Felony DWI offenders

After learning about my cousin's recent arrest for DWI, I decided to digress from the normal genre of my site and share with you a letter I submitted to the editor of my hometown newspaper in upstate New York.

Though I love my cousin dearly and wish for nothing more than his wellbeing, I am enraged that he was allowed behind the wheel in the first place, which is what inspired me to write to the paper.

He has been convicted of driving while intoxicated multiple times. It had been a few years since his last conviction, and he was proud to recently recover his driving privileges. But before long, he was back to his old ways and got picked up Saturday for felony DWI. I am disappointed that drivers with multiple convictions are ever allowed to recover their unrestricted licenses. Repeat offenders, though requiring extensive alcohol and, potentially, mental treatment, are a complete menace to society.

Below is my letter to the editor:

As a former resident of Cooperstown, I regularly review the Daily Star online. Each time I read about an arrest for felony DWI, I applaud the police for their watchful, protective eyes. But I am beside myself with frustration and anger because the judicial arm of the law enables these repeat offenders to find their way back to the driver’s seat.

New York gives the moniker of Felony Drunk Driver for a driver’s second DWI incident. Repercussions of felony convictions are quite a bit higher than for misdemeanors. The maximum fine shoots from $1,000 to $5,000. The maximum jail time in a State prison skyrockets from one year to four years.

But clearly, the threat of State punishment is not enough to stop some repeat offenders, nor is the risk of seriously injuring innocent motorists and pedestrians. It should be obvious to judges that many criminals who continue to drink and drive despite previous fines and incarcerations are not capable of controlling their destructive behavior.

Sex offenders with multiple convictions are treated differently. Though not always permanently incarcerated, they often forfeit many civil liberties for the rest of their lives. So should repeat drunk drivers.

I challenge our judges to view repeat offenders as I do: as serious, uncontrolled threats to the safety of my family. Many of them need help; let us give it to them. All of them have been given a second chance; let us not be so generous with the third. After all, those to whom they pose the biggest threat are those of us who never needed a second chance.

Those who willfully risk the lives of their neighbors for mere personal convenience must be stopped with the utmost priority. Though the police can take them off the road, only the judges can keep them off.