1) The Wolves Within
2) Letter to the Editor
3) Internet magnifies protest
4) New law a boon to police
5) Dropouts hurt S.C. economy
6) Helmet law might have saved teen
7) I-26 bridge damaged in collision
8) PLEA DEALS GIVE DRUNKEN DRIVERS A PASS
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1) The Wolves Within
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The Wolves Within
An old Grandfather said to his grandson, who came to him with anger at a friend who had done him an injustice, "Let me tell you a story.
I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do.
But hate wears you down, and does not hurt your enemy. It is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times." He continued, "It is as if there are two wolves inside me. One is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him, and does not take offense when no offense was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way.
But the other wolf, ah! He is full of anger. The littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is helpless anger,for his anger will change nothing.
Sometimes, it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit."
The boy looked intently into his Grandfather's eyes and asked, "Which one wins, Grandfather?"
The Grandfather smiled and quietly said, "The one I feed."
FF Note: Cherokee Folklore provided for your entertainment or enlightenment. Which wolf are you feeding?
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2) Letter to the Editor
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Letter to the Editor
Thanks, Fred, for posting Helmet Law Facts ( http://www.sbumaui.org/helmet_law_facts.pdf ). Just as I put it together from many sources, everyone is free to do likewise with it--make it their own and use it anyway they can.
Aloha,
Warren Woodward
Street Bikers United Hawaii
FF Note: Reader letter/letters to the editor are always welcomed... send in yours soon!
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3) Internet magnifies protest
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http://www.thestate.com/politics/story/149979.html
Internet magnifies protest
Roofer takes his beef onto the street and into the blogosphere
By NOELLE PHILLIPS - nophillips@thestate.com
When the disgruntled roofer carrying a sign that read “Illegals!!! Quit Stealing Our Jobs!” was arrested in July, Larry McDaniel thought the crazy scene outside his Woodcreek Farms home had ended.
The roofer, though, started posting on the Internet photos and stories of his disorderly conduct arrest while picketing supposed illegal immigrants, who were working on McDaniel’s home. The home was being rebuilt after a June 2006 fire.
For a month, those words and pictures jumped from message boards to blogs to YouTube — even onto the Web site of white supremacist David Duke.
Unbeknownst to McDaniel, photos of his house, with its address visible, were spreading online as a spark in the emotional immigration debate.
The roofer, Terry Funderburk, wrote on one message board: “I already have gotten justice in a way, that homeowner, the one that had me arrested, the one that got a free pass from the cops for being such a fine upstanding citizen, well, there are hundreds of thousands of people all over this country that thinks he is exactly what I called him.”
Then, CNN’s “Lou Dobbs Tonight” aired the roofer’s story on Aug. 10 in a segment about illegal workers.
The program was repeated three times over the weekend. Friends saw it. So did neighbors in the upscale Columbia subdivision, where USC head football coach Steve Spurrier also lives.
CNN gave the story credibility that the blogs and message boards couldn’t.
McDaniel, a retired sales manager for IBM, was surprised, embarrassed, angry and scared.
McDaniel’s ride through the world of online, citizen-generated news reflects how the world now often shares information.
Postings on blogs and message boards are not always accurate or fair, but information can spread faster than a wildfire through a drought-stricken forest, especially when the topic is one as controversial as immigration.
Funderburk accuses McDaniel of hiring a team of illegal immigrants to install a copper roof because they would accept lower wages.
It’s unknown whether those workers are legally permitted to work in the United States.
But Funderburk’s posts have made him a minor celebrity on anti-immigration Web sites.
A Google search of “Terry Funderburk” and “illegal” turns up 11,000 hits.
Yet Funderburk, who complains about undocumented workers, does not have the proper legal documentation to work on homes.
He does not have an S.C. contractor’s license or a Columbia city business license, authorities said.
And even his claim to national fame is under scrutiny. CNN said it’s investigating complaints about the report.
‘LONE PROTESTER’
The story got its spark on July 16, when Funderburk, working on another house in Woodcreek Farms, passed the McDaniel house. He saw the workers on the roof.
Funderburk, who had put copper roofing on McDaniel’s house in the past, bid for the latest job but was turned down despite giving the low price.
“That’s the first time I’ve seen any Hispanics in the Columbia area doing copper work,” he said. “That’s when I started getting mad because everything I thought or suspected was true.”
Funderburk, 52, drove home to Lugoff and made two posters. He said he told his wife not to expect him home because he probably would get arrested.
