Assemblyman wants to add teeth to state DWI laws

August

There’s been a handful of proposals circulating around Albany in light of Diane Schuler’s wrong-way crash on the Taconic State Parkway last month, and now Mike Spano (D-Yonkers) is calling on New York to adopt the “toughest drunk driving penalties in the nation.”

Under the state’s current laws, DWI that causes death is usually tried in court as vehicular manslaughter, with a maximum prison time of 15 years.

Spano wants to toughen the laws bumping up the charges to second degree murder and a minimum prison sentence of 15 years.

“District attorneys should not have to be creative to charge a person with murder in the instance they kill someone in a drunk driving accident,” Spano said in a statement. “This creates an unequal distribution of justice in New York State which could be rectified with a clear and distinct penalty written into state law.”

What do you guys think about his idea?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 at 4:24 pm by Aman Ali.
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2 Responses to “Assemblyman wants to add teeth to state DWI laws”

L.G. August 19th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
I have been a fan of this legislation since it was first introduced a few years back. If you are careless enough to drink and drive and an innocent person dies because of that poor decision, the person at fault should be prosecuted for the life that they took.

No matter how it is spun, when a life is lost (especially in such a tragic way) due to negligence, the law should punish the driver accordingly! I am 100% for this bill!
Hal August 22nd, 2009 at 2:33 am
Confiscate the car.

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