|
|
Post by thelma on Mar 7, 2008 19:35:57 GMT -5
www.wktv.com/news/local/16383971.htmlThe DWI driver that almost killed that 11 year old boy a few months ago plead Guilty to DWI and Vehicular Assualt today in Court. This 11 year old boy was left seriously brain damage. Anyone have any idea of what his sentence will be? This is NOT his first DWI either!
|
|
|
|
Post by froggy on Mar 7, 2008 20:51:41 GMT -5
Based on the DWI stuff in my auto insurance stuff, its 4 years.
|
|
|
|
Post by thelma on Mar 7, 2008 21:03:28 GMT -5
Froggy - I hope they at least revoke his license and lock him up for at least 1 year; especially for the Vehicle Assault charge. He almost killed that 11 year old boy that spent over a month in the hospital and is now seriously brain damage.
Then I believe this DWI is at least his 2nd DWI conviction within the past few years. That should also warrant at least another 2-5 years in jail.
We are too soft on these DWI convictions and this is the result - they don't learn their lesson and go on drinking and almost killing someone.
|
|
|
|
Post by bobbbiez on Mar 7, 2008 21:41:38 GMT -5
 Thelma you are so right. Four years isn't a long enough sentence when you think about the sentence he gave this little boy of being permanently damaged for life. 
|
|
|
|
Post by Swimmy on Mar 8, 2008 11:41:55 GMT -5
Sentencing is based on the crime, not the victim's injuries. If it was the other way around, then there would be a larger reason for capital punishment in murder cases. But what about the dwi incidents where there was no victim? does the criminal now receive no sentence?
The corrections system may be flawed, but it works.
We need judges who are not afraid to impose stricter sentences allowed by law. That is a huge problem. I've seen many times where the county court judges say one thing and do another. It undermines the justice system. If you're going to take an offer off the table once its turned down, then DO so! Don't let the punk beg for it back they day of jury selection. Make the punk plead to the actual charge at that point, or require him to proceed with trial. If we had more 300 year sentences, crime might drop a little.
|
|
|
|
Post by denise on Mar 8, 2008 12:25:10 GMT -5
Unfortunately, revoking one's license doesn't necessarily stop someone from driving drunk or sober.
|
|
|
|
Post by thelma on Mar 8, 2008 12:48:54 GMT -5
Sentencing is based on the crime, not the victim's injuries. If it was the other way around, then there would be a larger reason for capital punishment in murder cases. But what about the dwi incidents where there was no victim? does the criminal now receive no sentence? The corrections system may be flawed, but it works. We need judges who are not afraid to impose stricter sentences allowed by law. That is a huge problem. I've seen many times where the county court judges say one thing and do another. It undermines the justice system. If you're going to take an offer off the table once its turned down, then DO so! Don't let the punk beg for it back they day of jury selection. Make the punk plead to the actual charge at that point, or require him to proceed with trial. If we had more 300 year sentences, crime might drop a little. ............................................................ Swimmy - Do you remember the actual case that happened here in Schuyler about 5+ years ago where the ex-wife of a once top notch criminal lawyer was driving drunk and ended up killing her 9 year old daughter and severely injuring her 7 year old son? Mommy had just picked them up at the babysitters house in the late afternoon and she was drunk at the time. She never stopped before entering Route 5 and hit another car. MOMMY was also injured. She played the legal game! After being discharged from the hospital once she recovered from her injuries, she signed herself into a Rehab for at least six months. She also had a previous history of DWI convictions. When she finally got around to standing Trial, the Judge ended up feeling sorry for her!!!!! He claimed that she had done six months in Rehab and "learned the error or her ways" and that she would have to live with the fact she contributed to the death of her own daughter. She was sentenced to 8 years and is probably back out drinking and driving now!!!!!!! I was so outrage at this lenient sentence that I even wrote a letter to the OD Editor which got published. My main gripe was that this mother did the worst thing any mother could do - she was 100% Guilty of causing the death of her own child. She should have received a MINIMUM of 25 years to Life. Many people commented on my letter and agreed with me. We are too lenient on allowing DWI Drivers to continuously put the rest of us in harm's way until eventually someone gets killed. |
|
|
|
Post by Swimmy on Mar 8, 2008 13:23:51 GMT -5
As I said, we need to elect tougher judges.
