional party.
my parents, Richard and Diane, worked hard for us to get what we could, but with 4 kids all within 8 yrs of each other, its tough to give them everything. i am the oldest, so i tried to set a good example and be the good son, but i FAILED, which made it very difficult to admit my problem. Overcome cancer to become a pathetic drug addict.
Im a college graduate, which i did while being sick, have a great job and i just wanted to say this is a bigger issue. I AGREED with you that this behavior has no place ANYWHERE in the world. I also didnt defend him, but tried to shed light on the bigger issue. I understand my mistake was using this as a forum, and i already tried to apologize to you multiple times, but apparently you didnt see it...in capital letters...
im not who i was when i used. I was a pathetic excuse of a "man". unfortunately not everyone sees the light. something like 5% of people make it through recovery.
i am apologetic that my comments came off hurtful. thats not who i am and im truly sorry.
i made my own mistake of not asking for help, i never said i didnt...

Crazy - I have copied and pasted your original post.. Please see below.. Read it..
you people are crazy
10:56 am on Monday, May 7, 2012
you people are all on a witch hunt. theres a much bigger issue here and its the ease at which doctors give out these medications. You treat this guy like he's a monster, but how many of you have had to deal with addiction? It starts as easy as getting your teeth pulled and if not properly monitored it spins out of control. So, before you sit there and judge people, as if youve been an angel your entire life, think of the constant struggle someone like steven kinalis had to and will continue to have to deal with. Being an addict is NOT always a choice...and getting help isnt easy when youve got nobody in your corner.

You wrote~you people are all on a witch hunt~You treat this guy like he's a monster, but how many of you have had to deal with addiction?~So, before you sit there and judge people, as if youve been an angel your entire life, think of the constant struggle someone like steven kinalis had to and will continue to have to deal with. Crazy ~ You were looking for a fight.. Now that you have one.. Don't try and back peddle.. I am sure the Gaffney family won't mind me speaking for them when I say, "Just go away and stop commenting on this article". Good that you are clean for 2 years.. If you relapse, just don't drive and put anyone else in danger. If Kinalis would have thought that way, John would still be with his family. Truth.