I certainly don't claim to know what's fair here. Would it be better on any scale of justice to have the sentences swapped, the drug dealer getting probation while the driver goes to jail? Hardly. I may not have the answers, but I am discouraged that a system filled with many people a lot smarter than me doesn't seem to have an answer, either.
All that said, in one case, a guy is going to jail for the possession (with intent to sell) of five grams of cocaine. The other is going home after being found directly responsible for the death of another person.
1 comment:
At first glance, yes; this disparity in sentencing does indeed seem unfair, but I don't think it actually is.
Cocaine causes an abundance of human suffering, misery, and death. This cocaine dealer, with a 10-year sentence, has offended before and is likely to re-offend; he needs to go away for a long-ish time to relieve society of the burden of his chosen livelihood. It's more cost-effective for society to put someone like that behind bars and pay to feed, clothe, house, guard and doctor him for 10 years than it would be to leave him on the streets to ply his trade using our kids as his customers.
A 70-year-old woman in a traffic incident that costs a life is a one-time deal; she has likely led a good life up until now, and she is not likely to kill anyone else. Also, she's 70 years old, and her health, if it hasn't already started on a downward spiral, would almost certainly begin to fail, perhaps rapidly, in prison. Should she surrender her driver's license? Had I been the judge, I would certainly have considered adding that to her sentence. However, I don't want to incarcerate her for a traffic problem (even one that cost a life) that is unlikely to be repeated, and need to feed, clothe, house, guard and doctor her for 10 years. The cost to society of leaving her out of the prison system is likely to be far less than the cost to society of putting her into the prison system.
Let this lady's conscience do the real punishing. She'll need to live with having cost a young life for the rest of her days. That will be difficult for her, I think.
Post a Comment