5 Dead in Wrong-way Crash on Lodge

[bailey]

I agree! I absolutely despise drunk drivers. That's not a slap on the wrist offense because its no different than walking outside with a blindfold and shooting off a gun into the street. Treat them just like murderers because they made the decision to attempt to kill someone else for their own selfishness. Just because they got pulled over before they could kill an innocent driver doesn't mean they wouldn't have. They get no sympathy from me, I say minimum 1 year jail term for first offenders! Ugh, hate them! Scum of the earth!

Problem with that logic is that we, as a society, tend to dislike "strict liability". .08 [[which might actually bounce back to .10 if the .08 law is allowed to sunset in 2013) may or may not affect everyone the same. Further, there is a HUGE difference between impairment at .08 and hammered at .15...or .20. Finally, getting popped for rolling a stop sign at an empty intersection and then having the cop figure out you might be a sliver over .08 because you had that extra glass of wine at your 35th wedding anniversary dinner, is a shitload different than being blotto and blowing down the highway at 100+ mph. That is why judges are supposed to use discretion and the guidelines are just that "guidelines". The particular judge who sentences people without taking into consideration the facts and circumstances of the arrest and simply throws the maximum at them is not doing her job. Nor is she solving the problem.