Drunk Driver Gets 51 Years to Life.

wow
sounds like he got off easy to me.......

Seems a bit harsh to me. Many people who have murdered intentionally have gotten lighter sentences. I'm not defending drunk driving by any means, but I can't help but wonder if he'd have gotten the same sentence if he killed 3 homeless people.

I think the punishment is fair. But those who get off more easily get unfair punishments (in their favor).

Unfortunately, I think Dennis is right. The celebrity of the victim is the main reason behind the stiffer sentence. That being said, I do think they need to treat drunk drivers more harshly, at least in my home state which is as close as you can get to a drinker's paradise in the US.

For example, if you get a jail term of 30 days, some judges will let you serve that at your convenience, so as not to interfere too much with your life. WHAT? I couldn't believe that when I heard about it. Look, if you can't do the time, don't do the time. Jail isn't supposed to be convenient.

All the best,
Michael

a few things about the U.S. annoys me but they make it up by giving people proper sentances. horah

There is an important part to that article:

"Gallo was on probation for a previous drunken driving offense at the time."

Since he was on probation, it's a safe bet he has had more than one DUI. Offenders usually don't get probation for the first offense.

I also found this at CNN, "In addition to being drunk and on probation, Gallo was driving on a suspended driver's license when his minivan, going about 65 mph in a 35 mph zone, crashed into Adenhart's vehicle..."


Now consider this... For some people, the first drink starts two things in motion:

1-
The person's liver does not produce the correct amount of two enzymes necessary for the digestion of alcohol. Thus they get enough of the first enzyme, but not the second. This creates a chemical (acetaldehyde) in the blood stream which then combines with several neurotransmitters to form an opium like chemical called tetrahydroquinoline (abbreviated THQ). This substance is extremely addictive, and causes a craving for more alcohol.

2.-
The THQ turns off the frontal lobe in the drinker's brain. That's the part which normally controls the person's ability to understand the possible consequences of a particular behavior and say, "No. I've had enough."

This combination is the primary cause of alcoholism. It is a physical disease in which one drink causes a craving for more along with the inability to control the amount of alcohol imbibed.

If Gallo has had several DUI convictions, there would be good reason to suspect he gets the craving from the first drink, and keeps on going. And if he has had more than one DUI, the state would have sent him to some kind of alcoholism classes, and maybe even required that he attend a certain number of 12-step meetings.

However, he is still responsible for his actions, and could have called a cab or a friend about a ride home.

:-Don

You and I part ways on this one Steve. He didn't wake up and say to himself he was going get drunk and kill people. Getting drunk may have been intentional, but killing people was accidental.

Your analogy is nonsense. Sorry, but it's a faulty comparison on multiple levels.

David Fraley shot and killed H.F. Walker about a year ago, was tried last week for murder at Concord. He was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 12 years in the penitentiary. Jody Lynn Bradley got nine years in prison for murdering a 16-year-old boy. These people intended for people to die, and look at the sentences they received -- roughly 5 times less prison time! Does that seem right?

Like I said, I'm not defending drunk driving, but this driver didn't intentionally set out to murder people, but he got a much stiffer sentence many willful murderers. It seems to me willful murder should draw a harsher penalty than manslaughter.

And ... you'd think we could come up with a more effective solution to drunk drivers than suspending their drivers licenses and fining them a few hundred bucks.

One of the things judges consider in sentencing is the likelihood that an offender will repeat the crime. Lighter sentences for first offenses are based on the idea that most people won't do it again once they get the idea that there are consequences.

If someone kills people while driving drunk on a license suspended for a previous DUI, there's a good chance they're just going to keep driving until they end up dead or in jail from another binge. The fact that they could kill any number of people in the process is one reason for sentencing like this.


Paul