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Is a ten year sentence for killing someone while under the influence too li
my 21 year old daughter is in prison for 10 years for killing her friend when she crashed while she was drunk driving. Her friend was in the passenger front seat. She was drinking too so if she had driven it could have been the other way around
We received an visit from her friends parents who are still angry at us and say that a ten year sentence is too light and it should be longer
Obviously, I have no defense for what she did. She did a terrible thing and ruined her life and is paying for it but ten years seems like a lengthy sentence
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First off. I am so sorry that you are going through this. That has to be harder than I could ever imagine.
Secondly, unfortunately, I agree with the law on this one. It is NEVER ok to drink and drive and if you do, and you hurt or kill someone, then you suffer the consequences. Sadly, that means prison and for your daughter, 10 years. Without knowing all of the circumstances, I would say that is a pretty fair judgement for such reckless behavior that resulted in taking a life.
As far as what the victim's family thinks, that is irrelevant. They should not be harassing you or "visiting" you and making you feel worse than you already do. Your daughter is doing her time and there is nothing that they can do to change it, so why bother you and make you feel worse about it? That sounds terrible!
Again, so sorry that you are going through this. Best of luck and I hope it gets easier for you!
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So sorry to hear that this happened to your daughter.
In all honesty since someone lost their life it actually seems like 10yrs is a light sentence.
I know being her mother 10 yrs is a long time.
I can understand why the parents of her friend are still angry. They lost their child and unfortunately the only person they can direct that anger /pain is to the ones who are living.
The way I see it ... is if both of them were drinking they share the responsibility . Your daughter should have known not to drive but when you are drunk you don't always make rational decisions. Her friend should have known not to get in the car with her. I'm sure there is more to this story but everyone should take responsibility for their own actions. Her parents are in pain more than you can imagine. It's going to be hard for them to see this any other way for a long time.
21 is very young and it's an age where you are still learning how to responsible. Hopefully they will realize this one day.
All you can do is appologize to them. I wouldn't fight. Even though your daughter being in jail for this long is unfortunate at least you have her.
Blessing to your and your friends family. Work on finding peace
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If you are talking about lengthy in terms of what the law deems "lengthy," then no. 10 years is actually quite a light sentence. Im assuming that she did not have any prior driving while drunk incidents. Typically vehicular manslaughter under the influence can easily land someone a life sentence. But im sure because your daughter is young and the law understands that to a certain degree, they did not give her such a harsh sentence.
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It is hard to say just what is the right sentence for any crime. It is really up to the lawyers and the courts. If you were able to afford your own lawyer then the sentence may have been less. Public defenders generally are not as likely to get a change in the charges as is a good private lawyer. The sentencing recommendation for vehicular homicide and vehicular manslaughter are very different though the difference is negligible in meaning.
I have spent my entire adult life in the fire service. I have responded to my share of MVA's with every conceivable cause. Like every other firefighter there is one call that will haunt me to the day I die. A single car accident related to speed.
The worst among the accidents are the ones that are alcohol related for they are the ones where the person that is drunk causing the accident, generally walks away unhurt or with minor cuts and bruises. We end up treating patients with life threatening injuries, broken bones or worse having to use the Jaws of Life to cut them from their cars. Sometimes we have to sit there for hours waiting for the medical examiner to come before we can remove someone from their car. At times this may require an entire highway be shut down until the medical examiner arrives and views the scene.
One drunk driver causes an accident that kills another and disrupts the lives of hundreds of others. Drunk driving accidents are avoidable by simply calling a cab or asking for a sober ride.
I don't know just what the proper sentence is for an accident involving alcohol that kills one and possibly injures others. I will say that while the parents of the other girl have every right to be upset their anger should be aimed at your daughter who is of legal age and responsible for herself not at you and your family.
All I can offer as advice is to support your daughter while she is incarcerated. Tell her to be on her best behavior and she could be out in less than 5 years.
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Okay so the first thing i am telling you to do is pray. God will surely make a way for you and your family,and he will also help the other family find forgiveness in their heart, so pray it always helps. But that doesn't mean that its going to happen right away either. So pray without seacing. But i am also going to tell you that the parents of the other girl have every right to be upset that they have lost their precious daughter. But they have no right to come to you and tell you that your daughter deserves more than 10 years, because you can't control your daughter's actions because she is a 21 yea old woman. And if the other girl had chosen to take the wheel, it very much well could've been the other way around. So yea i think that at the most i would've given her about 5 years in prison. Don't get upset with my reply because i don't know how it feels to have your daughter be in prison. Remember just pray to God and he will make a way
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A court, a judge, and maybe a jury, are the ones that decided your daughter's sentence. This is why we have courts, to be as impartial as possible. We understand that the victims aren't the best ones to decide the punishment, neither are the parents of the person who committed the crime.
You will probably never make these parents feel any differently than they do now. They are entitled to think the sentence was too low. They are entitled to their anger and hate. You can't take that away and you shouldn't try. You don't get to tell them what to feel.
Thier daughter is dead. Nothing you can say is going to change a single thing they believe about that, or their anger or their pain.
10 years is what your daughter has got. I suspect that is within the normal range for these sorts of homicides/manslaughter charges. In most states, the maximum penalty would be higher than 10 years, 15 to 25 is the maximums I'm familiar with. But it still doesn't matter if you think it's too long, or they think it's too short. If it's a done deal then not worth arguing about. No one can be benefited by that. Accept the situation and support your daughter. End contact with this family. It does not sound like you can be part of one another's healing process or lives.
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