Society preaches that drinking and driving must stop and those that are caught should be severely punished. However, those words were silenced by the recent decision handed down in a Florida court for Cleveland Browns receiver Dante Stallworth. If we preach that drinking and driving deserves strict punishment, then how does Florida have the audacity to sentence Mr. Stallworth to 30 days in jail for his DWI homicide? I am of the understanding that Mr. Stalloworth was given eight years of probation and effectively two years of house arrest, the loss of driving privileges for five years and 1,000 hours of community service. While the overall sentenced imposed has deep repercussions, the taking of a life and destruction caused to the victims family deserves more than a mere 30 days in jail.
The cost of a cab is usually a minor expense to friends on vacation. However, that simple decision could have been a life saving expense. The magnifying glass of justice needs to take a close look at any law that sentence you to a mere 30 days when you to kill a pedestrian while drinking and driving. Poor personal decisions can lead to tragic mistakes that alter the life of others.
Those that drink and drive rarely have the intent to kill but drinking and driving creates a tragic bomb waiting to explode. Legal decisions such as this take the teeth out of DUI and DWI law designed to deter this behavior and undermines the perception of fairness.
0 responses so far ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.