How come we don't use this on the people who manufactured the defective bio-hazard gear, the botched shuttle parts, etc (and the ones who gave them the contracts)? Bet we could get a national referendum going! Let's get a tally on Gulf War Syndrome, Agent Orange and the recent Bosnia/Persian Gulf vets. Wow! I'll bet that would clean up the privatization issues we've been seeing.

State defends death penalty for drunk drivers Sunday, 12 March 2000 18:00 (ET)

State defends death penalty for drunk drivers

RALEIGH, N.C., March 12 (UPI) -- The North Carolina Supreme Court will hear arguments on Monday on whether the state will become the first in the nation to give drunk drivers the death penalty.

The court will consider the case of a 43-year-old man convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of two Wake Forest University students in a 1996 traffic accident. Thomas Jones killed two 19-year-olds and seriously injured four other students when his pickup truck drifted into oncoming traffic while he was under the influence of beer and prescription painkillers. It was his fourth arrest for driving under the influence.

Jones was sentenced to life in prison in his 1997 trial, but his conviction is being appealed because prosecutors sought the death penalty against him under a felony murder law.

The North Carolina Court of Appeals upheld Jones' conviction in June, but because the verdict was not unanimous, the state's highest court will review the case.

Attorney David Freedman, who represents Jones, says the case involves "the establishment of an extremely dangerous law."

Jones' case was the first in North Carolina in which the state sought the death penalty for driving while intoxicated. Since then,two other drunken drivers have been convicted of first-degree murder.

"The public is fed up with people being killed by drunk drivers and watching them get a slap on the wrist," said Forsyth County assistant district attorney Vince Rabil, who prosecuted Jones.

The National Traffic Law Center says six states have laws on the books that allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty against drunk drivers involved in fatal accidents.

Jurors in Jones' trial convicted him of first-degree murder, but sentenced him to life in prison without parole after Joy Witzl, the mother of one of the accident victims, said she did not want Jones put to death.

Attorneys for Jones said they may take his case to the U.S. Supreme Court if the North Carolina Supreme Court fails to overturn his conviction.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said 15,935 people died as a result of drunk driving in 1998 and more than 300,000 people were injured.

-- Copyright 2000 by United Press International. All rights reserved.

-- charlie (cml@workmail.com), March 12, 2000

Answers

Charlie,

Regardless of whether or not the others in your list deserve a more severe penalty, I have no problem with the death penalty for killer drunk drivers with multiple convictions. These people create more cost to society and tragedy to families than all the guns put together.

-- Jim Cooke (JJCooke@yahoo.com), March 13, 2000.

Yeah,lets go kill 'em,just so we don't go overboard and kill someone like the Ramseys,OJ Simpson and Members of Congress,who has the worst Drunk Driving Record of any Lot.

-- J.Daniels (Booze@home.Man), March 13, 2000.