MicroWaveJul 11, 2024

Drunken driver who snapped photo going 141 mph before deadly collision imprisoned for 17 years

https://lemmy.world/post/17446339

Drunken driver who snapped photo going 141 mph before deadly collision imprisoned for 17 years - Lemmy.World

Darryl Anderson was drunk behind the wheel of his Audi SUV, had his accelerator pressed to the floor and was barreling toward a car ahead of him when he snapped a photo of his speedometer. The picture showed a car in the foreground, a collision warning light on his dashboard and a speed of 141 mph (227 kph). An instant later, he slammed into the car in the photo. The driver, Shalorna Warner, was not seriously injured but her 8-month-old son and her sister were killed instantly, authorities said. Evidence showed Anderson never braked.  Anderson, 38, was sentenced Tuesday to 17 years in prison for the May 31 crash in northern England that killed little Zackary Blades and Karlene Warner. Anderson pleaded guilty last week in Durham Crown Court to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving.

Show threadGreenBottlesJul 12, 2024
Bad drivers need harsher punishments if you ask me.
Show threadTodd BonzalezJul 12, 2024

17 years is a seriously life-altering prison sentence sentence.

Quite frankly, this flavor of irresponsibility can be corrected in just a few years time, you just need a justice system that’s interested in correction rather than punishment.

Kinda hard to accomplish when you have people cheering from the sidelines for more punishment…

Show threadTheHarpyEagleJul 12, 2024
I get it, but also when I think about if that happened to my sister, let alone my child, no amount of time would be enough. 2 years for ripping two people out of your life just doesn’t feel like enough. How do you separate the emotion from the practicality?
Show threadTodd BonzalezJul 12, 2024

With all due respect, the justice system shouldn’t exist for you to experience vengeance. It’s easy to get angry and to wish harm against people who would hurt our loved ones, but at scale we just end up with a punitive justice system that begets even more violence and misery.

If a person can be reformed after committing a profound injustice to the point where we can trust that they won’t repeat their crimes, why would we want their sentence to be lengthy and cruel when it could instead be compassionate and effective?

Forgiveness is a powerful thing. If you can’t even think of forgiving this hypothetical transgression you’ve come up with, how can you ever hope to have a positive influence on this world that might actually protect others from the kind of tragedy you’ve described?

Show threadhornedfiendJul 12, 2024

Imagine having your children killed - probably hard if you don’t have children and the reading your comment.

I anything ,the justice system should be more punishing for such cases. How can you even mention forgiveness for drunk driving,showing off,killing people and then asking for it with such a worryingly easiness?

Forgiveness for what,for being a blatant sociopath? Really? If I were that lady I would have preferred enjoying the rest of my life with my children as opposed to forgiving a murderer and knowing he might do it again,cause it’s easy to forgive and “Forgiveness is a powerful thing”. This is not a case for forgiveness,but harsher punishment.

Again: you’re asking for forgiveness for a drunk driving murderer of people and children.

Show threadSirSmokeAlotJul 12, 2024
So, death sentence? Eye for an eye?
Show threadhornedfiendJul 12, 2024

No,not death sentence,but i noticed people here are worryingly apologetic for murder. It is murder,not in the 1st degree off,but still murder.

25 years with no parole and that’s that. I’m sorry,I just can’t find excuses for drunk driving murders like some people do. It’s my belief system,not a standard.

Show threadSylvartasJul 12, 2024
Some people are just that irresponsible. Also the human brain is notoriously bad at risk assessment, so some people truly don’t realize how likely they are to cause suffering and death when they do shit like this. Harsh punishments won’t change that because this guy probably didn’t think he was gonna accidentally murder 2 people that night
Show threadtheluckyoneJul 12, 2024

This was no accident.

He drove while drunk. He made a decision to become impaired. While impaired, he decided to get behind the wheel of a vehicle. He made a decision to drive unreasonably fast, beyond the speed limit and beyond his ability to safely operate the vehicle. He further made a decision to take a photo while operating his vehicle.

All were his choice to make, and thus the repercussions of his choices were no accident.

Does society want a person inclined to make such decisions roaming about freely? How many years of incarceration are likely to eliminate his continuation of such behavior?

Show threadSylvartas
I’m not saying that 17 years behind bars is too much here, I’m saying it’s definitely not too little
Jul 12, 2024 at 4:26pmWeb
Show threadtheluckyoneJul 12, 2024
What person, arguing in good faith, could state that they believe driving while drunk, at high speeds, while operating a cell phone, would likely not result in an accident? I’d love to see the train of thought laid out for that argument.
Show threadSylvartasJul 12, 2024
A pretty stupid and/or egotistical person, which is not illegal. I have literally met people who think like that. Also that’s arguably the most dangerous part of drunk driving: impaired judgement makes you think you’ve got everything under control, and you’re not that drunk anyway, and you’re a good driver… Combine that with someone whose brain isn’t exactly firing up on all cylinders when they’re sober and you’ve got a deadly cocktail, and also probably someone who is more likely to get too drunk to legally drive (and not give up on driving home after that line is crossed)