As horrible as this is, I think it raises a difficult ethical issue. Driving drunk is wrong (obviously) because it greatly increases the prior probability that you might cause a crash. But the actual consequences (for a given level of impairment) are then random. Take 10 equally impaired* people: 1 kills an entire family, while 9 (through dumb luck) either get home safely or are pulled over by a cop before hurting anyone. It’s not clear to me why that 1 guy is an absolute pariah, while the 9 deserve a lesser punishment. All 10 acted equally recklessly in increasing the probability that they might kill someone. Which of the 10 actually turned out to kill someone was just dumb luck.
*adjusting for alcohol tolerance, i.e. equally poor driving ability
Seems pretty simple to me. You point a gun in the direction of some people and squeeze off several shots. There is some indeterminate probability that one or more of those people will experience injury or death. Hence, you can be prosecuted for, at the very least, reckless endangerment and go to prison even if no one is hit. Driving impaired is analogous, especially if you are in falling-down mode.
Sentences in Canada, like the US, are imposed with an integrated parole eligibility date. In Muzzo’s case he was ordered to serve a minimum of one third of his sentence. He went to prison in April 2016, so he’s now served a third of his sentence (~140 weeks post-judgment plus ~25 weeks of credit for time served). One third of a sentence is broadly in line with what most US offenders serve, assuming good behavior (except for violent or otherwise aggravated offenses, which usually require that a majority of the guideline sentence be served before parole).
That despicable idiot is a “yeah, but” and should never see the light of day again.
:Yeah, but I’ve never been a real binge drinker…"
“Yeah, but I never had problems with alcohol before”
“Yeah, but the roadway was at fault too”
“Yeah, but my friends were at fault too”
“Yeah, but the bartenders were at fault too”
“Yeah, but the four people should not have been out on that street so late at night, so it’s THEIR fault”
Possibly. But federal prosecutions are a tiny, tiny fraction of U.S. criminal cases. ~69,000 people were charged with federal crimes last year, while 2.9 million were charged with state felonies alone in 2007 (the last year I could find national numbers for).
I think that’s what Muffin is saying (except that solecism of lumping N&L into the Maritimes): total population of the Atlantic provinces is 0.5 million less than that of the total state felonies in one year.
Damn, it would be nice to read one thread that Trump doesn’t get brought up in, I’m still waiting for him to show up in the bronchial tree blood clot thread.
If they were my kids I’d make sure if it was the last thing I ever did to kill the son of a bitch as soon as he walked out of prison.
The Spanish experience with the “educational approach” (stuff such as sending police vans with breathalizers to the parking lots of dance clubs) has been generally positive; many people, specially young ones, discover that they are over the limit or test positive for other things when they didn’t feel impaired, and a lot of them take the warnings to heart. You can even, if you see a cop car, ask if they happen to have a breathalizer and get checked. And they’re happy to give you The Lecture on what works and what doesn’t, public transportation resources in your area, etc.
I think it’s part of the reason those people who stay off the “bah, it’s not important (since it’s li’l ol’ me doing it)” wagon tend to thoroughly despise those who sit in it. Entitled jerks have always tended to clump together, but now they’re more likely to have that as the only option as other people ostracise them.
This bump prompted me to check out his current status.
Muzzo was granted day parole in April, 2020. That’s exactly four years after he first went to prison. He got full parole in February, 2021, ten months later. He is still subject to a total alcohol prohibition, driving suspension, and other conditions. Last I heard there was some controversy over his wanting to live near the area of the crash, close to the HQ of the family business, which was deemed insensitive. At the time of full parole he was renting premises away from the area.
I’m a believer in rehabilitation and second chances, but time and time again this asshole has shown zero empathy or genuine remorse.
