http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130314/CITYANDREGION/130319575/1109
4-12 years.
I really hate the logic on giving a sentence. If you shoot and kill someone you can get 20 to life or close to it. If you drink and drive and kill someone you get around 1-12 years max from the sounds, and 12 if 2 people die. Why the fuck is it not harsher for drunk driving charges.
If you shoot and kill someone, you decided to pick up the gun, go to where ever it was you wanted to go, and you pulled the trigger. All of this is done with knowing you are doing it and proceeding to do it.
If you drink and drive and kill someone, you decided to pickup the alcohol, driver your car, think it was ok to drink and drive even if you were to drunk to realize, and you crashed and killed someone.
Both of these have ways of preventing them from the start. Deciding to pull the trigger, deciding to drive after drinking (may be able to decide before leaving the house knowing you will be drinking in the first place) Both take the lives of people that didnt have the option to choose. Its bullshit and this needs to change.
I aggre yammy, but In today’s world it won’t change.
We need to make sure these bikes aren’t allowed to be filled up over 7 gallons of fuel. All kidding aside, your right. It seems like the killing of a person is viewed in varying degrees of severity based on the means in which they were killed. He probably would’ve done much less harm being drunk with a loaded handgun.
I sold him 90% of his parts on that FLH :eek4:
I think if you kill someone under the influence you should have a more severe punishment. Like mentioned above you intentionally were drinking. If I was a mom/dad/son/daughter I’d have a very nice present for him once he is out of jail. That would include but would not be limited to a long term torture room.
Cougarspeed has one I think he rents out.
Put away your pitchforks. Revenge and justice are two different things.
quoted from article…Smith’s record of drunken driving includes four DWI arrests in New York, one in Ohio and one in Florida, said prosecutor Kelley A. Omel, who heads the Vehicular Crimes Bureau of the Erie County District Attorney’s Office.
how are you even allowed to get a license after 5 previous DWI’s providing this was his 6th…or 7th.
No need for revenge, just feel the laws should change to keep people like this from having a chance again of doing it. Look at the quote below... and hes only getting 4-12 years???? really? Its one thing if you do it once and kill someone... but shit, giving the guy several chances to hurt someone is how I'm seeing this. "oh its ok, lets give him a license back, lets not worry about sending him to jail or maybe sending him to AA or putting an alcohol braclett on him to prevent him from future use. There is enjoying a drink, and abusing a drink.... this is definitely abuse.
Hence why I feel he should have got a harder sentencing.
Intent vs. negligence. Did he make the decision to drink and drive? Yes. Did you consciously make the decision to mow down pedestrians? No.
He got jailtime because his negligence caused the death.
Some of you guys scare me a little that you could end up making up a “jury of your peers.”
If he knew he was going to a bar to drink, he could have had someone else drive him. Thats the problem. You look at this like, well if the people werent there, he probably would have made it home safe. Problem is, you cant have the possibility, its either drink/dont drive… or dont drink/drive home. In your terms, he consciously made the decision to drive to the bar knowing where and what he was going to do. Due to those actions, he killed someone. 2 people at that, and only got 4-12. Along with 6-7 previous arrest. How many do you think he should get before it actually matter to the rest of us that each time he did, could have been one of our loved ones getting killed. Its like playing russian roulette. You dont know if and when it will go off, but it can.
You’re not understanding. I agree that he made a conscious decision to drink and drive. However, he did not jerk the wheel with intent to kill pedestrians.
In your previous example, you were trying to compare apples to oranges as well. A better gun vs. car comparison would have been someone pointing a gun at someone and shooting vs. someone carelesly handling a loaded gun in a crowded area and it misfiring and killing someone.
I think you have flawed logic on this one, no matter how unfortunate of a situation it is.
there definitely needs to be change in the laws…i have a relative who i no longer consider a relative…has had over 5 dwi/dui’s…went to jail, lose the license, required to attent AA and do community service, get out go on probation…required to take regular breath tests and piss tests…breaks probation from going to drugs/pills to get a fix since hes alcohol deprived…ends up back in jail…finally gets out gets licence back again gets behind the wheel drunk again and doesnt stop at a tee in the road drives right across and smashes into a ditch. witness calls cops he ends up back in jail…
its a never ending cycle with not long enough jail time, not strict enough consequences, and more money paid then most pay on an entire house. just about my entire family has given up on him, and i havent spoke to him in years. but thats more because of the “if you cant help yourself then we wont help you…you cant blame anyone but yourself”…the sad part is the same dude has a brother that was killed by a drunk driver. go figure.
i would love to see change where there are stricter consequences, permanent license revocation, extended community service, etc.
Hell, make it an automatic jail time if you get caught drinking and driving. You do that, you’ll definitely reduce the amount of people drinking and driving. There is no reason why anyone should be drinking and driving and have a good excuse for me on this one. If you put a harsh enough law into place… people will think twice before actually starting to drink.
“yeah, f*ck that… I’m not going to chance getting arrested for having a couple drinks then driving home after, maybe a drink or two since I have to get home”
For those that dont give enough shit to prevent themselves, they deserve to get jail… its risking mine and everyone elses lives that are on the roads at the same times these f*ck tards are driving.
A big deal here for me is the previous jail time. It really seems that most addicts and criminals never learn or never want to change. I know one guy who was a pretty big drug dealer who was busted. He spent 5 years in the slammer and when he got out he really turned around his life as much as he could. No more drugs, got a steady job and works on cars. It can be done, just most end up repeating, doing the same stupid shit.
If you want to increase penalties you have to talk about adding a scale to the offense too. Mandatory jail time for a guy busted at .2 I can get behind; tossing a guy in jail because he blew a .08 not so much.
Unfortunately groups like MADD don’t want to listen to anything about a sliding scale. They’d rather push to lower the limit more and treat the guy who’s barely had more than a single glass of wine the same as the guy who is near passout drunk. Nevermind that a little less than 80% of DWI related fatalities are committed by drivers above .10 BAC.
Oh exactly. I mean anything over the actual Legal limit should be increased. If you are within the legal limit but they find you not able to drive, suspended. You should know your limits better, if you dont… dont do it. I mean obviously jail time is one thing, how much time is given out depending on BAC would be a good thing as well. Guy with a BAC of say .09 obviously illegal should get something like a couple months of jail and a suspended licenses. A person over say .15 should get around 6months to a year. (doesnt matter if you can handle your alcohol or not, you broke the law) Anyone higher should get a year no matter what, sent to AA and loss of license for good. I also think anyone that that gets a DWI (say .10) should automatically be forced to install a breathilizer in every car that person owns. If caught driving a car without one in it, they should be found breaking their parole.
It may sound harsh, but if you look at statistics and compare the deaths to other casualties, you’ll find this is a pretty big deal and should be addressed as one. Alcohol is a style of drug, it effects your body. Illegal to drive on prescription meds such as codeine and other similar drugs because of altering your abilities. Drinking is a social thing, to many people abuse the social part.