DUI killers must get maximum sentence
What does it take to get the maximum sentence on a DUI charge?
I read with disgust the sentence John Homatas received for killing three people. Twelve years for killing three people averages out to four years per person. He will only serve 10 of those years in jail.
Why wasn't he sentenced to the 14-year maximum for each death on a reckless homicide charge?
What he did was the very textbook definition of reckless (rashly heedless of danger or consequences) and homicide (the killing of one human by another), so why wasn't he given the maximum sentence for this violent crime?
Our society and judicial system need to start viewing a DUI resulting in death as a violent crime and not an accident. It is not an accident when people drink to the point of intoxication and get in their car and drive.
That is a blatant disregard for our laws and extreme selfishness on the part of the drunk driver. They evidently don't care about themselves or the passengers who may be in their car. They also couldn't care less about the other drivers sharing the road with them.
A DUI resulting in death is one of the most senseless and preventable deaths out there.
Why aren't we doing more to prevent them by giving the maximum sentence for this crime? When have you ever read about an offender receiving the maximum on one of these cases?
There are more than 16,000 alcohol-related motor vehicle deaths nationwide each year. That is more than 1,000 people dying each month because someone drank beyond their limit and got in their car and drove.
Every one of us who drives is a sitting duck for these reckless, careless, selfish drunk drivers. The discomfort John Homatas will feel for the next 10 years won't even begin to compare to the pain his victims' families feel.
During his 10-year sentence, Homatas' family will still be able to communicate with him and when he gets out they will be able to hug him, spend time with him, talk to him and see him again.
His life will go on. This will not be so for his victims' families. They will spend the rest of their lives wondering "if only" and "what if." That is the future for them and nothing more.
As someone who knows first-hand the pain, hurt, anger and anguish you feel on a daily basis after losing a loved one to a drunk driver, I say John Homatas' sentence is a walk in the park compared to the sentence he handed down to the family and friends of his victims.
Susan Shirkey
St. Charles