Food for thought – crime and punishment content

From a friend of a friend facebook status:

Today, my life has, yet again, been changed profoundly. My children’s father was taken into custody to begin serving his 25 year sentence for the 2012 DUI accident that caused the death of my son and another man.
There are no words to describe how I feel, so I won’t try to. But I will say that I am in desperate need of support from my friends and family as I work through the immense amount of emotions I’m experiencing. Please pray that I can find the right words and the strength to deliver this news to my little girls, as they have not yet been told. Thanks for the support.

Think about this next time you complain about people being let off for killing someone on the roads.

Whats DUI ?

Driving Under the Influence

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driving_under_the_influence

Wow, that must be aweful going through that pain.

Throw the key away i say

Think about this next time you complain about people being let off for killing someone on the roads.

..and are you suggesting that someone who caused the death of two people should get let off because his actions are causing pain to someone who knows someone you know?

Link to the story?

I like you, Molgrips, but this is one sideways post.

this one ?

Think about this next time you complain about people being let off for killing someone on the roads.

What the woman is describing is a consequence of the crime not of the sentencing.

Did you read it correctly? He inadvertently killed his own son, and now he’s being taken away from his family; his kids are losing their father as well as their brother, and his wife is losing her husband as well as her son.

All for a stupid mistake.

What good is going to come from locking him up? Really?

*must be serious and not make lunch-based-expences-joke*

And I am thought death by dangerous driving was not a life sentence so under 15 years?
Pretty crap situation, but drinking and driving with your kid in the car (assuming) is a pretty crappy thing to do…

Did you read it correctly? He inadvertently killed his own son, and now he’s being taken away from his family; his kids are losing their father as well as their brother, and his wife is losing her husband as well as her son.

You seem to be forgetting the death of A. N. Other, and the justice for his family.

What good is going to come from locking him up? Really?

Pity they weren’t cyclists, he’d have been let off with 3 points and a 16pence fine.

If you are all really really quiet you just might be able to hear the tiny tiny violin playing for him!

Presumably they’re American if they’re using the term DUI?

Pity they weren’t cyclists, he’d have been let off with 3 points and a 16cents fine.

FTFY.

Did you read it correctly

Yup. Although perhaps you are in possession of info we are not?

You seem to be forgetting the death of A. N. Other, and the justice for his family.

No – I’m simply saying it’s food for thought. What is justice, really? Revenge? Restitution?

depends on the circumstances – there must be more to it to get 25 years

Where did this happen?

I’m not all that clued up on sentencing but 25 years seems like a lot.

USA

The article says he showed extreme indifference to human life and paints him as a bit of a monster. The FB status doesn’t seem to back that up…

It’s in the US.

No – I’m simply saying it’s food for thought. What is justice, really? Revenge? Restitution?

deterrance?
fwiw – 2 deaths, two UNNECCESSARY deaths beacuse one idiot had to drink and drive.
Nice of you to defend it it, maybe you’d feel different if you’d been crippled or one of your children killed by a drunk driver who wasn’t jailed for killing someone else.

Protection?

No – I’m simply saying it’s food for thought. What is justice, really? Revenge? Restitution?

Those are valid questions but you were also questioning the point of a custodial sentence in this case .

I think you’re going to garner limited support for that viewpoint.

Dunno, maybe he should’ve considered the possible consequences of his actions before he took to the wheel while drunk. Just a thought.

deterrance?

Not saying I don’t agree with the sentence, but I’m pretty sure that long jail sentences don’t act as much of a deterrent. In the US they seem to hand down huge sentences but have one of the highest prison populations in the world.

Dunno, maybe he should’ve considered the possible consequences of his actions before he took to the wheel while drunk. Just a thought.

Well clearly, but why does prison help here? What GOOD is it going to do?

I’m thinking about his daughters here, mostly, just to be clear. But also the poor woman left behind.

Think about the other family.
He got pissed, got in a car, drove, killed somebody’s father/son/brother/friend.
I feel sorry for his daughters, but…

I’m thinking about his daughters here, mostly, just to be clear. But also the poor woman left behind.

I feel sympathy for them but he’s the villan of the piece not the state.

As to what GOOD a custodial sentence does I think the Americans have different views on that from us. I wouldn’t like to comment on whether I thought it was justified without knowing the details. If such a sentence were handed down here one would assume there was much more to it.

It’s natural I think to feel differently when we know people involved, one way or the other. Hopefully this very sad side of it will also have a deterrent effect.

Not saying I don’t agree with the sentence, but I’m pretty sure that long jail sentences don’t act as much of a deterrent. In the US they seem to hand down huge sentences but have one of the highest prison populations in the world.

Well deterrence works for me and I will bet you a fiver it works for many others.
Secondly why do people constantly trot out the US as a comparison, do you really believe we are similar to the US ?

25 years in jail means 25 years of not being able to get drunk, drive a car and kill someone else. That’s a bad thing because..?

Well deterrence works for me and I will bet you a fiver it works for many others.

I’d say that most people don’t commit crimes because of the threat of going to prison, but just out of a sense of decency.

You say it’s a deterrent for you? give me an example of a crime you’d personally commit if there was no chance of going to prison.

Secondly why do people constantly trot out the US as a comparison

Because the case we’re talking about is in the USA.

But also because it’s a good example of a country where sentences are harsh but prison populations are also high.

What alternative do you propose molgrips?

Seems a lame post without one.

Parents of young children can commit certain crimes without punishment?

Court records show Melendez had a .185 blood-alcohol content, more than twice the legal limit of .08. But he took the wheel of his Chrysler Sebring and plowed into Odom’s Mercedes at 4:05 p.m., on Military Trail, south of Melaleuca Lane. Melendez, unemployed and driving on a suspended license, also had cocaine and marijuana in his system.

Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office investigator Troy Snelgrove testified that road tests showed Melendez was traveling about 92 mph northbound in a posted 45 mph area, when he lost control of his car. The Sebring crossed the median and hit Odom as he was driving in the opposite direction to pick up his children from school.

Odom, manager of The Philly Grill restaurant west of Boynton Beach, died at the scene a month before his 40th birthday. Melendez tried to get away on foot before a cop tracked him down hiding behind a nearby day care center, according to an arrest report.

Edit:I think this may be the case in reference. Here in New Mexico, we have a huge DUI problem and the courts (and the attorneys for the defendant) keep finding ways to circumvent the law, hence we have people picked up for multiple (up to 15 +) DUI’s, driving with suspended sentences because they know the courts will be lenient.

To clarify, the above referenced case wasn’t here in New Mexico, but in Florida. No convicted DUI offender here has ever gotten close to that kind of sentence. A few years ago, a DUI driver was going the wrong way on the Interstate, hit a family head-on on Christmas Eve, killing 3 children and he only got 8 years as I recall.