The concept of shaming as part of a criminal punishment is not new. For years, various local newspapers have printed the names of people convicted of drunk driving. For some, the stigma of a DUI arrest is worse than the actual penalty. Newspapers argue that the information is public and they have a right to publish it.
More law enforcement agencies and prosecutors offices are getting into the shaming business, now that the internet makes such publications easy and free.
The Honolulu Police Department (HPD) is the latest agency to start posting information about people who are arrested for DUI. Starting last Wednesday, HPD posted the mug shots and names of the previous week's arrests. On average, there are more than 80 DUI arrests on the island of Oahu every week.
In Hawaii, DUI is a crime. People accused of it enjoy a presumption of innocence. That means that of the 80-plus people arrested each week, some could be innocent. It doesn't matter to the police, and arrest records and mugshots are public records.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving, agrees with HPD's move, but remains skeptical that it will make any difference. Logically, MADD's stance makes sense. If a person is truly impaired and the idea of potentially killing themselves or somebody else doesn't stop them from driving, it is highly unlikely that the thought of their picture going online for 24 hours would.
DUI defense attorneys argue that it is improper to post the picture of a potentially innocent person in a public place and expose that person to prejudgment based on an arrest. "A case should be decided in the Justice System. Justice is not served by pre-conviction public shaming," said Florida DUI Attorney John Musca.
"In Arizona, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office publishes a website that shows the mugshots of people convicted of DUI," said Arizona DUI Lawyer Stewart Bergman. "While I don't agree with it as it's not part of the penalties prescribed by the Arizona DUI Statute, it is certainly better than publishing mugshots upon arrest."
But even Sheriff Joe Arpaio of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office publishes a database of people arrested by his agency within the past 3 days. Users can search by name or booking number, or view everybody arrested in the past three days for any particular offense. When DUI is looked up, people with simple misdemeanor DUI arrests are lumped in with people arrested for serious vehicular felonies such as aggravated assault.
DUI arrests are embarrassing. The HPD has added a new layer of shame to the pretrial process.
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Thursday, January 28, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
San Diego DUI fatality leads to 20 year sentence
After killing a pedestrian in Pacific Beach earlier this year, a San Diego man will face 20 years to life for second-degree murder.
46-year-old ALan Lester Mabrey was convicted of a second-degree murder charge along with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and hit-and-run in a February 7 accident. The accident took the life of 24-year-old Emily Cathleen Dowdy.
Dowdy was attempting to cross the street when she was struck; she died in the hospital the following day from injuries sustained in the accident. While Mabrey admitted fault, he also held firm that he had committed an accident and not a murder. He asked for mercy from the court, but Judge Charles Rogers handed down the maximum sentence.
Mabrey was driving a Dodge Ram that evening and admitted to drinking beer all night with a friend. Mabrey left the site of the collision after he struck Dowdy, but he did return about an hour later. Reports say he went to Burger King to eat in the meantime.
When tested after returning, Mabrey's blood alcohol level was .22%. This was about an hour and a half after the collision, but it is difficult to say if it would have been higher immediately following or had actually gone up in the lapsed time. This depends on when Mabrey had his last drink.
Adding to the sentencing, Mabrey has been convicted of DUI twice in the past, once in Texas and once in Colorado. His most recent arrest was only 1 year before the accident. The Texas arrest was a felony, and Mabrey did serve time in jail. Though murder charges are a relatively new way to prosecute DUIs, they have become increasingly common in extenuating circumstances.
Source
46-year-old ALan Lester Mabrey was convicted of a second-degree murder charge along with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and hit-and-run in a February 7 accident. The accident took the life of 24-year-old Emily Cathleen Dowdy.
Dowdy was attempting to cross the street when she was struck; she died in the hospital the following day from injuries sustained in the accident. While Mabrey admitted fault, he also held firm that he had committed an accident and not a murder. He asked for mercy from the court, but Judge Charles Rogers handed down the maximum sentence.
Mabrey was driving a Dodge Ram that evening and admitted to drinking beer all night with a friend. Mabrey left the site of the collision after he struck Dowdy, but he did return about an hour later. Reports say he went to Burger King to eat in the meantime.
When tested after returning, Mabrey's blood alcohol level was .22%. This was about an hour and a half after the collision, but it is difficult to say if it would have been higher immediately following or had actually gone up in the lapsed time. This depends on when Mabrey had his last drink.
Adding to the sentencing, Mabrey has been convicted of DUI twice in the past, once in Texas and once in Colorado. His most recent arrest was only 1 year before the accident. The Texas arrest was a felony, and Mabrey did serve time in jail. Though murder charges are a relatively new way to prosecute DUIs, they have become increasingly common in extenuating circumstances.
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