No one said "imprison" - read again. The concept is removing them from the highways by means other than imprisonment. A number of people on this list can testify that it is perfectly possible to live a full, complete and extremely mobile life without using a motor vehicle. We are fully aware that the Reagan/Thompson "job growth through planting prisons far and wide" policy would never succeed.
The present system of allowing these people back on the highways without thorough rehabilitation is a major failure, as well. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Robert F. Nagel Sent: Wednesday, July 06, 2005 11:45 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [Bikies] Driver Identified I've trolled this bikie list for a few months now, but this is my first post. I am a criminal defense lawyer. The death of a bicyclist or a pedestrian or even a motor vehicle driver or passenger is a tragedy, but this tragedy is not mitigated by ranting and raving about "absurd leniency" toward repeat offenders. I represent repeat offenders and I've seen a lot more absurd harshness in punishment than absurd leniency. You're fighting a losing battle trying to imprison every last drunk driver forever and ever. Drunk driving penalties keep getting harsher and harsher all the time. Does that seem to be deterring drunk driving? Apparently not sufficiently. Meanwhile, our state budget is bled dry by the bloated corrections' budget. Perhaps with not so harsh and costly punishment, there'd be more money for your agency, DNR, and more money for safe bike paths and pedestrian improvements, not to mention driver education, and alcohol treatment and other sorts of proactive, prevention-oriented measures. And if the moderator of this list-serve deems me to be an infidel and banishes me, that's a risk I'm willing to take. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Robert F. Nagel Law Offices of Robert Nagel 634 W. Main St., Suite 201 Madison, WI 53703 608-255-1501 phone 608-255-1504 fax www.nagel-law.com -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Schimpff, Jeff A Sent: Wednesday, July 06, 2005 10:58 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [Bikies] Driver Identified Also an indication of the absurd leniency bestowed upon repeat offenders by our court system. One killer in the past several years had 12 previous OWI charges. This lack of respect for the public welfare endangers all cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists, as well. We need to remember this whenever elected judgeships are open, and when those who appoint judges are up for election. Perhaps repeat traffic offenders need to be registered and treated like sex offenders, but their housing should be located near a bus route so they can traverse their communities without a motor vehicle. _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
