http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3955848/

I'd be inclined to agree. I think that she should shut up and appreciate just how lenient the sentence is.

I saw this on Yahoo Most Emailed ... I can't believe it. I'm hoping I'm not seeing some of the details of this case, because as it's written on Yahoo, this person should be in prison. Drinking, getting in a car, and killing people shouldn't be a three strikes and you're out. People who decide to drink and drive infuriate me. If you want to kill yourself, that's cool -- go for it, but when you're risking my life at the same time, that's unacceptable.

Personally, I think they should print "Second Degree Manslaughter" in big, bold, red letters on her driver's license. That way, it would haunt her every time ID verification was required.

Hmm. printing "Drunk Driver" on her license would also be a proactive measure to take.

I think that was done sonewhere once and they (the convicted individual) whined until the ACLU stepped in and got a higher court to overturn that particular part of the punishment as too harsh of a penalty... I recall some other situation like that with the license plates on the car as well.

The drunken driver plates are here in Ohio. They have existed for many years, but are only used in the most severe cases and have to be reccommended by a judge. At the beginning of the year they became mandatory because of a mistake in a new law, but I think they've fixed the mistake now.

Perfect example of the kind of thing that gives the ACLU a bad rep. Driving is a privilege, not a right. So I'd think that a judge (after due process) could restrict/amend and/or print on the physical license document ANY OLD DAMNED THING.

Whiners.

It could easily be construed as ``cruel and unusual punishment''. If he wanted to revoke her driving privileges, that would be fine. But branding someone is bad form, at least.

Oops, we disagree again Bitt.

He's "branding her" not on her physical person, but on a document she doesn't have either a Constitutional nor a Divine right to possess in the first place. If she doesn't like it, she's not forced to have, carry or show it to anybody.

Yeah, doesn't strike me as cruel -- she just killed someone for fsck's sake. And if more judges did it, then it wouldn't be unusual.

would it be illegal to hire somebody to parade outside the drunks house or place of work with a great big placard "This person killed my son while driving drunk"??

That would be my personal preference.

would it be illegal to hire somebody to parade outside the drunks house or place of work with a great big placard

Probably would be. You'd be surprised (or not) at what rights the criminal/offender has. I won a Small claims suit against a former roommate and found out (not thru any charges) that my monthly memo to him reminding him of the debt is considered harassment in Texas... Short of putting a lien on real property, I have no other recourse.