Stockard Channing arrested for DUI.
Seeing this kind of thing really ticks me off b/c it's just another slap in our face in terms of how justice in this country is dependent on the defendent. If I, an average Joe, were facing DUI charges, I guarantee I would be doing some jail time. But celebrities can just about get away with murder (OJ, anyone?).
So I have a few questions:
It got me to thinking of two other cases that came to mind:
Nick Nolte - DUI - Charged on Sept. 11th, 2002. Plead no contest on Dec. 12, 2002 and was sentenced to 3 years probation and a 90-day substance abuse program. If he was convicted, he would have faced up to 6 months in jail.Rebecca Gayheart - Struck & Killed a 9 year old boy with a borrowed Jeep in June 2001. Ended up pleading no contest to a charge of vehicular manslaughter in November 2001 and had her licence suspended for a year, received a $2,800 fine and was ordered to do 750 hours of community service. Her attorney claimed she did not receive any special treatment due to her celebrity. Yeah, right...
It also brings up the death penalty. In my state, it is inconsistently sought by the prosecutors and seems to be based on whether the defendent can afford a good/competent defense attorney. There seems to be a correlation between death sentences and lower income areas in our state.
IMO, the point of justice is to make sure the offender (once proven guilty) cannot repeat the offense. I'm not necessarily pushing jail time, but in the case of these celebrities and their poor driving records, let's revoke their licenses altogether. It's not like they can't afford chauffeurs and it would help make sure there's not a repeat situation (well, not absolutely, but enough for my comfort).
Peace,
Jason
Re:Not getting away with anything
Purdy on 2005-01-27T13:10:55
Equal level of prosecution and applicable sentences.
That's actually standard fare in Germany. In fact it will happen as soon as the second time you are caught driving drunk if you're more than slightly tipsy. Just about every non-trivial offense counts towards a score system, and if you violate too many rules in too short order, you license is revoked. There are also temporary revocations issued for some cases of severe offense which do not warrant a permanent revocation yet. After permanent revocation you can go to driver's ed again and get a new license exactly once. If your license is revoked a second time, you are banned from driving vehicles for life. Offenses are also punished harder if you are on your second license.
Overall, it works beautifully as a deterrent. A lot of people depend on their license to be able to get to work and back; the prospect of having it revoked even temporarily is pretty scary.
And by and large the judges are fair; the few cases of double standards that have become known caused quite an uproar. The judge stand to lose a lot themselves if that happens.
