# Sentencing for "2drunk2care" driver **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 7, 2015, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sentencing-for-2drunk2care-driver/719497 "2015-05-07T17:13:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sentencing-for-2drunk2care-driver/719497/41 "2015-05-09T23:22:04Z")
I am unconvinced she is even truly remorseful, with her statement that “This \*\*may \*\*all be my fault.” ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sentencing-for-2drunk2care-driver/719497/42 "2015-05-10T01:15:40Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > No, they were in another car that she hit head on. Did you read the story? 😕 > > Christ. I read it, but misinterpreted it. The article said she killed two best friends, and I thought they meant “her” best friends that were in the car with her. So yes, given that, I’m actually OK with a 24 year sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sentencing-for-2drunk2care-driver/719497/43 "2015-05-10T01:55:15Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > No, they were in another car that she hit head on. Did you read the story? 😕 > > Christ. > [@Finagle](#): > > I read it, but misinterpreted it. The article said she killed two best friends, and I thought they meant “her” best friends that were in the car with her. So yes, given that, I’m actually OK with a 24 year sentence. I thought the friends were in the car with her, too - the article was badly worded. That makes it quite a bit worse, I feel. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sentencing-for-2drunk2care-driver/719497/44 "2015-05-10T02:23:03Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Two life sentences for killing two people seems perfectly acceptable to me. Frankly i see zero reason why this person needs to remain alive in the first place. Yeah, but it’s Florida. If she’d used a gun she would have beat the case. ---
**Author:** ![F.Pu-du-he-pa-as](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@F.Pu-du-he-pa-as](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.Pu-du-he-pa-as)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sentencing-for-2drunk2care-driver/719497/45 "2015-05-10T03:35:16Z")
> [@Mnemnosyne](#): > > Stiffer penalties may affect peoples’ judgement before they get drunk. They might take more effective steps to ensure they cannot drive drunk afterward, such as not driving themselves to the bar/party in the first place and taking a cab or getting a ride there. While the alcohol may prevent them from making good decisions or properly considering the consequences after they’re drunk, they know they are going to get drunk, and should plan accordingly, minimizing the potential bad decisions which can be made. > > I don’t quite understand the mindset or planning of people who drive themselves to a place where they’re going to be drinking. There are some situations where that makes sense - for example, meeting someone there who is not going to be drinking, that didn’t arrive in their own car, and thus can drive you home in your car. But those are probably rare, and in general it definitely seems to me like people do this without ever considering ‘how am I going to get home?’ That’s the point where stiffer penalties may affect their thinking, before they’re too intoxicated; they may realize it would be better if they take a cab to get there, so that they are incapable of driving back and must take a cab to return. Or get a ride from a friend for the same reason, and so on. > > Also, as far as I’m aware most people don’t get sufficiently drunk to lose all judgement without having expected to do so; it’s pretty rare (I think; I have no data on this) for someone to simply go out to a restaurant without intending to do any drinking, and wind up getting so drunk that they reach a .15 BAC like this woman had. It therefore suggests to me that she knew she was going to get drunk, went out intending to get drunk, without a plan on how to get home other than driving herself back. I agree with this completely. Or, as one of my friends has put it more succinctly, “They weren’t drunk when they started drinking.” ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sentencing-for-2drunk2care-driver/719497/46 "2015-05-10T14:08:39Z")
Should the penalty for driving drunk depend on whether somebody gets killed? Once somebody chooses to drink and then chooses (while intoxicated) to drive, how does also killing somebody without intending to hurt them change one’s guilt? How would we feel about a 1 or 5 or 24 year sentence for first offense drunk driving? How do we feel about bars having parking lots? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sentencing-for-2drunk2care-driver/719497/47 "2015-05-10T14:26:22Z")
I think that 24 years is too long, but 3-5 years is way too short. About 25 years ago, my best friend was killed in a head on accident with a drunk driver at the age of 17. Other people in the car lived through the accident but their lives were irreparably changed (shattered legs, severe head injuries, etc…). The drunk driver got 5 years and was paroled after ~3 years IIRC. I remember the day he got out; all our lives were still a wreck and the wounds he gave to us still felt fresh. I was tempted to find him and extract more punishment. Now though, 25 years later, I find that I have long ago forgiven him. I have not talked to my friend’s mother in ~15 years, but I would bet that even her aches have faded. If you did a poll and asked all of us if the guy should still be in jail today, I believe the majority of us would answer in the negative. 25 years is too long. 5 years is too short. 10 to 12 years feels about right from my experience. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sentencing-for-2drunk2care-driver/719497/48 "2015-05-10T14:27:01Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > You know, as much as I abhor the actions of this woman, 24 years is an astoundingly unproportionate sentence from my perspective. Yes, it was a terrible event. A terrible event that could have easily been prevented. A terrible event that she was aware of the possibility of due to her text message: but 24 years in jail? I can’t agree with that. Why not? She committed murder. Would you object to 24 years if she had shot the people instead of killing them with her car? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sentencing-for-2drunk2care-driver/719497/49 "2015-05-10T14:29:55Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Why not? She committed murder. Would you object to 24 years if she had shot the people instead of killing them with her car? What if she texted somebody while driving and got in a head on accident that killed two people due to her inattention. Would this be murder in your eyes and deserving of 24 years in prison? ---
