Drunk Drivers Should Be Charged on the First Offense

Shacoya Williams
Mr. Peyton English 4
Argumentative Essay

Drunk Drivers Should be charged on the First Offense

In most states the penalty for a traffic fatality committed by a drunk driver are temporary suspension of their driver’s license as long as one year, and to only pay associated fines accessed by the court. In 2010 alcohol related deaths made up 31% of the overall traffic fatalities. In the state of Pennsylvania alone 459 people died in alcohol related crashes. There are more than plenty possible preventions of these hundreds of fatalities every year which include establishing DWI courts, immobilizing vehicles, revoking driver’s license, impounding or confiscating vehicular plates, mandating alcohol education, and increasing penalties such as fines or jail time. Each fatality caused by an impaired driver can be prevented, it just takes the effort to want to stop these deaths nationally.
Since 1982 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been tracking the statistics related to drunk driving. Each year the in some way the percentages increase. The year 2009 alone was 29% greater than the year of 1982, causing it to raise concerns for citizens but failing to raise them with the state and federal legislatures. There are even groups that have emerged that represent families that have lost a loved one in an alcohol-related traffic fatality. They feel that there should be legislature against tougher penalties for drunk drivers. The First-Offense of drunk driving is a forfeiture but not a crime. A forfeiture is punishable by loss of money, where as a crime is punishable by loss of liberty or incarceration. In the Supreme Court case Missouri v. McNeely, the court sided with McNeely who was now on his third drunken driving offense when he refused to provide the authorities with a blood sample. There was a sample taken from McNeely which was well above the legal limit, but was thrown out due to the “unreasonable search and seizure” clause in the fourth amendment. Ending the case with an 8-1 decision. Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen stated that he opposes against making first-offense drunken driving a crime and would like to state law changed to give judges the option of sentencing second-time offenders to probation rather than mandatory jail time. It should be noted that the state of Wisconsin treats first-offense drunk-driving as a forfeiture and not a crime.
In 2012 a Texan man was convicted of killing a man in a drunk driving accident. Michael Giacona had a blood alcohol level which reached more than twice the legal limit when he made the decision to drive his van and later on collide with a black Mustang, killing 20-year old Aaron Pennywell. Even after the collision Giacona was still in search of alcohol. Once released after 90 days spent in jail, as part of his two year probation he has to stand in the same spot where the collision occurred sporting a sign that reads “I killed Aaron Coy Pennywell while driving drunk.” The decision to wear the sign was made by Harris County Court-at-Law Judge Michael R. Fields. In addition to this punishment Giacona has to wear an ankle-monitoring device and have to keep a framed picture of Pennywell in his home. It seems as though Judge Fields wanted to make Giacona look like some sort of imbecile rather than just letting him go with his 90 days of jail time and 2 year probation sentence.
Out drinking with friends, 22-year old Sean Carter knew that he was in no condition to drive home but neither was his friend Ryan McDaniel who gave him that ride home instead. Just five minutes after leaving Sean’s apartment, Ryan lost control of his truck and slammed the passenger side of the vehicle into a tree. Sean suffered multiple fractures and internal injuries leaving him with a very traumatic brain injury causing him to not be able to walk and talk. For the time being a computer speaks for him. However, Ryan McDaniel walked away from the crash without a scratch. As a result of his admitting to having several drinks before driving he was convicted of intoxication assault and was placed on probation for 10 years. Not long after the crash, was Ryan arrested once more for drinking and driving. This being a violation of his probation he was placed in prison for 26 months. He was released in 2011. Even though that fatal night caused Sean’s life to dramatically change, he later on met up with Ryan and they made amends. Hoping to move forward with their lives.
Jacqueline Saburido had been in Texas for less than a month before the crash that changed her life occurred. The driver of the vehicle Natalia Bennett and four of her friends including Jacqueline were headed home from a party in Austin around 4:00am in the morning when Reggie Stephey who had been drinking drifted across the center line and hit Natalia’s car head on. Natalia Bennett and Laura Guerrero died at the scene. The vehicle caught fire causing Jacqueline to suffer third-degree burns on over 60 percent of her body. The fire took away her face, left her blind, and robbed her of the usage of her hands. Jacqueline survived even though doctors did not expect it. Reggie who was a high school senior in Austin when he decided to drive home after drinking with friends. He was convicted of two counts of intoxication manslaughter and sentenced to seven years in the state prison. He was released in 2008.
All of the incidents above could have been prevented if the driver of one of the vehicles had not been drinking. No one should just walk away from a crime no matter the extent. If there were tougher laws against drinking and driving then maybe there wouldn’t be so many deaths caused each year from these fatal accidents. If our systems would stop and think about the lives of the people who have to deal with this everyday then maybe they would have some more to say about this and want to help prevent them even more.

Work Cited Page.

(2011, 12). Drunk Drivers Should Be Imprisoned on the First Offense.StudyMode.com. Retrieved 12, 2011, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Drunk-Drivers-Should-Be-Imprisoned-On-871065.html

http://m.oaoa.com/news/local/article_f6d971d2-723f-11e2-b8cd-001a4bcf6878.html

http://bloggingblue.com/2009/01/25/attorney-general-van-hollen-first-owi-shouldnt-be-a-crime/

www.edgarsnyder.com www.host.madison.com www.dailymail.co.uk
www.facesofdrunkdriving.com

Cited: Page. (2011, 12). Drunk Drivers Should Be Imprisoned on the First Offense.StudyMode.com. Retrieved 12, 2011, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Drunk-Drivers-Should-Be-Imprisoned-On-871065.html http://m.oaoa.com/news/local/article_f6d971d2-723f-11e2-b8cd-001a4bcf6878.html http://bloggingblue.com/2009/01/25/attorney-general-van-hollen-first-owi-shouldnt-be-a-crime/ www.edgarsnyder.com www.host.madison.com www.dailymail.co.uk www.facesofdrunkdriving.com