DWI Deaths: Is It Murder?

Bob Simon On One Prosecutor's Efforts To Increase Penalties For Drunk Drivers Who Kill

(CBS)  Drunk driving kills more than 13,000 Americans a year - that's one every 39 minutes. Authorities call it an epidemic. They say that despite all the publicity, all the education campaigns, and all the advertising over the past decade, the number of drunk-driving fatalities has not gone down.

Some prosecutors have started taking a different approach to the problem, getting so tough on drunk drivers who kill people that the penalties they exact were unheard of in the past.

As correspondent Bob Simon reports, one of these pioneers is Kathleen Rice, district attorney of Nassau County, New York. She believes that if you want to stop drunk driving, you have to treat it as a serious crime with serious jail time. Our story begins, however, not in a courtroom but at a wedding in Nassau County - a wedding and the tragic loss of a 7-year-old girl.

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Her name was Katie. She and her little sister - the Flynn girls - were flower girls at their aunt's wedding on July 1, 2005. It was a glorious day for the Flynn family, including Katie's parents Jennifer and Neil.

"It was a great day. It was a beautiful wedding. It was a fun time all day long and it couldn't have turned out worse," Neil remembers.

The family had hired a limo to take them home from the wedding so they could dance and party with no worries. But as they were being driven home on a parkway on Long Island, a pickup truck came barreling straight at them in the wrong direction. Chris and Denise Tangney, Katie's grandparents, saw the truck coming from the back of the limo.

"I saw this light come towards me. And I had to think for a second of what that was, 'cause that, it was just out of place," Denise remembers. "I watched this single light come toward me and all of a sudden it went from a single light to a double light. It happened so quickly I remember saying, 'Oh my God, we're gonna get hit.'"

They got hit with incredible force. Both cars were totally destroyed, but that was the least of it. Stanley Rabinowitz, the limo driver, was killed instantly. The limousine was so mangled that members of the Flynn family had to be cut out of the wreckage. Virtually everyone suffered severe, life-threatening injuries, and then there was Katie.

"The first thing I heard was my wife screaming, 'Neil, Katie’s dead,'" Katie father's Neil remembers. "And I kept saying, 'No she can't be dead. She's just gotta be hurt real bad.' But I didn't know what Jen was looking at, what Jen saw."

"I reached for Kate and she was on the floor. And all that was left of Kate Marie was her head, that I was able to take," she remembers.

Martin Heidgen, a 24-year-old insurance salesman, was driving the pickup truck. He suffered minor injuries. He had a blood alcohol content over three times the legal limit. On the night of the Flynns' wedding, Heidgen was drinking at a friend's party in a house on Long Island. His friends told him not to drive. He did anyway, driving for about three miles the wrong way on the parkway before slamming into the Flynns' limousine and tearing their lives apart.

"The sadness and despair that is with me every day, I can't even put into words," Jennifer says.

"I relive the crash. I think about it every day. I have nightmares about it every night. And I live my life without my daughter because of it," Neil adds.

[flajoe1]

"DWI Deaths: Is It Murder?"

Yes it is.......

[raymo853]

Why are only drivers that kill while intoxicated charged with murder? It seems you can drive recklessly but are given a free pass to murder as long as you are sober.

[hypnotoad72]

It is murder.

[coupeguy]

Have you ever been to Australia? If not, be warned! Random breath testing at anytime, anywhere, from the pulling over *every* car on the motorway to the back roads of suburbs. "Drive and Drive, You''re a Bloody Idiot" is the national TV and advertising campaign. It works. It changes behavior. Aussies are known for partying hard and playing hard; but always a designated driver! Unfortunately this level of discipline and enforcement will never come to the U.S.... sad so many have to die because of ignorance and abuse of the constitution.

[coupeguy]

Have you ever been to Australia? If not, be warned! Random breath testing at anytime, anywhere, from the pulling over *every* car on the motorway to the back roads of suburbs. "Drive and Drive, You''re a Bloody Idiot" is the national TV and advertising campaign. It works. It changes behavior. Aussies are known for partying hard and playing hard; but always a designated driver! Unfortunately this level of discipline and enforcement will never come to the U.S.... sad so many have to die because of ignorance and abuse of the constitution.