**Author:** ![Fiveroptic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiveroptic/32/8257_2.png) [@Fiveroptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveroptic)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sentencing-for-2drunk2care-driver/719497/50 "2015-05-10T15:19:48Z")
Would the victim be any less dead? Twenty-four years seems excessive to me but whether drunk driving or texting, I think both are criminally negligent acts that are worthy of fifteen years. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sentencing-for-2drunk2care-driver/719497/51 "2015-05-10T15:29:33Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > Should the penalty for driving drunk depend on whether somebody gets killed? > > Once somebody chooses to drink and then chooses (while intoxicated) to drive, how does also killing somebody without intending to hurt them change one’s guilt? Being involved in a fatal accident removes any possibility of doubt of her guilt. Even if two people do the exact same stupid thing, it’s a lot easier to prove that one was acting dangerously if their stupidity leaves lasting evidence. It’s far more reasonable to throw the book at someone when you find them at the scene of a crash they caused than if you find them sleeping it off in their parked car and just assume without evidence that they have been driving drunk. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sentencing-for-2drunk2care-driver/719497/52 "2015-05-10T20:39:48Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Frankly i see zero reason why this person needs to remain alive in the first place. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: Excuse me while I push my eyeballs back into my head. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sentencing-for-2drunk2care-driver/719497/53 "2015-05-10T20:51:28Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Why not? She committed murder. Would you object to 24 years if she had shot the people instead of killing them with her car? She didn’t commit murder. She drove drunk and the result was the death of two people. 24 years in jail for that is draconian. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sentencing-for-2drunk2care-driver/719497/54 "2015-05-10T22:35:28Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > She didn’t commit murder. She drove drunk and the result was the death of two people. 24 years in jail for that is draconian. How many people _is_ she allowed to kill through sheer sociopathic disregard for innocent bystanders and the law before we are justified in rendering her incapable of killing anyone else? Why are we supposed to consider her choice to illegally drug herself into a stupor a mitigating factor in her crimes? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sentencing-for-2drunk2care-driver/719497/55 "2015-05-10T22:47:23Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > How many people _is_ she allowed to kill through sheer sociopathic disregard for innocent bystanders and the law before we are justified in rendering her incapable of killing anyone else? Fifteen. Fifteen sounds like a good arbitrary number. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sentencing-for-2drunk2care-driver/719497/56 "2015-05-11T02:00:08Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Fifteen. Fifteen sounds like a good arbitrary number. That is a joke, right? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sentencing-for-2drunk2care-driver/719497/57 "2015-05-11T02:09:30Z")
> [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](#): > > What if she texted somebody while driving and got in a head on accident that killed two people due to her inattention. Would this be murder in your eyes and deserving of 24 years in prison? Not sure about Clothahump’s, but it certainly would be would in mine. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sentencing-for-2drunk2care-driver/719497/58 "2015-05-11T03:12:24Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > :rolleyes: bull-shit. Dude - I think you have a bit of a vested interest in commenting on such things ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sentencing-for-2drunk2care-driver/719497/59 "2015-05-11T03:14:44Z")
> [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](#): > > I think that 24 years is too long, but 3-5 years is way too short. > > About 25 years ago, my best friend was killed in a head on accident with a drunk driver at the age of 17. Other people in the car lived through the accident but their lives were irreparably changed (shattered legs, severe head injuries, etc…). The drunk driver got 5 years and was paroled after ~3 years IIRC. I remember the day he got out; all our lives were still a wreck and the wounds he gave to us still felt fresh. I was tempted to find him and extract more punishment. Now though, 25 years later, I find that I have long ago forgiven him. I have not talked to my friend’s mother in ~15 years, but I would bet that even her aches have faded. If you did a poll and asked all of us if the guy should still be in jail today, I believe the majority of us would answer in the negative. > > 25 years is too long. 5 years is too short. 10 to 12 years feels about right from my experience. YMMV. 10 - 12 x 2 people comes to 24 years, just nice… ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sentencing-for-2drunk2care-driver/719497/60 "2015-05-11T03:21:09Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > If the point is to send a message, then it’s been sent I guess. A five year sentence also sends a pretty strong message though. I don’t think a 5-year sentence would send much of a strong message at all. A 24-year sentence, on the other hand, makes people go “whoa.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sentencing-for-2drunk2care-driver/719497.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sentencing-for-2drunk2care-driver/719497.md?page=4)