Guess how much jail time for - through a red light, wrong way down a one way street, crashes, takes one year old out of the car, reverses over it causing fractured skull and broken ribs, drives on and crashes again. All while drunk.

some_guy , 4 months ago

How is that not attempted murder and child abuse?

cobra89 , 4 months ago

Did everyone gloss over the part where she was drunk?!?

Whilst in hospital, Casey provided a sample of blood which was tested for alcohol content and found to be over the legal limit for driving.

How she only got 20 months of jail time is beyond me... Also were all the relatives in the car children? I'm assuming so because otherwise why were they letting her drive?!?

andthenthreemore , 4 months ago

I think you've misread it. Not that it's that much better.

20 months sentence (though probably half of that will be custodial the rest on licence/parole)

3 years and 10 month ban then an "extended" drivers test to get it back.

Naich OP , 4 months ago

You are right. I've corrected it. Thanks

cestvrai , 4 months ago (edited 4 months ago)

Why allow someone like this to drive ever again?

The article reports the punishment as 3 years and 10 months of driving ban and 20 months prison. Still not enough obviously…

kim_harding , 4 months ago

@cestvrai @Naich The Cult of The Sacred Driving Licence https://kimharding.net/blog/the-sacred-driving-licence/
Nothing changes...

cobra89 , 4 months ago

Couldn't agree more. If you make the decision to drive drunk and then injure someone you should never be allowed to drive ever again.

I liken drinking and driving to attempted murder because you very well could murder someone doing that. The fact that the penalties are so low is why this keeps happening.

If you risked 20 years in prison every time you drink and drive it would happen a lot less. This is pretty much the one instance where I think the fear of punishment should out-prioritize rehabilitation because the act is just so egregious and preventable.

anothercatgirl , 4 months ago

I think it would also make a difference to remove parking lots from bars, to make it harder to drive to and from places to drink.

990000 , 4 months ago

@anothercatgirl the parking lots should in fact be 5 blocks away from the bar and in between should be a Taco Bell, a car service dispatcher, and a small police station.

PowerCrazy , 4 months ago

If you risked 20 years in prison every time you drink and drive it would happen a lot less. This is pretty much the one instance where I think the fear of punishment should out-prioritize rehabilitation because the act is just so egregious and preventable.

This will not fix anything except the problem of not enough people in prison. Countless studies have shown that after a certain amount of punishment, anymore is functionally useless. In addition you have to factor in the chances of getting caught. If I have a better chance of winning the lottery then getting caught speeding, then the consequences for speeding aren't going to factor into my decision to speed.

The only thing that will reduce drinking and driving at this point is reducing driving, period.

frankPodmore , 4 months ago

Unbelievable. And she only stopped 'after the car became too damaged to drive'!

Naich OP , 4 months ago

If you want kill or maim someone, do it with a car.

anothercatgirl , 4 months ago

someone should start an advertising campaign showcasing serial killers using cars instead of guns

lemmy_user_838586 , 4 months ago

I know, right? Then we might finally get some gun control in this god damn country... (USA, obviously)

Showroom7561 , 4 months ago

I honestly can't think of another form of murder/homicide/negligence causing death, that results in almost no consequences for the one responsible.

Here in Canada, people will be charged with everything EXCEPT the death of the person killed. If they get charged at all!

A few years ago, a truck driver killed a cyclist in Toronto and got nothing for it. A $2000 fine, six months license suspension, and 100 hours of community service. That's what a life is worth.

It gets even worse:

"In the four years prior to Offutt’s death, Cote had been charged with at least six more offences on four separate occasions."

Cyclists and pedestrians are simply not viewed as people when they are killed by drivers.