[jjfunk73018]

First off (and I will probably get flamed for this) I am waiting for the first D.A. to file a bill of particulars asking for the death penalty. Most states only require you meet three to file. As far as I know (it may have changed) Reader''s Digest ran a story comparing states drunk driving laws to other parts of the world and Tennessee had the toughest with permanently losing your license and jail time for just getting caught under the influence. If I remember the country correctly, Nicaragua(sp.) the penalty is automatic firing squad.

[coupeguy]

Have you ever been to Australia? If not, be warned! Random breath testing at anytime, anywhere, from the pulling over *every* car on the motorway to the back roads of suburbs. "Drive and Drive, You''re a Bloody Idiot" is the national TV and advertising campaign. It works. It changes behavior. Aussies are known for partying hard and playing hard; but always a designated driver! Unfortunately this level of discipline and enforcement will never come to the U.S.... sad so many have to die because of ignorance and abuse of the constitution.

[mstar13-2009]

Its about time someone realized and prosecuted this for what it is...murder.
Clear and simple.

Drunkenness and irresponsibility is no excuse. Hopefully there will be other prosecutors throughout the country that follow this lead.

It is extemely irresponsible, with all the info we have today, to drink and get behind the wheel. Yes it is murder. It is a decision that is made, just like putting a loaded gun in your hand, and someone is going to get hurt or even killed. Please stop the maddness. Any one of us can be the next victim.

[pitinha-2009]

This is ridiculous... I am a defense attorney, and although the intentions of the prosecutor may be honorable, her methods are insane. What we REALLY need to do is oust the oil giants, implement better mass transit systems nationwide and thereby bypass the need to drive drunk as well as emptying out our jails overcrowded with driving with no driver''s license, driving with a suspended driver''s license, driving while intoxicated/under the influence and other. This would simultaneously alleviate the burden of large case loads on prosecutors, public defenders and judges. Isn''t this a better use of our efforts?

[pamelaad]

Unless someone holds a gun to your head and forces a person to drink and then drive, not only is it murder, it is premediatated murder. You know when you sling back that first beer that you are willingly putting someone''s life on the line. If you care more about the buzz than about ending someone''s life, then you willingly, knowingly and callously become a murder weapon. If the weapon causes a death, you become a cold blooded murderer. No excuse....you can''t make it to grade school without learning that drunk drivers kill.

[boobeegs22]

I think Kathleen Rice is completely off base with her idea to over prosecute regarding drunk driving. As a substance abuse professional and a behavioral specialist I believe that is not the answer. Most of the statistics don''t mention that repeat offenders are the biggest issue. The laws should focus on that not on scaring young people or over punishing those with no previous history or legal issues related to drunk driving. I believe those that are first time offenders are over punished in many cases and the systems money and resources are wasted on over excited prosecutors.

[katxox]

Martin Heidgen should have gotten life in prison. I completely agree with the prosecuting attorney on charging him with 1st degree murder. He killed a beautiful 7 year old girl. My heart goes out to her family. Mr. Heidgen CHOSE to go out and drink, he CHOSE to drive drunk even after friends tried to convince him not to. He was SO drunk he didn''t know he was going the wrong way on the freeway. People like him should NOT be given a second chance - to drink again or kill another person. I''d love to get drunk and aim a vehicle at him!

[userrhh]

Prosecutor Rice is a political punk and shill for MADD and the liquor industry in this country. Murder charges should be reserved for the makers and sellers of alcohol but Rice, Catherine Olian (the producer of this piece) and whoever the reporter was are the scum of the Earth for their complete disregard of the core atrocity and their exploitation of the victims in these cases.

[linusmom1]

Having lost 3 people to drunk drivers (one was in coma for 8 years) I am THRILLED to see harder sentences for crashes that cause deaths from people driving drunk. I also think stiffer sentences need to be applied to all DUI cases. I see in police blotter here in WI people on their EIGHTH DUI and they get less then 2 years in jail! There should be a three strike law for this too!

[mcivilsurvey]

The high incidence of this crime reflects directly upon our morals. Legislation will not prevent it. Your report indicated statistically the death rate as almost constant. (prior ten years) The answer to this crime is found in automotive design. Breathylizer or alcohol detectors in ALL vehicles is the intelligent solution.

