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Originally Posted by MattyC
just to kind of play devil's advocate here, killing someone while drunk driving is very sad and very stupid obviously, but its not like its pre-meditated murder. The purpose of prisons is to rehabilitate, not punish. Someone who accidentally killed someone while intoxicated will probably already never do it again because of the psychological trauma it would cause for them. 5 years in prison would REALLY make it so they dont drive drunk ever again. Again its not like its a planned murder or something, it's an accident.
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I mentioned about my friend in another thread a few weeks ago, but I didn't know the specifics. My friend killed somebody while drinking and driving. What I found out is that he did one year in jail and had his license suspended for 10 years. In his case the punishment was adequate enough. I remember when I asked him if jail time was hard, and he told me that sure, it probably was, but it was nothing compared to the fact that his actions are directly responsible for killing somebody. He said he could've been locked up forever, he could have spent zero time behind bars. His punishment is knowing that he killed somebody. Over twenty years later and he still remembers, he'll never forget it. He'll always feel terrible about it. Whatever time spend behind bars was his debt to society and he understands that he had to do it, but he'll never be able repay the victim or the victim's family.
So each case is different. Some people don't know how to feel remorse for their actions, while others get it. Is five years not enough in this case? I don't know, I don't know the offender and their feelings. He just have to trust that the correct decision was made in this legal case. The legal system will never be perfect, we just have to accept what happens, and work on improving areas were the system has clearly failed.