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It's inaccurate to say that the country has "gone soft" in its treatment of criminals. Without looking it up, I bet it's accurate to say that criminals are sentenced to longer terms of imprisonment and more people are in prison in the United States than ever before, and longer than almost any other civilized country. In particular, drunk driving is handled much more severely now that it was twenty or thirty years ago, when custodial sentences of more than a few days were rare and it was not at all uncommon for judges, legislators, or those friendly with the police to get a ride home and no charge whatsoever.
I'm not defending the way the second judge handled the case; ordinarily if you have someone who is caught driving drunk twice in a short period you can figure that he's an alcoholic and he's driving drunk all the time. It's striking that not only did the second judge give him a suspended sentence, but they apparently didn't violate him for the second drunk driving charge.
Apparently time has shown that he hasn't completely learned the error of his ways.
If you truly believed in karma, then you would believe that the Colliers did something to deserve being in the accident, thus karma came around and did its job. So you should be happy that karma worked?
If you truly believed in karma, then you would believe that the Colliers did something to deserve being in the accident, thus karma came around and did its job. So you should be happy that karma worked?
Yeah right, then what did his wife do to make him deserve this "karma."
this is another area where this country has gone soft in dealing with criminals. and yes DUI is a crime. the drunk in this case should have been in jail for a year for the first offense, 5 years for the second, and with this accident should be facing 10 years. it is unacceptable to get behind the wheel when one is impaired.
This country has the highest rate of incarceration and longest average sentences of any civilized nation... what more do you want? The guy was given a chance to rebah and he failed... he'll surely be locked up for a long time now. Happy?
This country has the highest rate of incarceration and longest average sentences of any civilized nation... what more do you want? The guy was given a chance to rebah and he failed... he'll surely be locked up for a long time now. Happy?
really? you think that our DUI laws are tough? in turkey they take you 20 miles out of town and make you walk back. in some countries they not only throw you in jail, but they throw your family in with you. and there are even a few countries where if you get caught driving drunk, you are executed on the spot. when a person can be driving drunk, kill someone, and end up with a mere 18 month sentence for vehicular manslaughter, that is being soft on drunk driving. my opinion is, and always has been, that if you kill someone while driving drunk you should get a very long prison sentence, minimum of 15 years. too many times we have people who have been convicted of drunk driving multiple times, and yet they always seem to get their license back so they can go do it again.
Meanwhile, there are sleep-deprived drivers (as dangerous as drunk drivers)
out there on the roads who can pass sobriety checkpoints with flying colors.
A nurse where I work, worked a double shift one day, had no business being out on the road after working 16 hours, crashed head-on with someone, luckily no one was seriously hurt, except the 70-year-old nurse, who will never work again. And, not surprisingly, the police probably subjected her to a breathalyzer test and passed!
Lucky them, the sleep-deprived drivers!
When oh when, are they going to come up with a surefire test for these "bad wolves" on our roads?
really? you think that our DUI laws are tough? in turkey they take you 20 miles out of town and make you walk back. in some countries they not only throw you in jail, but they throw your family in with you. and there are even a few countries where if you get caught driving drunk, you are executed on the spot. when a person can be driving drunk, kill someone, and end up with a mere 18 month sentence for vehicular manslaughter, that is being soft on drunk driving. my opinion is, and always has been, that if you kill someone while driving drunk you should get a very long prison sentence, minimum of 15 years. too many times we have people who have been convicted of drunk driving multiple times, and yet they always seem to get their license back so they can go do it again.
Oh, I don't know HOW many times I've used Turkey and other countries of its ilk as models of criminal justice. Yes, let's execute on the spot anyone a police officer views as being under the influence. First of all, there are different levels of culpability. The individual did not intend to hurt or kill anyone; they were just reckless or negligent by driving after drinking. For example, VP Cheney was not charged with attempted murder simply because he was negligent and shot his friend in the face. Similarly, a drunk driver (or tired driver) who skids off the road and hurts somebody deserves punishment but not the same as someone who takes a gun and shoots somebody. Frankly, if you are a law-abiding citizen who has two glasses of wine in an hour (legally intoxicated in most states) and gets into an accident that kills someone, I don't think you need 15 years to change your behavior or as punishment. But if you had 12 shots at the local bar and this is your 4th arrest for DWI, then, yes... maybe you need 10 or so to cool off. Your knee-jerk, one-size fits all outrage is not justice; it's unthinking vigilantism.
Oh, I don't know HOW many times I've used Turkey and other countries of its ilk as models of criminal justice. Yes, let's execute on the spot anyone a police officer views as being under the influence. First of all, there are different levels of culpability. The individual did not intend to hurt or kill anyone; they were just reckless or negligent by driving after drinking. For example, VP Cheney was not charged with attempted murder simply because he was negligent and shot his friend in the face. Similarly, a drunk driver (or tired driver) who skids off the road and hurts somebody deserves punishment but not the same as someone who takes a gun and shoots somebody. Frankly, if you are a law-abiding citizen who has two glasses of wine in an hour (legally intoxicated in most states) and gets into an accident that kills someone, I don't think you need 15 years to change your behavior or as punishment. But if you had 12 shots at the local bar and this is your 4th arrest for DWI, then, yes... maybe you need 10 or so to cool off. Your knee-jerk, one-size fits all outrage is not justice; it's unthinking vigilantism.
nice rant, but it doesnt mitigate the fact that dwi is a serious offense, and people cant say they didnt know because of the level of PSA's that have been put out since the 70's regarding drunk driving. unless one never watches TV or listens to the radio, everyone has seen commercials about DWI in one form or another. ignorance is not bliss in this case. i havent had ANY alcohol for more than 5 years, due to the blood pressure meds i take, but even then when i did partake, it was a drink, maybe two, and i didnt drive after wards for a few hours. as i said 18 months for vehicular manslaughter is not enough time, alcohol related or not.
we spend too much time coddling criminals in this country and it is time for it to stop.
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this is another area where this country has gone soft in dealing with criminals. and yes DUI is a crime. the drunk in this case should have been in jail for a year for the first offense, 5 years for the second, and with this accident should be facing 10 years. it is unacceptable to get behind the wheel when one is impaired.
