Teen Who Drove Drunk Gets 30 Days for Fatality

And don't forget as well as cell phones, falling asleep at the wheel, I heard somewhere that causes more deaths or accidents then DD hmmmm Also they don't call them accidents anymore, they are called crashes. Or how about someone reading a book or magazine, which I have seen on the steering wheel on more then one occasion going 60 miles down the highway. :rolleyes3: Cell phones, sleeping at the wheel and reading are just as intentional as drunk driving maybe even worse because they are not impaired by a substance and should know better. I bet if the police would check everyone that drove out of Clydes after happy hour we would see many of our neighbors well you know And the city of DC is zero tolerance. And what if it was your child that drove drunk and killed someone????????? This is devastating for both families and the sad thing it will happen again and again, and that is so sad for everyone !!!!!

 

I agree that 30 days is probably not enough but I am agaisnt anything significantly long for this particular case.

I think other punishments can potentially effective as well.
No drivers license for 5, 10, 20 years or forever.
Weekend work in a morgue.
Slinging hash to harden criminals (sort of "scared straight").
Cleaning accident sites of blood.

 

I have to say that, remarkably, I agree with T8erman on this one. On the face of it, her punishment seems shockingly insignificant. But, I do not believe that more/harsher would make a difference. Either to her or to other teens.

Binge drinking is a huge problem. Our puritanical views about alcohol make it such a fixation and kids access to it is often brief and furtive. It creates a situation where consumption is a race and results in rapid and acute drunkeness. A perfect storm of disaster for those involved.

 

I would 2nd the petition to get this Judge removed. It's not the first time she has made a decision like this and I am sure it won't be the last. Unfortunately for us, Judges in Virginia are appointed, not elected, so we have no say in who we get stuck with...

 

THESE are my tpes of punishments- yes! i'd love to see caning and public humiliation as well, but we are not, after all, barbarians...lol

 

The punishment you describe in Atlanta was an injustice for sure but not the basis or barometer for how to handle a teen drunk driving case.

This was an incredibly irresponsible act with devastating and irreversible consequences but I agree with t8. How long should she go to prison for? Two years, five years, ten years? What would the result of incarcerating a teen be? Locking her up will make it far more likely that she will be involved in criminal activity in the future. American jails are strictly about punishment with no real efforts to rehabilitate. She would be surrounded by more hardcore criminals which would be the wrong influence if you want to rehabilitate her.

There are effective ways to punish a teen who has made a huge mistake like this which will also serve to rehabilitate. Restitution of burial costs is one way. Appropriate community service is another way. Loss of a license until she is 21 is another. Writing a letter of apology is another very effective technique. I am sure this girl will never forget or stop feeling bad about what she has done. Unfortunately nothing the court or girl can do will bring back Mrs. Becker.

I feel terrible for the family and respect their response.

 

future posts addressed THIS post you are referrring to skins fan- i am all for effective rehab over incarceration. i am simply NOT for the sentence she received for taking a life. likely she won't ever forget or get over what she did- so what? that's what normal ppl feel when they screw up: remorse.

i have a problem with the justice system, not a problem with this girl whose irresponsible behavior killed someone.

 

This could have been me. I remember being in college and driving a couple times when I probably shouldn't have. And I was basically a good kid with a clean record, who made bad decisions as a young person. No doubt some of you--maybe even after a happy hour--have driven and thought later, "Wow, maybe I shouldn't have done that. Whew."

I am not excusing it at all, just providing perspective to say that I agree that a long prison sentence would not be appropriate in this kind of case. What would be appropriate?

I would make sure that this girl is speaking to students at every high school in the state for the next five years, maybe longer if possible. A constant reminder of what she did (though I would think this is going to stay with her for the rest of her life, as it would have for me if I had done that).

I would take away her driver's license until she is 25. That takes away her freedom in today's society in very real ways (though at college she would not need to drive presumably). Someone would have to drive her everywhere...again, a constant reminder that she has lost a privilege and some convenience (which does not equate to someone losing their life, but...)

I would make her pay all $10,000 of the funeral expenses for the family. So she has to work for a few years and every penny goes to paying restitution. Again, a constant reminder with every paycheck.

I would perhaps have her pay even more restitution, to pay for someone to help care for the Becker family's son who has the genetic disorder.

Locking the girl up behind bars will probably lead to worse consequences for her down the road. Having her spend the next five or ten years working hard, with lost privileges, will be a constant reminder that could also do some good in preventing other kids from making this mistake.

 

One more thought I'm not sure anyone has brought up. The article says the girl was drinking DURING the football game. Where is any culpability for the adults (parents, the school) not being aware of the binge drinking and not doing anything to stop it?

The article says there were adults tailgating before the football game. Our views on alcohol are extreme in both directions. I agree with a previous poster who said our views are too puritanical in some ways. However, our culture has also glorified (and excused) excess drinking or drinking for sport/fun. I've seen it on this forum when it comes time for the happy hour--we joke about getting wasted or having hangovers like we're in college, and then wonder why our kids want to model our behavior

 

i'd like to nonimate Silience as a LoCo circuit court judge. THAT would be constructive, unforgettable, justice served.

 

Silence I have to admit I do agree with all you say.

I have also been to the happy Hours

 

Lee, I am going to print this out as a reminder of the day when sanity ruled that brain of yours. Ha ha ha ha ha, in honor of you. Lee, we probably agree on a whole lot more than you think--especially how creative, entrepreneurs think and work.

 

I am so sorry for your loss, Pea. I just cannot imagine. And I honor you for showing forgiveness, wow.

 

Silence -I read and had to re-read your post#28 and couldn't agree with you more.

In the late 80's my brother was killed 300 feet from our home (walking home) by a teen DD and that is a night my family has never forgotten.

However our loss was over shadowed by faith and forgiveness...towards the driver who made a mistake that they will have to carry for the rest of their lives.

 

This is completely ridiculous, but at the same time not surprising.

I am not saying she should recieve jail time, but a more hefty sentence. It's funny everyone that made it seem it was normal to drink and drive just because "they" did.

This isn't about punishing her for revenge, but for responsibility. She is not learning to be responsible by being in a detention center for 30 days.

She needs to be in a program for alcoholics.

 

i dunno- i binge drank once in my 20's (didn't drive- passed out inthe barracks!), and was so sick for days i never did it again. i don't consider myself an alocholic- they go to meetings- i am just a drunk! lol kidding.

in all seriousness, talking to other high schoolers, working in a morgue, being shown the devastation of the families of victims of drunk drivers will do 1000 times more than the serenity prayer imho.

not to take anything away from AA- true alkies benefit from it.

 

After our own loss - that is why I continue to be actively volunteer with organizations such as M.A.D.D. & M.A.D.D. vehicle donation program. It is a very heavy to hear first hand accounts and the impact it has.

 

If the punishment for drinking and driving which results in death is only 30 days then what message does that send?

Instead of killing one woman, what if it was a kid? What about a pregnant woman? What about an entire family in a minivan? How about a school bus full of kids?

The basic fact is that a car is a very dangerous thing without drinking involved and even more dangerous when drinking is involved.

She made conscious decisions to drink and then to drive and she should be held fully accountable for those decisions.

Immaturity, youthfulness, stupidity and lack of judgement are not proper grounds for getting out of trouble.

As an adult male, I am fairly certain that if I got drunk and killed someone while I was drunk driving then I would be in jail for a little longer than 30 days.

If teens are unable to be held accountable for their driving decisions maybe they should not be driving to begin with.