|
|
|
|
Post by froggy on Mar 8, 2008 14:09:22 GMT -5
From what I heard thru someone I know in the correctional system, the wrong side of the correctional system, DWI offenders are looked down upon just as much as sex offenders. Matter of fact, most of the time they end up at the same prisons together so they are not harmed.
Denise is dead on with revoking a license doesn't stop them from driving. I know at least one guy from Remsen who has had DWI convictions years after losing his license for life. Seriously. Some people there is no stopping them short of killing them/
Thelma, that case sound very familiar, at least within the last 10 years maybe. The family was from Whitesboro maybe?
Some of the things I learned about DWI is that the odds on the first time someone is charged with DWI and it being the first time they ever drove drunk is astronomical against it. There are some estimates that put it around 100 times driving drunk before being stopped by the police or in an accident. And with the ratio of cops to drivers out there, its no wonder. To some extent, first time offenders I can see giving some leeway or some sense or mercy to, obviously case by case given the severity of the situation. But those who have multiple charges really need serious punishment and treatment. Like that kid who killed the girl in the boating accident last year. He has several DWI charges pending from driving a car before the drunken boating accident. When and where does it end?
And I know swimmy will chime in on this next one. Defendants have a right to a quick and speedy trial. What about the people and the victims? Where is their right to a quick and speedy trial when a defense attorney keeps seeking adjournments?
|
|
|
|
Post by Disgusted-Daily on Mar 8, 2008 14:33:55 GMT -5
I have stated many times in the past that our laws are old and need to be updated. The same crimes are committed differently today than years ago. This also creates many loop holds in the laws that only benefit the bad people of the world.
The plea deals we have along with the good time for convicts is incomprehensible.
|
|
|
|
Post by thelma on Mar 8, 2008 17:36:30 GMT -5
Frpggy - It appears you get as upset with our present DWI laws as I do.
That case I was talking about involved a female lawyer that had been married to another lawyer and lived in Schuyler (on Crosby Manor Road). Between the two of them, they knew how to play the legal system and had friends in the right places to help her serve as little time as possible.
The father (also a "reformed" alocoholic) could not get custody of the surviving male child because of his inability to control his own drinking and his law practice no longer handles criminal cases any more and is just a shell of what it use to be.
|
|
|
|
Post by denise on Mar 8, 2008 18:44:46 GMT -5
She was a lawyer too? I didn't know that. She worked in the same office as my sister at St. E's (and my sister is not an attorney). I remember my sister telling me how weird it was when that woman returned to work.
Oh. And last I knew, that woman continues to be an alcoholic.
|
|
|
|
Post by thelma on Mar 8, 2008 18:57:05 GMT -5
Denise - the reason i know so much about this case is that my daughter hired the ex-husband to represent her re. an insurance matter.
I have no idea of how long she worked as a lawyer, but once convicted of a felony, I believe that is grounds for having your license revoked to practice law. Swimmy - please confirm if I'm right!
|
|
|
|
Post by Swimmy on Mar 8, 2008 19:07:59 GMT -5
Yes, a felony conviction goes against your character and fitness to practice law. I don't recall specifically (mainly because I don't plan on committing any felonies to worry about it), but I think it is per se grounds for disbarment.
|
|
|
|
Post by Swimmy on Mar 8, 2008 19:08:23 GMT -5
what if you were wrong, I wouldn't be allowed to confirm? that's not fair! lol
|
|
Thelma you are so right. Four years isn't a long enough sentence when you think about the sentence he gave this little boy of being permanently damaged for life. 