“I have never been so angry in my whole life,” Funderburk said. “My whole life was going downhill. I couldn’t sleep at night. I was worrying about how I was going to pay my bills.”
Funderburk said his copper roofing business steadily has declined in the past year because of illegal immigrants.
Funderburk called his son to McDaniel’s home to take photos. Funderburk then started marching around the house.
McDaniel called the Columbia Police Department. Officers arrested Funderburk and charged him with disorderly conduct, saying he was being loud and boisterous and “using obscene words,” according to the incident report.
After the arrest, Funderburk e-mailed his story to conservative commentators across the United States.
Funderburk said the first person to grab the story was Frosty Wooldridge, who writes about immigration and other issues from Colorado. Then, a moderator of the message board friendsofsc.com invited him to tell his story there. Funderburk posted his story under the nickname “lone protester.”
He got responses. On one blog, viewers discuss ways to enlarge pictures so they can read the street signs in front of the home.
“I offer my support Lone Protestor — my husband is a subcontractor and they are driving him out of business also,” wrote one blogger. “They don’t have the expense of worker’s comp insurance, general liability insurance, payroll taxes, etc.”
It’s impossible to trace how the story jumped from Web site to Web site.
Funderburk is proud of his notoriety. Authorities are not doing enough to stop illegal immigration, he said. Thousands of people share his sentiments and support his cause, he said.
“I made one hell of a statement for these people,” Funderburk said. “I’m proud of it.”
However, Funderburk does not have a contractor’s license with the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, spokesman Jim Knight said.
The state agency had a record of Funderburk doing business as Classic Copper, but that license expired in June 2001, Knight said.
Funderburk said he doesn’t need a license to do copper roofing.
But state law says anyone who does roof work valued at more than $200 must have an S.C. license, Knight said.
Also, Custom Copper is not licensed to do business in the city of Columbia, according to the city’s business licensing department.
VIGILANTE?
Developers chose another company, International Construction Services Inc. of Columbia, over Funderburk because that company did better work, said Randy Fletcher, whose wife owns M and H Development, the company overseeing the work.
Beth Fletcher, owner of M and H Development, did not want to discuss the situation. Attempts to reach International Construction Services Inc. were not successful.
“There are people in this world who have lost jobs to illegal immigrants, but not this guy,” McDaniel said. “He lost a job because of a low bid and low quality.”
Funderburk has accused McDaniel and M and H of hiring illegal workers when he did not know who was doing the work, Randy Fletcher said.
But neither does Fletcher.
International Construction, like other M and H subcontractors, is responsible for checking documentation of its workers, he said.
Under federal law, companies must ask for identification for workers but they cannot question the authenticity of the documents presented.
Funderburk unnecessarily has dragged people into the limelight of the heated immigration debate, Fletcher said.
“He made a racist, snap judgment about people doing work,” he said. “He decided to be a vigilante and take things into his own hands.”
Funderburk does not mention the McDaniel family or their developers by name on the Web. However, his posts show photos of the house with the corner street sign and developer’s sign in the frame.
In the meantime, CNN said Friday it’s looking into the report about Funderburk on the Dobbs show. Fletcher and McDaniel said they complained to CNN.
“We have heard concerns about our report,” a CNN spokeswoman said. “We take such concerns very seriously, and we will investigate.”
On Saturday, Fletcher and McDaniel said they had received apologies from the show’s executive producer. Attempts to reach CNN officials on Saturday were unsuccessful.
LIVING IN FEAR
Larry and Mary McDaniel said they have been afraid for their safety since their home address has been publicized on thousands of Web sites.
“There’s all these racist, angry people out there he’s blogging with,” Larry McDaniel said. “They know where the house is. Why should we live in fear when we’ve done nothing wrong?”
Fletcher, the developer’s husband, said M and H’s reputation has been sullied because everyone in Woodcreek Farms knows they are building the house. M and H Development hires reputable contractors, Fletcher said.
“The perception he’s put out there is we’re a bunch of cheap guys who hire illegal aliens to do a cheap job,” he said.
But Funderburk insists he was making a stand for himself and other small business owners who are suffering because of illegal immigration.
“The cops and politicians have turned a blind eye to people in my situation,” Funderburk said. “I don’t do shoddy work. I’m a sheet metal mechanic, and when it comes to copper work, I consider myself an artist.”
The McDaniel and Fletcher families said that they understand Funderburk’s concern over illegal immigration, but that he chose the wrong way to handle it.