[toolmangler-2009]

Why are only drivers that kill while intoxicated charged with murder? It seems you can drive recklessly but are given a free pass to murder as long as you are sober.
Posted by Raymo853 at 07:19 PM : Jan 04, 2009




Because to drive intoxicated is worse than wreckless. A drunk will never figure out that he/she is on the wrong side of the road. The driver that kills while sober but by accident may have had a momentary distraction (a Hornet stinging one in the face can certainly cause one to drive ''wrecklessly'')

[connie9713]

7 1/2 years ago I was awakened with a call from the hospital with news that my 18 year old son, Cameron, had been in a serious accident. I rushed to the hospital to find that he had been killed by a drunk driver. Was it murder? Well, the driver made the choice to go to a bar, the choice to use a fake ID, the choice to drink until she was drunk, the choice to get back in her car and drive, the choice to drive at 82 mph in a 45 mph zone, and the choice to run a red light. She made those choices - and when she hit my son''s car and killed him, she could not have been more efficient if she had shot him in the head with a gun. Was it murder? My son''s death was the result of the choices she made. It makes no difference what one''s weapon of choice might be - a gun, a knife, a car - if you make the choice to use a weapon and someone dies, it is murder. Don''t insult me or my son by saying otherwise.

[hambone8888]

Yes we should punish people who drink and drive, we need to also think of the families of the drunk driver. My father was a drunk driver and hurt a young lady very badly. He was sentenced to 10 years. I was 14 at the time, and along with his 10 year sentence came a sentence of 10 years of me without my father at my football games, wrestling matches, graduation, etc. Yes he did wrong, but I have yet to realize what i did to lose my father for so long. He is now dead, and I just wander what that extra ten years would have brought. I love you Dad!

[booties99]

Drinking and driving is BAD and bad things happen when people do it. But people make mistakes. With all the great minds in this country you would think we could come up with something other than prison time for FIRST time offenders (other offenders should get the death pentalty because they wasted thier chance). If the first time offenders get sent to prison then not only do the families of the one who died have to grieve they have to pay to house this drunk driver. Why not make them work, why not make them take meds. that make them sick if they touch any alochol all at this drunk drivers expense. Let me tell you should my child ever die I would want that person responsible to die, it would not matter weather they were sober or not. I think the pentalties should be sever for drunk driving but I think the drunk driver going to prison and me having to pay for that is nuts at least for first time offenders, lets come up with a more creative puinshment for these first time offenders, and if it cost then they have to pay.

[promaclaura]

Why are only drivers that kill while intoxicated charged with murder? It seems you can drive recklessly but are given a free pass to murder as long as you are sober.


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Posted by Raymo853 at 07:19 PM : Jan 04, 2009

In my hometown, a drunk individual (with repeat reckless driving and a revoked license) killed two young men on an angry rampage. This loaded gun is in prison now and charged with two murders, justice that is bitter for the grieving parents.

[edrpz1]

I agree that it is murder if someone is drunk and caused a death in an accident. I had a friend whom died because of a drunk driver. That person only saw a year in jail. It''s not right the drunk drivers get so little time in prison. However in your report I noticed that Kathleen Rice went after the drunk drivers only if the victims had money.
Is this kind of justice just for the rich? Why not make a federal law that states that if you cause the death of another threw any kind of drunk driving, cell phone use or any other deliberate distractions that you should spend the rest of your life in prison?
Drunk drivers are the worst and should be punished as so.

[connie9713]

7 1/2 years ago I was awakened with a call from the hospital with news that my 18 year old son, Cameron, had been in a serious accident. I rushed to the hospital to find that he had been killed by a drunk driver. Was it murder? Well, the driver made the choice to go to a bar, the choice to use a fake ID, the choice to drink until she was drunk, the choice to get back in her car and drive, the choice to drive at 82 mph in a 45 mph zone, and the choice to run a red light. She made those choices - and when she hit my son''s car and killed him, she could not have been more efficient if she had shot him in the head with a gun. Was it murder? My son''s death was the result of the choices she made. It makes no difference what one''s weapon of choice might be - a gun, a knife, a car - if you make the choice to use a weapon and someone dies, it is murder. Don''t insult me or my son by saying otherwise.

I realize that defence attorney have to defend the criminal. Just hope their not on the road when the drunk driver decides to come down that road the wrong way and head-on into them. Would they still defend them and say its not their fault.

[toolmangler-2009]

Yet, the Democrats have been peeing in their pants over the number of causalities in Iraq.
Posted by Speakinup21 at 07:29 PM : Jan 04, 2009




Both Dems and Repubs get drunk the same way, stay drunk for the same reasons and drive drunk because neither one has a lick of sense when they are drunk (on the job or off it). (most of both sides come to work drunk or get that way on the job)

[cb2151]

Your a hero Kathleen Rice in my book. Why is has taken us so long to wake up in this country and put a stop to the endless excuses of driving drunk and killing people because of it is beyond comprehention. I wish you all the succsess in the world Ms. Rice in putting these irresponsable killers where they belong... in prison for a LONG, LONG time.

