99 Years In Prison For 16th DWI

[Dallas]

Really?

Speeding = Drunk Driving?

I didn't say speeding = drunk driving. I said both are against the law and a major safety hazard. You make a decision to speed and get into an accident. Why is that different than a guy blowing a .08 getting into the same accident? Both kill people and have and both are against the law and still are. Both are also decisions made by the operator of the vehicle.

 

[rynochop]

Again, YEP. Don't drink and drive, period. End of discussion. How hard is that? There are many many ways to avoid drinking and driving, the vast majority of people choose not to use those ways because it's not as convenient.

And for the record, if you started giving people 5 years for their first offense, people would quit doing it really really quick. So no, 3/4 population would not be in prison.

So you go to a buddys house to catch a Cowboys game and have a couple brews and get stopped for a blinker out...you do hard time for 5 years and ruin you and your familys life? Chronic drunk drivers will be caught, but geez, thats pretty hardcore...id rather my policemen be concentratrating on catching murderers and rapists.

Heck, ever drive next to some chick on a cell phone?? They're going 45 in a 70 and weaving all over, i'd rather some guy leaving Buffalo Wild Wings with a couple pops in him on the road then some 19 yr old talking to her boyfriend.

 

[Dallas]

So you go to a buddys house to catch a Cowboys game and have a couple brews and get stopped for a blinker out...you do hard time for 5 years and ruin you and your familys life? Chronic drunk drivers will be caught, but geez, thats pretty hardcore...id rather my policemen be concentratrating on catching murderers and rapists.

Heck, ever drive next to some chick on a cell phone?? They're going 45 in a 70 and weaving all over, i'd rather some guy leaving Buffalo Wild Wings with a couple pops in him on the road then some 19 yr old talking to her boyfriend.

This is the point im trying to make. Well said btw.

99 years for a first time DUI

Thank god this guy isn't on the SC. YIKES !

 

[Rynie]

Absolutely 100% yes. It's the law, don't drink and drive. The fact that there are so many blatant idiots out there that can't seem to grasp that concept absolutely boggles my mind. It's dangerous, no you don't "drive better when you're drunk", no, it's not "ok, just this one time", and no its not ok because "I just live down the street". I have ZERO respect for anyone who has ever drank and drove even once in their lives. That includes my father and numerous other family members, not to mention the vast majority of the American population. If we started locking people up for doing it on their first offense, it would come to a screeching halt.

Oh, like murder?

People will still do it. Prison is NOT a deterrent for crime in our country. Do some research.

...and get off your soapbox. Prison for a glass of wine? That's just stupid.

 

[rynochop]

I didn't say speeding = drunk driving. I said both are against the law and a major safety hazard. You make a decision to speed and get into an accident. Why is that different than a guy blowing a .08 getting into the same accident? Both kill people and have and both are against the law and still are. Both are also decisions made by the operator of the vehicle.

Not to get into semantics, but yeah, you did. Speeding = drunk driving. Unless i missed something. oops, nevermind

I've seen accidents where an intoxicated person was rear ended by someone speeding that wasnt intoxicated. Tell me what you do then?

 

[couchscout]

So you go to a buddys house to catch a Cowboys game and have a couple brews and get stopped for a blinker out...you do hard time for 5 years and ruin you and your familys life? Chronic drunk drivers will be caught, but geez, thats pretty hardcore...id rather my policemen be concentratrating on catching murderers and rapists.

Heck, ever drive next to some chick on a cell phone?? They're going 45 in a 70 and weaving all over, i'd rather some guy leaving Buffalo Wild Wings with a couple pops in him on the road then some 19 yr old talking to her boyfriend.

AGAIN, DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE. EVER. FOR ANY REASON. Take a cab, ride the bus, find a friend, whatever. If you drink alcohol, do not drive. How hard is that? People wanna justify driving drunk with silly little excuses like this. How many times have you stopped by a friends to watch a game and HONESTLY just had one or two beers? That may have been your intention, but you know darn well that you end up having 5+ pretty much every time. Same thing for going to xmas parties, clubs, bars, etc. You know deep down when you leave the house that you will be driving drunk that night, but justify by saying before you leave "I'm only gonna have a couple."

Also, lets flip the situation you have come up with. You stop by a friends to watch the Cowboys game, have a few brews and then cause an accident on the way home that kills a young woman and the kid she was pregnant with. What now? You deserve life on the spot (technically you deserve death in my opinion but thats a different topic). So, how do we get people to stop with this insanely idiotic scenario I just described? By throwing everyone who gets a DWI in prison for a good amount of time. Drinking and driving, especially "casual" drinking and driving as you seem to be advocating would come to a screeching halt.

Oh, and for the record, detectives are the ones out there catching rapist and murderers, freeing up our police officers to be out on the road protecting people from low life pieces of trash that do things like talk on the cell phone while driving, or stop by a friends house, get tipsy then drive home.

 

[couchscout]

Oh, like murder?

People will still do it. Prison is NOT a deterrent for crime in our country. Do some research.

...and get off your soapbox. Prison for a glass of wine? That's just stupid.

This is a COMPLETELY idiotic argument. Because 3/4 of the population is out there committing murders every single night and getting away with it. Again, the two are not even remotely comparable.

 

[joseephuss]

Cabs and buses are not always available. Not trying to make excuses, but good public transportation does not exist everywhere. Knowing that, then you have to find other alternatives.