“I understand his cause, but his tactics are overboard to get publicity,” Mary McDaniel said. “There are so many people who are so zealous that they’re not willing to look at the situation.
“The hate that is coming out this is cancerous.”
Reach Phillips at (803) 771-8307.
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4) New law a boon to police
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http://www.thestate.com/news/story/152469.html
New law a boon to police
Several loopholes that made enforcement more difficult in S.C. have been closed
By ISHMAEL TATE - itate@thestate.com
More than 70 young people charged Saturday with underage drinking were caught in the cross hairs of a new law that makes it illegal for minors to try to buy or drink alcohol.
Effective July 1, the Prevention of Underage Drinking and Access to Alcohol Act of 2007 also increased fines and penalties for underage drinkers and for adults who provide them with alcohol.
The law closed a loophole that prevented police from arresting people younger than 21 who might have been drinking but didn’t get caught with alcohol, said Kevin Grindstaff, enforcement programs coordinator with LRADAC.
Many charged Saturday are college-age, and the charges came the same weekend many students moved into Columbia-area dorms.
USC freshman Emily Ko doesn’t drink and said the law makes sense.
“It’s reasonable for the safety of the kids,” said Ko, 18. “At 18, they’re talking to us about being responsible, so we should be responsible.”
Friend Emily Kirby, who also doesn’t drink, said maybe the crackdown would “teach kids there are consequences to their actions.”
“Lots of people in college drink just to be drinking,” said Kirby, 18.
Still, she questioned whether the law would deter underage drinkers.
Other students, who asked not to be named, said they thought underage drinkers would risk the charge or figure out how to get around the new law.
Under the new law, students with two or more misdemeanor alcohol or drug convictions risk losing their LIFE, HOPE, Palmetto Fellows and need-based scholarships, said Karen Woodfaulk, director of student services with the state Commission on Higher Education.
“Students may have the opportunity to go through pretrial intervention, in which case the record is expunged and (the student is) therefore not convicted,” she said.
To be eligible for the scholarships, students must sign an affidavit saying they have never been convicted of or pleaded guilty to or no contest to misdemeanor drug or alcohol charges.
Students still receive money if they plead guilty or are convicted after signing the document, but they would be ineligible for the next school year, Woodfaulk said. After a year of ineligibility, those students can reapply for the scholarships if they have met the other requirements.
Students convicted of felonies are not eligible for the scholarships, she said.
On Jan. 1, another portion of the law goes into effect that requires registration tags on all kegs sold in the state.
The registration allows law enforcement to track down and charge adults who buy kegs for parties with underage drinkers.
The multijurisdictional Alcohol Enforcement Team charged most of the people Saturday at two parties, one off Bluff Road and the other on Lexington Avenue in Cayce, Grindstaff said.
In Cayce, 57 underage drinkers were charged with possession of alcohol, authorities said. The adults who threw the party, ages 21 and 22, were charged with transfer of beer to a minor, he said.
Officers found six kegs of beer and a red cooler of “alcoholic punch” at the home, according to an incident report. Police also found a table set up for a drinking game in a shed behind the house.
At College Suites off Bluff Road, 13 underage drinkers were charged with possession of alcohol or consumption of alcohol. The adult who bought the keg was charged with transfer of beer to a minor.
First-time charges for underage drinking usually result in mandatory enrollment in the Alcohol Education Program, a diversion program created especially for alcohol-related offenses, Grindstaff said. The program includes community service and alcohol education.
“We know that underage drinking can lead to long-term alcohol abuse problems,” Grindstaff said.
Second offenses often land people in pretrial intervention. People convicted of underage alcohol offenses go through an Alcohol Intervention Program.
Grindstaff said the Alcohol Enforcement Team, which includes members of various local law enforcement agencies, will be involved in Columbia police’s Operation Welcome Back, which, in part, will target underage drinkers in areas surrounding USC like Five Points and the Vista.
Reach Tate at (803) 771-8549.