[bowietvc15]

Cheers to you Ms Rice.,
I lost my son Jan. 17, 2006, one month before his 21st birthday, Philip was a passanger, riding with a freind who had been drinking, they were hit head on, on the passagners side of the car and in a split second I lost my only child, I lost my life when he died that night. I live in Baker County Florida and although the driver was not charged with muder but v. homicide he was sentenced to 10 years to be served on top on the 5 years for violation of his probation. The thing that really gets me is the driver had 2 dui accidents with bodliy injuries before. This driver knew without a dought what will happen while driving drunk. These deadly accidents should be charged with murder due to it being just that MURDER. THANK YOU, I hope this nation wakes up and will begin to see these deaths for what they are: MURDER!!!
Cheryl Johns

[karengg1]

I live in a county with the some of the highest DUI crash stats in the Nation. If an individual who plans only to rob a convenient store using a weapon ends up kiling someone in the process that person is without question charged with "Murder" for the life taken in the commission of another crime. The exact same should be true for DUI, which is a crime throughout the U.S.

Karen G., Tampa

[mhwolinsky]

As a police officer, your story hit very close to home. I have witnessed drunks kill other human beings and seen the carnage that they create. We have even been at the scene of a horrible drunk driving incident where the victim was literally in pieces on the roadway and then another drunk driver continues through the scene hitting the body parts because he was too drunk to see the 12 police cars lit up and all the road flares. It is devastating to go to court and watch these drunks get probation or 10 days in jail to be served on weekends. Every adult person in this country knows that it is deadly and against the law to drive intoxicated and/or under the influence (alcohol or drugs). It has been drilled into our heads for over 20 years and there is no excuse to treat intoxicated drivers as if they are the victims. No one forces the alcohol down their throats. America, stop kidding yourselves that drunk driving is no big deal. If you do, then come with me to the next death scene and see the horror for yourself. Kathleen Rice, I salute you!

[iowapaiger]

I completely agree with this procecutor. Drunk driving is definately depraved indeference. By getting behind the wheel you''re stating that you don''t have a *** about anyone else, not even yourself. Millions of dollars are spent each year on ads about the dangers of drunk driving, but they aren''t getting the point across. Harsh penalties might finally break the blinders that "these thing don''t happen to me". The family that was hit & lost their daughter put enough forthought into it that they had arranged for transportation home so that they could drink at the wedding and remain responsible. Too bad this kid, or any of his friends who should have stopped him from driving, didn''t put enough thought into his plans. I''m not perfect - in the past I admit that I''ve drank and drove. But that was when I was a 20 something. Since then I''ve become much more aware. I know before even leaving the house to go to a party that if I''m the one driving, then I''m not drinking. If I''m not the one driving, then I know that I can trust my designated driver to keep me as safe as possible. It''s time that everyone started taking responsibility for thier own actions. There is no such thing as a "Drunk Driving ACCINDENT".

[platteman]

The MSM doesn''t really care all that much about drunk driving. If they did, they would have done more over the years.
No one wants to tackle the problem. It is easier to bash Bush, and everyone else than to face the problem.
Surprises me no one has blamed Bush for this also, wait, I hear the Fat Lady Singing, oh yes, Bush did it!!!!:):)

[toolmangler-2009]

It makes no difference what one''''s weapon of choice might be - a gun, a knife, a car - if you make the choice to use a weapon and someone dies, it is murder. Don''''t insult me or my son by saying otherwise.
Posted by connie9713 at 07:34 PM : Jan 04, 2009




Well said and absolutely true!!!!

[junekane]

We are ALL (as a society) guilty of "depraved indifference" if we do not mandate alcohol sensors with 0 as a sine qua non for cars to start. THESE should be required on all vehicles, period. Why even allow a car to START with an inebriated person behind the wheel? Why even give a drunken person the CHANCE to hurt someone or him or herself? It''s probably equally foolish to expect a rational decision -- e.g.,not to drive drunk -- from someone who is inebriated. The whole discussion is really moot since we now have the technology to prevent someone to start a car with alcoholic fumes eminating from his or her lungs. And this puts the onus back onto us as a society: Until we change the laws to require sensors, are we not, perhaps, all just a bit guilty of allowing killing to happen via drunk drivers? Perhaps we need to get busy and write to our legislators to pass mandatory alcohol auto-start sensors before we point our fingers so easily at others.

