Austin Wright, the drunk driver that killed Lt. Corey Dahlem after the Gator basketball team won the championship in 2007, was released from jail recently. His bond, which was originally set at $500,000 was reduced to $100,000 and he had to pay only 10% initially. He's back at his parents' house tonight. Also, the three other people in the car haven't been brought up since the first night. From what I know, not one has faced any charges.
The driver was barely in jail for 3 weeks since it all happened until he was released. The three passengers, who allowed Wright to drive seemed to have slid under the radar and don't seem to be getting any of the blame. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for forgiveness and the opportunity to live life again. But 3 weeks!?
Yes, Wright will stand trial and will face manslaughter charges in the future. It looks like he'll spend a long time in prison. But as for now, he is at home. What if he tries to flee? More importantly, what message is this sending out to others. This man's recklessness killed a father, a police officer. How can we show that drunk driving is bad if someone who cut short an innocent person's life is released from jail before the month ends. I'm not saying that we should tie up the driver and punish him. But he should serve his time without being released.
He clearly was the one that committed the crime. No one is doubting that. His guilt is clear as day. The impact his acts left on a community are evident. As a society, we want people, especially foolish kids, to realize the repurcussions of their actions. Everyone is stressing the dangers of drunk driving. But some people are hard-headed. It's hard to set an example when the suspect in a high-profile case doesn't face much punishment immediately. What about the cases that don't make the news? Do they give the impression that drunk driving isn't that serious? To me, there should be no bail for drunk drivers that committed manslaughter. Period. If you don't want repeats, don't go lax on things. Sometimes it takes a heartbreaking story that hits close to home to prove a point and make a difference. Is allowing the killer to go home after a few weeks a tough example? I want this man to be able to recover from his mistakes and do good, but the point needs to be made that there is no tolerance for these kinds of things. If someone doesn't put their foot down in this instance, this will happen again. In the circumstances of a drunk driver killing someone, there are many victims. First is the obvious, the deceased. Second, is the families, of both the dead and the suspect. Third you have the driver that has to live with the fact that he or she killed someone and deal with the consequences. I don't want anyone to be in any of the situations, but I especially don't want someone to have to live with the fact that they took a life.
There are two ways to combat this problem. One is to memorialize the victim to show how a precious life was taken away prematurely. Second is to show that there are dire consequences to those who commit the crime. If we release the suspect on bail after a few weeks, even though he is still set to stand trial and eventually do time, are we showing the seriousness of the crime?