CRACKING DOWN
The Prevention of Underage Drinking and Access to Alcohol Act of 2007:
• Made it illegal for minors to try to buy or to consume alcohol, strengthening existing laws that only addressed possession and purchase of alcohol
• Increased fines for underage drinking to $465 from $257 and/or 30 days imprisonment
• Increased the term of suspension of a driver’s license to 120 days from 90 days for a first offense
• Required youth offenders to complete an alcohol intervention program, which must be a minimum of eight hours and cost no more than $150
• Increased fines for adults who provide alcohol to minors to $672.50 from $465 and/or 30 days in jail
• Required all kegs sold in South Carolina to have registration tags
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5) Dropouts hurt S.C. economy
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FF Note: Refer to the article above and consider if these two articles or rather government action conflict with one another. It seems narrow sighted to prevent someone from gaining an education due to two minor infractions. Scholarships should be based upon performance in school not the moral rule or views of others.
http://www.thestate.com/politics/story/148413.html
Dropouts hurt S.C. economy
Sanford thinks analysis of graduation rate will boost school choice
By BILL ROBINSON - brobinson@thestate.com
Private school choice could boost South Carolina’s moribund high school graduation rate and save taxpayers money, a new study released Thursday says.
The South Carolina Policy Council commissioned an economic analysis showing the state’s worst-in-the-nation graduation rate undermines tax revenue, places a greater reliance on public health care services and increases the number of people in jails.
Among the findings in the Friedman Foundation study: “Over an expected lifetime of 50 years, one year’s class of dropouts will cost (the state) $4.9 million.”
Gov. Mark Sanford praised the S.C. Policy Council.
“There’s a real cost to the current system,” he said, “and not changing the current system.”
Sanford predicted the report will help his school choice allies argue their case more effectively.
Jim Foster, state Education Department spokesman, said, “We agree on the seriousness of the problem and the need to improve public schools. Where we differ is we don’t believe we can improve public schools by paying parents to send their kids to private schools, which by definition aren’t accountable to the public nor open to everybody.”
The study used the high school class of 2005 as a benchmark and what it said was an estimated 30,000 S.C. teens who failed to earn a diploma that year.
The dominant public education policy debate in the Legislature since 2004 has been whether the state can afford to provide incentives to parents who want to send children to private schools instead of enrolling them in low-rated public schools.
Some national studies place S.C.’s four-year graduation rate at 50 percent or slightly higher, although state officials insist the figure is considerably higher.
The study projects that if an additional 35,000 children attended S.C. private schools, the public school graduation rate would improve and would save taxpayers $5 million to $10 million annually in government expenditures.
“I hope this is a data-driven debate,” researcher Brian Gottlob said. “Far too much time and energy has been spent on ideology and rhetoric. The debate ends up becoming not one of results and outcomes that are quantifiable.”
Reach Robinson at (803) 771-8482.
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6) Helmet law might have saved teen
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FF Note: Florida already has a mandatory helmet law for those under 21. I wonder if this young rider had any training that could have saved his life since the nanny law failed him.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20070821/OPINION/708210716/1029
Helmet law might have saved teen
If it is a fact that 19-year-old Brian Talboom of Venice died as a result of head injuries in an accident on his motorcycle, then it is time to reinstate the helmet law. Maybe he would have worn one -- his death is so sad.
Judy M. Colloton
Sarasota
Letters to the editor of Herald Tribune:
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?CATEGORY=OPINION04
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7) I-26 bridge damaged in collision
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http://www.thestate.com/breaking/story/152703.html
I-26 bridge damaged in collision
The S.C. Department of Transportation has restricted a bridge over Interstate 26 in Laurens County to carrying no more than 3 tons because of a Monday collision with a tractor trailer.
The truck caused "severe damage" to two beams of the bridge, according to the department.
Bridge engineers inspected the bridge after the 4 p.m. wreck and initially restricted all truck traffic across the bridge. The 3-ton restriction means cars, SUVs and pickups can use the bridge. The S.C. Highway Patrol and the S.C. State Transport Police are enforcing the restriction.
The Department of Transportation is moving to declare the bridge an emergency to open up money for immediate repairs.
The department said the bridge is safe with the load restriction.
Detours have been established for drivers of heavier vehicles. Southbound traffic on S.C. 56 can turn on to S.C. 49 in Cross Anchor then travel I-26 east to S.C. 56 at exit 52.
Northbound traffic can get on the S.C. 56/S.C. 72 truck route, then S.C. 72 east to I-26 west, returning to S.C. 56 at exit 52.
-- Kelly Davis
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8) PLEA DEALS GIVE DRUNKEN DRIVERS A PASS
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http://www.realcities.com/mld/thestate/15876345.htm
'TIME BOMBS' | PLEA DEALS GIVE DRUNKEN DRIVERS A PASS
A 'loaded gun on wheels'
By RICK BRUNDRETT
rbrundrett@thestate.com
South Carolina’s judges and prosecutors are letting one in three repeat drunken drivers off with reduced sentences — and usually don’t get tough until someone dies.