[notmadd]

Sober drivers kill twice as many people a year as so-called drunk drivers.

The reason why it is so-called drunk drivers is that the standard is no longer that the "driver" is "drunk", but that anyone involved in the accident has had any alcohol. Again, this means ANY alcohol, whether it is .01 BAC or .20 BAC. This is called "alcohol related".

In reality, only around 700 deaths a year are caused by "drunk" drivers where alcohol is the PRIMARY cause.

Is that enough to deprive tens of millions of Americans of a pleasure and a right?

And the real knee in the curve is at .15 BAC, not .08. No one is drunk at .08 BAC.

Ms. Rice and those of her kind are power mad liars. Ms. Rice has gross and depraved indifference to freedom.

[csturnerdds]

We need stiffer drunk driving penalties, no doubt. However, Prosecuter Rice said that she wants stiffer penalties if you kill someone while under the influence. To be consistent, she would need to charge all other drunk drivers who don''t kill with attempted murder.

[csturnerdds]

We need stiffer drunk driving penalties, no doubt. However, Prosecuter Rice said that she wants stiffer penalties if you kill someone while under the influence. To be consistent, she would need to charge all other drunk drivers who don''t kill with attempted murder.

[shelmarcel]

Thank you for this show. It''s about time that a zero tolerance for DD is adopted. It is absolutely murder when someone is killed because of it; don''t blame the booze. Everyone in society knows well in advance that drunk driving can kill, and that there are plenty of options to `get home'' even when you are drunk. It''s about time that DD murderers, get murder sentences.

[ocasanas]

I know that this issue is a tough one, but I think that considering DUI=murder it''s a bit too far for the simple reason that maybe the drunk person was forced onto drinking, perhaps with a gun on his/her head, and then forced to drive a car, on purpose. Therefore, it would be hard to argue if the accident happened willingly or not.

On the other hand, I agree that nobody should drive drunk, and that it''s totally irresponsible, but before considering such a tough law, care should be taken on the possible ways that driving drunk could have not been prevented.

Another issue is that when someone is drunk, his/her abilities, including the one to judge as doing something against the law, are diminished, in other words, the drunk driver is in a temporary mentally challenged state, and we all know how mentally challenged people many times are not prosecuted. Please, correct me if I''m wrong, since I''m not an expert on these issues.

[notmadd]

Sober drivers kill twice as many people a year as so-called drunk drivers.

The reason why it is so-called drunk drivers is that the standard is no longer that the "driver" is "drunk", but that anyone involved in the accident has had any alcohol. Again, this means ANY alcohol, whether it is .01 BAC or .20 BAC. This is called "alcohol related". So if a drunk pedestrian falls off a sidewalk into traffic, viola, the "drunk driving" statistics get incremented.

In reality, only around 700 deaths a year are caused by "drunk" drivers where alcohol is the PRIMARY cause.

Is that enough to deprive tens of millions of Americans of a pleasure and a right?

And the real knee in the curve is at .15 BAC, not .08. No one is drunk at .08 BAC.

Ms. Rice and those of her kind are power mad liars. Ms. Rice has gross and depraved indifference to freedom. I feel bad for the people that are killed, but decisions should be made rationally, not based on emotion and revenge.

[keithbonn]

yes it is!!!

[mhhensel]

Yes, killing with a car is murder. If a drunk took a gun and started shooting at random, would it be murder if he hit someone? A car can kill as well as a gun. The argument is that they meant to drive drunk but they didn''t mean to kill someone. It''s almost the same as they meant to shoot but they didn''t mean to kill someone. Not understanding the consequences of their decision does not excuse them. It just means they are ignorant. Ignorance is no excuse nor is being drunk. Being drunk just means they are drunk and ignorant and the penality should increase. Other countries revoke licenses for the rest of their life on the first offense. They don''t have as much trouble with drunk drivers.

[ocasanas]

When I drive using a cellphone I feel "drunk" too.

