Eighth drunk driving conviction lands defendant in prison

A 50-year-old Pennsylvania driver who had pleaded guilty to a variety of drunk driving charges in connection with a fatal accident could spend up to 17 years in state prison. That man was facing his eighth drunk driving charge since 1981. He was convicted of homicide by vehicle while DUI, accidents involving death while under suspension and driving under a DUI-related license suspension after pleading guilty to causing a fatal accident in April 2013. Official reports show that the man pleaded guilty in April to charges related to the incident that left a 24-year-old motorcyclist dead. He will serve between eight to 17 years in state prison. The defendant had multiple offenses on his criminal record; in fact, the judge in the case had sentenced that man to up to four years’ prison time after a 2009 DUI conviction. The case has been cited by some activists, who are pushing new legislation that could increase penalties for repeat drunk-driving offenders who are convicted of DUI homicide. That legislation has been titled “Liam’s Law,” and it is named after the young man who died in this incident. The defendant in this case has a serious criminal record, and his blood alcohol content level measured higher than three times the state’s legal limit for driving. Although the man had been involved in some rehabilitative treatments in the past, the judge said that those efforts had been largely ineffective. Instead, that judge said that the only option he had left was to put the man in prison for a significant amount of time in order to protect the community. It is important to recognize that those accused of multiple offenses for drunk driving may face far more severe penalties than their first-time offender counterparts. Source:  The Reporter News, “Repeat DUI offender gets 8-17 years in jail for fatal crash in Chesco” 7 May 2014