An Unfair Sentence

Today was an emotional day for us. On Feb. 7th, 2008, I was a witness to a fatal car accident. (You can look back in my blog to that date). A 21 year old man had way to much to drink and got behind the wheel of his car. His BAL was over 2 times the legal limit to drive. He was driving behind me at an estimated speed of over 100 miles per hour. When I noticed that he was driving close and recklessly behind me, I pulled over and he passed me and went over the median and hit a car...killing the man inside it instantly. The 21 year old drunk driver survived and was found to have open bottles in his vehicle. Today was his sentencing. During the sentencing I learned a lot about the 21 year old. He has prior records for reckless driving, driving too close to others, driving at speeds of over 100 miles per hour, etc. His brother also killed someone last year in a driving incident. He also admitted that he has on several occasions drank until he passed out. He is also a high school drop out. He showed no remorse in the court room at all and never had the COURAGE to say that he was sorry. I felt horrible for the family that lost their brother/son/dad/uncle/friend. He was 45 or 46 years old and had a son who is about to turn 8. All he wants is his daddy back, but he will never get this. He will never get the chance to do things with his daddy again! It was soo sad hearing the impact statements and seeing the sadness in the eyes of those who miss their loved one! What was the saddest thing of all though was the 21 year old only got a sentence of 48 months. He will only serve 2/3 of the time in prision. He also will subtract time served. So if he does a good job in prison, he will be released in about 2 years. This seems soooo unfair! This man took away another man's life and will serve hardly ANY time at all. The family of the man who is gone, will never see him again. They will never get to say good-bye, have another birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc with their loved one. How fair is that???? He knowingly got behind the wheel of his car after drinking as much as he did and he took someone else's life. I think of all the people who are serving time in prison for doing things that seem so much more minor than drinking and driving and killing someone. What kind of a message was sent today? I feel really sad for the family that lost their loved one!