[homey20]

Why are parking lots so huge at bars? Why isn''t the bar forced to check all cars leaving the parking lot?
Many valet attendants hand a started car over to very intoxicated people who probably never intended to get drunk. Greed...? Nobody gets a name to become a politician from something that may cost a little more money? Ban parking lots at Nightclubs and Bars that server alcohol- All valets- need to do a breathalizer... period---- party holders don''t ask a drunk not to drive- take the key or call the police?
Alcohol is legal and encouraged by commercials- the industry has to address the problem or it will dry up with a political solution, and I will be left drinking my homebrew at home - Hey - I do that already.

[flajoe1]

Is that enough to deprive tens of millions of Americans of a pleasure and a right?
-----

Posted by notmadd at 07:41 PM

Are you saying it''s a pleasure and a right to drink and drive?

[destardi]

Lies.
"What are CDC%u2019s research and program activities in this area?
Actions to decrease alcohol-related fatal crashes involving young drivers have been effective
Over the past 20 years, alcohol-related fatal crash rates have decreased by 60 percent for drivers ages 16 to 17 years and 55 percent for drivers ages 18 to 20 years, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, this progress has stalled in the past few years. To further decrease alcohol-related fatal crashes among young drivers, communities need to implement and enforce strategies that are known to be effective, such as minimum legal drinking age laws and "zero tolerance" laws for drivers under 21 years of age."

NO MORE HERD MENTALITY.

People demand harsh rules, people advocate for anti-DUI blah blah blah, then they go out and get arrested for...a DUI.

I would ask these people demanding blood how they would feel about their 19 yo 4.00 GPA, volunteering for soup kitchens son or daughter if they should make ONE LOUSY MISTAKE and kill someone under the influence of alcohol, and have their potential be shutdown for the rest of their life. A mistake as bad as this, does not turn two wrongs into a right by locking them up and throwing away the key.

This is what some of you are demanding. Compassion and forgiveness heals; mob mentality that took just as much enjoyment at seeing black folk hanged does not.

[bc0855]

I am appalled and nauseated that Kathleen Rice is using the tragedy that the Flynn and Rabiniowitz families are suffering to promote her own personal agenda.

Kathleen Rice fired many long term ecxcellent ADAs and placed her family in many high paying positions.

When she was running for office, she had no agenda, yet asked for my support simply because we are both female Touro Alumni. I guess it was fortuitous that the accident happened on the Meadowbrook Parkway so that she had a reason to promote herself on national television.

Her predecessor was equally, if not more so, proactive against driving while intoxicated. As is the ADA in Suffolk County and the ADAs in almost every county in the state. doubt that there many, if any, citizens in Nassau County, or anywhere else, who support it.

And as for the legislation promoted in the 60 minutes piece, it was the Flynn family who was most instrumental in having legislation enacted making vehicular homocide a crime in NY.

DWI, driving under the influence of drugs, just as boating, driving a train, piloting an aircraft, and engaging in many other activities while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs, can have serious consequences for society. But this self serving narcissist''s solution of throwing everyone in jail for life isn''t the solution.

Ms. Rice, heaven help us if the citizens of Nassau County elect you for another term.

[ocasanas]

homey2084 you are right: I think that bars should have parking space for at most 2 or 3 cars and big space for a waiting room for taxi cabs.

[ladyladyk]

Kathleen Rice is an I D I O T. I have never seen such cold, hard eyes - eyes, which are the window to the soul. Alcoholism is recognized by the DSM-IV as a DISEASE. No person suffering from this disease chooses to get in the car and kill a person, unless they are a sociopath, which is a separate issue altogether. People who are alcoholics have not made a cognitive "choice" at all; they are sick, and are under a compulsion to drink; there is no mens rea in their act of driving. Why not try to help them recover, rather than sentence them to jail, which avails no one? Would you sentence an epileptic, who causes injury, to jail? Would you like to help a good person to lead a productive life or, simply, just take the easy route, and consign them to jail, where there is no hope for them to lead a helpful, productive life?! The only real crime committed is by the prosecutor.

[mcivilsurvey]

Want to stop this crime? Technology is the answer.
Breathylizer and/or alcohol detectors in ALL vehicles.
All new vehicles installed by manufacturer,
Existing retro fitted prior to tag renewal.
24 months +/- to complete

[s20092]

BRAVO - Kathleen Rice! Any person who chooses to take a drink and then drive - should be accused of murder - yes, it is the same as a person who picks up a gun. My daughter who is 41 still suffers from being hit by a drunk driver who had previous DUI''s - no restitution was ever made - he should have gone to jail.