I think 5 years in prison for a first offense would be excessive. There are alternatives. Second offense I think is more in line with a 5 year sentence. Now, if you hurt someone during your first offense, then yes prison time seems right. If you are busted 3 times, well you just probably won't ever learn. Still life in prison is extreme, but 25 years at least keeps you off the streets for a good while. Again, if you hurt anyone on any offense(s1st, 2nd or 3rd), then you should get a much harsher penalty.

A big problem currently is that many people plea out of first offenses and don't even have a record of their first DUI on file. There are limited options for prosecutors. There has been a proposal in Texas to allow for a plea deal, but it would still be considered a DUI. That way they can more easily track repeat offenders.

 

[Dallas]

This is a COMPLETELY idiotic argument. Because 3/4 of the population is out there committing murders every single night and getting away with it. Again, the two are not even remotely comparable.

And your 99 years for 1st offense dui isn't COMPLETELY IDIOTIC?

Jeebus H throw rocks.

 

[Cajuncowboy]

Really..two glasses of wine and they're a bad guy that needs to go away? 3/4ths of the population would be in prison.

You ever see those breath tests where they give someone multiple beers, test them, then give them a shot of tequila and test them again and the score is LOWER?

Hey I know how they can get around that.

DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE!!!

 

[Cajuncowboy]

No, not at all. I'm in the insurance business, speeding is much worse.

What company is that? I may want to cancel my policy.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

How does it get to 16 in the first place?

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2011/03/25/kprc.dnt.99yrs.dui.sentenced.kprc

Should have been the 99 years long before 16 times. That's just stupid that an idiot got that many chances in the first place.

 

[Cajuncowboy]

I didn't say speeding = drunk driving. I said both are against the law and a major safety hazard. You make a decision to speed and get into an accident. Why is that different than a guy blowing a .08 getting into the same accident? Both kill people and have and both are against the law and still are. Both are also decisions made by the operator of the vehicle.

One causes an impairment of judgment, the other is a conscience decision. Knowing you are going to do something that will impair your judgment and reflexes is different that going 75 in a 65 zone. We are not talking about people who drive 120 miles an hour.

 

[vta]

I've seen accidents where an intoxicated person was rear ended by someone speeding that wasnt intoxicated. Tell me what you do then?

Cite the sober fool for not paying attention with a ticket and arrest the drunk. Specific circumstances don't mitigate that the drunk was drunk, or that he should not be driving. He shouldn't, no matter what happens. Being caught by accident doesn't make you any less guilty.

 

[Rynie]

This is a COMPLETELY idiotic argument. Because 3/4 of the population is out there committing murders every single night and getting away with it. Again, the two are not even remotely comparable.

How? You said "if people were locked up for THE FIRST TIME, DWI's would come to a screeching halt".....your words.

My argument: People are locked up for MURDER the first time, and MURDER has not come to a screeching halt.

So, because it's DWI, and not MURDER (or any other crime), it's going to come to a screeching halt? Where's the logic in that? Both are crimes. Both can carry prison sentences. Both still happen fairly regularly.

It's not my fault you can't follow simple logic.

Not remotely comparable? Uh yes, in this scenerio (crime vs. punishment) they are.

3/4 of the population is drinking and driving? C'mon son!

 

[urface59]

I gotta dwi once. So uhhh should I just go ahead and kill myself now since I'm such twisted evil human being?

 

[Rynie]

I gotta dwi once. So uhhh should I just go ahead and kill myself now since I'm such twisted evil human being?

Well according to The Master Couchscout...yes.

I'll join you...i've driven home after a few beers, so I've def. reserved a place in hell for myself.

:bang2:

 

[couchscout]

How? You said "if people were locked up for THE FIRST TIME, DWI's would come to a screeching halt".....your words.

My argument: People are locked up for MURDER the first time, and MURDER has not come to a screeching halt.

So, because it's DWI, and not MURDER (or any other crime), it's going to come to a screeching halt? Where's the logic in that? Both are crimes. Both can carry prison sentences. Both still happen fairly regularly.

It's not my fault you can't follow simple logic.

Not remotely comparable? Uh yes, in this scenerio (crime vs. punishment) they are.

3/4 of the population is drinking and driving? C'mon son!

I'm nearly 30 and the only 2 people I can think of that I know that have never driven drunk besides myself are my mother and grandmother. Virtually every other person I've met since I was about 16 has driven drunk at least a little and the overwhelmingly vast majority of them did/do so frequently. Besides that, 3/4 wasn't my number, one of the others in this thread used it.

And yes, "casual" drinking and driving would come to a screeching halt if a first offense was 5 years. Of course the crazies out there are gonna do it anyway, just like murder or any other crime. There is no way to stop those people, no matter what you do. I would bet any amount of money you can think of that in Dallas on any given night there are 50,000 people who drive while above the limit. I bet that number would fall to less than 500 if there were serious penalties for doing so.

But anyway, I really wasn't trying to start a firestorm here, I've never lost anyone to a drunk driver or anything like that. I just know from first hand experience what drinking does to people, and I've seen how driving while drunk impairs you, and I think people who treat it like it's no big deal should be harshly punished.

 

[Cajuncowboy]

I gotta dwi once. So uhhh should I just go ahead and kill myself now since I'm such twisted evil human being?

You certainly should have went to jail.

 

[couchscout]

And your 99 years for 1st offense dui isn't COMPLETELY IDIOTIC?

Jeebus H throw rocks.

Hi there, a little advice. Develop at least a rudimentary level of reading comprehension skills before engaging in any type of debates. That being said, if you can find even one time in this thread...nay, EVER, that I said someone should go to prison for 99 years for a 1st offense, I'll give you a thousand dollars. And I'm not using hyperbole, I'll actually give you the money.