Dallas Commentator Wants Harsher DUI Sentencing

Sharon Grigsby, editor at the Dallas Morning News, was upset when she saw the headline: “FATAL DWI nets four years.”

As the story is described, a 26 year old Plano woman got so drunk that she drove on the wrong side of the Dallas North Tollway, and crashed head-on with an SUV. The driver of the SUV, a teenager, was killed, and his best friend injured.

But the woman had a great Dallas DUI attorney who got her “off” with a 4 year sentence. She’ll be eligible for parole in two years. But Grigsby says that even the average sentence in such crimes – 15.7 years – is way too short.

One can argue it both ways. Yes, the victim is dead and isn’t coming back. To his loved ones, it’s every bit as painful as if he were murdered. But 15 years for drunk driving? It’s a matter of opinion…