Victims’ families want to know why more isn’t being done earlier.
“It’s like carrying a loaded gun with your finger on the trigger,” said Belva Howard, whose husband, Tony Allan Howard, was killed in a 2002 Spartanburg County wreck by a man who had seven DUIs on his record. “If you get bumped, it’s going to go off.”
An investigation by The State newspaper found that:
• Although more than 6,500 sentences for repeat offenders were recorded in that five-year period, 826 went to prison in cases where DUI was the most serious charge.
• Of those, only 401, or 49 percent, received prison sentences of a year or more. A judge can give as much as one year on the second offense, three years on the third and five years for subsequent offenses.
• Of 176 inmates serving prison time as of Sept. 1 for killing someone in a drunken-driving accident, 31, or nearly 18 percent, had at least one prior DUI conviction in South Carolina.
• 40 percent of repeat-offense cases from fiscal years 2002 through 2006 involved guilty pleas to reduced charges. Nearly 60 percent of third- and fourth-offense cases were pleaded down to less serious crimes with less serious penalties.
• Of 9,219 repeat-offender DUI cases over the past five fiscal years, 6,890, or 75 percent, ended in guilty pleas. Many repeat offense convictions involved pleas to lesser charges, and punishments typically were light. That was more than 25 percentage points higher than the guilty-plea rate for all circuit court cases.
Advocates say judges and prosecutors could do more to keep dangerous drivers off South Carolina roads. South Carolina ranks ninth in the nation for the percentage of drunken drivers involved in fatal crashes.
“The system is getting lackadaisical,” said Laura Hudson, spokeswoman for the S.C. Victim Assistance Network. “Why should we put up with that on our highways?”
PLEA DEAL FACTORY
Jerry James Carruth racked up five DUI convictions in South Carolina and two more in North Carolina before he killed Belva Howard’s husband, Tony, in 2002.
Carruth was allowed to plead to a first-offense charge on his third conviction.
His fourth and fifth convictions occurred in North Carolina.
But when he was arrested two more times in South Carolina in 1999, he received lesser second- and third-offense charges for those arrests.
Carruth also benefited from a little-known DUI law that doesn’t count convictions older than 10 years as prior offenses. So, his first conviction in 1983 didn’t matter when it came to determining his S.C. charges in 1994 and 1999.
Carruth was fined and sentenced to no more than 60 days for any of his S.C. convictions. He could have gotten up to four years in prison for his two 1999 convictions.
His eighth conviction was killing Tony Howard.
“This is a fella who should have served more jail time,” said Barry Barnette, deputy solicitor in Spartanburg County. “Obviously, he was using the system.”
Neither Barnette nor his boss, 7th Circuit Solicitor Trey Gowdy, were in office in 1999 when Carruth was charged with third-offense DUI.
But Carruth’s experience isn’t unique. From July 1, 2001, through June 30, 2006, 35 percent of repeat offense pleas in the 7th Circuit involved pleas to lesser offenses.
Plea rates for that period across the state ranged:
• From a high of 71 percent in the Lexington-based 11th Circuit
• To a low of 22 percent in the Greenville-based 13th Circuit and the York-based 16th Circuit
“Negotiated pleas are a fact of life,” said David Pascoe, the solicitor for the 1st Circuit, which covers Orangeburg, Calhoun and Dorchester counties. “Can you imagine if you tried every DUI case? You wouldn’t move any other cases.”
Pascoe said with limited staffs and court time, solicitors have to make tough choices about which cases to take to trial. Violent crimes such as murder, rape or robbery typically get priority.
That isn’t the case in all circuits.
Five years ago, Robert Ariail, the 13th Circuit solicitor, started reviewing every drunken-driving case in Greenville and Pickens counties after a Highway Patrol captain asked why his DUI cases were being dismissed.
They began accepting fewer pleas for reduced charges.
“What (the review) has done is provide a consistent approach,” Ariail said.
Efforts by The State to reach 11th Circuit Solicitor Donnie Myers, whose circuit had the highest plea-bargaining rate, were unsuccessful.
PRESSURE TO ACCEPT PLEAS
Ultimately, judges have the final say in accepting or rejecting plea deals.
The State’s analysis found some circuit judges are more lenient than others toward repeat DUI offenders.
Judge Wyatt Saunders of Greenwood, for example, accepted reduced charges in 102, or 66 percent, of 154 repeat-offense cases over the past five fiscal years. That was the highest rate among judges who handled at least 100 DUI cases during that period.
