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DWI Deaths: Is It Murder?
I watched a segment last night on 60 Minutes and was wondering what your thoughts are on this:
http***www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/31/60minutes/main4694666.shtml
This family lost their 7-year old daughter. The mother looked down after the crash and only saw her daughter's head. It was horrific. The man was tried for murder and some thought that was wrong, claiming that it was not intentional.
What do you think?
http***www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/31/60minutes/main4694666.shtml
This family lost their 7-year old daughter. The mother looked down after the crash and only saw her daughter's head. It was horrific. The man was tried for murder and some thought that was wrong, claiming that it was not intentional.
What do you think?
Cheyenne, I don't want to speak for BH, but I didn't get your comparison either and I was understanding BH's point as being that the outcome with your friend would likely have been the same even if she weren’t drunk (had she been sober while struggling with someone who was drunk, and likely stronger than her, who had a loaded gun)—whereas a drunk driving fatal accident likely would not have occurred had the driver been sober. Had your friend been drunk and firing a gun in the house and a bullet hit her husband and killed him, that may have been a better comparison. What, from your legal perspective, would likely have happened to your friend in that hypothetical situation?
It is a comparison that fits....everyone says that because the person was drunk, and got in an accident that killed someone, it was murder. Being drunk does not make an accidental death murder, period.
Is there a way to charge it as a crime right as a drunk driver starts the car and is about to drive off? That's where it matters most, BEFORE any lives are lost.
I think you may be on to something Savas...over the years, I have heard of many people who have had more than one DUI/DWI (I'm from a family of police officers). All the fines, months without a driver's license, house arrests, higher insurance rates, probation, etc. really do nothing to deter. And I think that most people realize that drinking and driving (even without an accident) can cost them a lot of money, inconvenience, possibly their job, and in turn their home, but many people do it all the time anyway--repeatedly.
So the thought of going to jail for murder scares you more or less, right? From what you said, incase you forgot here is your quote, "And, after someone is cited with drinking and driving...they do take responsibility for their actions, hopefully. Pay fines, go to court, go to rehab, loose their license, go to jail, insurance rates go sky high. I know...because again, i went thru it." Meaning basically that you want the option to drink and drive and not be considered a murderer if you happen to take a life the next time you plop your drunk butt behind the wheel and drive. Forgive me if that sounded harsh to you. Forgive me for saying this if you are now sober and do not do these things.
I am stunned that you think that losing your license and having to take a few measly classes are punishment enough for drinking and driving and KILLING someone because of it. Please pray that you are never on the receiving end... that one day you are not the one hit by a drunk driver and lose your life, or lose your motor functions or god forbid the life of a loved one that may have been riding with you.
In NC you cannot drive and use your cellphone. You are not allowed to drive a motor cycle without a helmet. When a law officer has someone pulled over to the right on the highway you MUST move to the left hand lane... that is the law. You must wear your seatbelt, or you are ticketed. These laws are put into place to protect lives.
If someone drinks and drives their vehicle becomes a weapon.. it is their choice to use it to harm someone or just wait it out and hand over their keys as Agiesmom has stated over and over. Yet you keep debating because you've been there and done that, like it is something to brag about. You got away with your life, but many others are not as lucky.
I am stunned that you think that losing your license and having to take a few measly classes are punishment enough for drinking and driving and KILLING someone because of it. Please pray that you are never on the receiving end... that one day you are not the one hit by a drunk driver and lose your life, or lose your motor functions or god forbid the life of a loved one that may have been riding with you.
In NC you cannot drive and use your cellphone. You are not allowed to drive a motor cycle without a helmet. When a law officer has someone pulled over to the right on the highway you MUST move to the left hand lane... that is the law. You must wear your seatbelt, or you are ticketed. These laws are put into place to protect lives.
If someone drinks and drives their vehicle becomes a weapon.. it is their choice to use it to harm someone or just wait it out and hand over their keys as Agiesmom has stated over and over. Yet you keep debating because you've been there and done that, like it is something to brag about. You got away with your life, but many others are not as lucky.
Someone mentioned deterrence...?
fifty to sixty years of studies and statistics have shown that imprisonment, harsher sentences, etc... does NOT deter someone from committing a crime in the slightest.
Lets call a spade a spade, folks.
Our penal system is straight out revenge punishment, nothing more, nothing less. It teaches no lessons, improves no one's lives, and offers no satisfaction to the victim's families.
It DOES, however, put lots of money into the pockets of an elite, select few.
Which is why I'm a firm believer that we should use the old Celtic/ Saxon form of compensation for crimes committed. It was a MUCH more successful system than our present system is.
fifty to sixty years of studies and statistics have shown that imprisonment, harsher sentences, etc... does NOT deter someone from committing a crime in the slightest.
Lets call a spade a spade, folks.
Our penal system is straight out revenge punishment, nothing more, nothing less. It teaches no lessons, improves no one's lives, and offers no satisfaction to the victim's families.
It DOES, however, put lots of money into the pockets of an elite, select few.
Which is why I'm a firm believer that we should use the old Celtic/ Saxon form of compensation for crimes committed. It was a MUCH more successful system than our present system is.
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