At the other end, Judge Larry Patterson of Greenville gave reduced sentences in five, or 4 percent, of his 118 cases.
Efforts by The State to reach Saunders were unsuccessful. A spokeswoman in his office said he is severely ill and has been on leave since July 24.
Conway-based 15th Circuit Solicitor Greg Hembree, president of the S.C. Solicitors Association, said judges are under pressure to accept pleas, though they don’t have to.
“Judges are catching it all the time — that the prisons already are full and they need to save bed spaces for the violent offenders,” he said. “If you’re going to look at blame, I think it can be spread around pretty broadly.”
Eighteen states, including Georgia and Kentucky, ban or limit plea bargaining in DUI cases, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
LITTLE JAIL TIME
Circuit judges acknowledge they usually give minimum jail sentences to repeat DUI offenders, particularly for second and third offenses.
“I think all judges give the minimal sentence for second (offenses),” said Ernest Kinard, senior judge for the 5th Circuit, which covers Richland and Kershaw counties.
He said he looks at how many years have passed between DUI convictions and whether a defendant’s blood-alcohol level is close to the legal limit when deciding sentences.
He also said giving long prison sentences can cause financial problems for a defendant’s family.
Thirteenth Circuit Judge John Few of Greenville said the law was written to encourage minimal sentences.
“I personally think that is what the Legislature contemplated,” he said.
The State’s analysis found that relatively few repeat offenders receive prison time.
Although there were more than 6,500 sentences given to repeat offenders over the past five fiscal years, only 826 defendants went to prison.
Of those, 425, or 51 percent, received sentences of less than a year in cases where DUI was the most serious offense.
Kinard said he typically gives minimum jail sentences to second and third offenders because the fine is “pretty severe with all the add-ons.”
Fines for second, third and fourth offenses can top $6,300. With various assessments and surcharges included, costs can exceed $13,000.
Fourth and subsequent offenses require a prison sentence of one to five years. But most offenders do not get the most serious penalties. In the past five fiscal years, only nine, or 1 percent, of the 826 repeat offenders received sentences of four to five years.
Pascoe, the 1st Circuit solicitor, said the minimum sentences for third and fourth offenses should be one year and five years, respectively. Currently the minimum sentence is 60 days for a third offense and a year for a subsequent offense.
Fifth Circuit Judge Alison Lee of Columbia said she generally sentences repeat offenders to probation if they can afford the fines and court-ordered treatment — and if they didn’t hurt someone or flee the scene of their traffic stop.
“There’s a way to solve the problem and still give them the opportunity to get treatment and counseling,” she said.
‘TIME BOMBS’
But Vincent Wiegand’s grown sons said South Carolina’s court system did not treat Steve Wilson Garrett seriously until he killed their father in a drunken-driving crash near Pickens in 2004.
Garrett had three prior DUI convictions. He was sentenced to 30 weekend days in jail for his second conviction and a year in prison for the third.
He got 17 years for the crash that killed Wiegand.
“These habitual offenders, they are just time bombs waiting to go off,” said son Vince Wiegand Jr., 38, of Greenville. “It only takes one time where someone’s life is gone.”
Longtime criminal defense lawyer James Huff of North Augusta said mandatory treatment, not longer sentences, would help reduce the number of repeat offenders.
“Punishment is not going to get you there,” he said. “Treatment has the greatest prospect of changing the driver’s conduct.”
But Misty Moyse, a national Mothers Against Drunk Drivers spokeswoman, said loopholes in South Carolina’s DUI laws and a lack of enforcement of other laws have contributed to the state’s high drunken-driving fatality rate.
Other states have tougher laws for repeat drunken drivers, she said. According to MADD:
• 18 states, including Georgia, restrict or forbid plea bargaining for repeat DUI offenders
• Five states, including North Carolina, hold repeat offenders to higher standards for blood-alcohol levels
• 31 states, including Georgia, have stricter penalties for refusing to take breath tests than for penalties for taking and failing the tests.
Jim and Ann Sanders’ son, Marine Capt. Carlton “Brad” Sanders, died in a 2002 Beaufort County crash involving a drunken driver who had two previous DUI convictions.
The Sanderses, who live near Little Mountain, aren’t sure what will stop repeat offenders. But they said judges should pay more attention to first-time offenders.
“The first time they’re caught, the consequences aren’t hard enough,” said Ann Sanders. “A lot of times, a little fine is nothing.”
Reach Brundrett at (803) 771-8484.
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