For example, there was a “man [who was] sentenced to prison for 25 years to life under the law for stealing a bottle of vitamins” (Murphy). In March 1999, when the Three Strikes law was challenged by this case, the Supreme Court “refused to hear” (Murphy) a word that was said by the people. By putting them in prison for an excessive amount of years, housing for serious offenders is being made unavailable which will lead to an increase “to an already overcrowded and expensive prison system” (Messerli). Some of the people may have committed the innocuous crime to help their spouse and children. When used, the Three Strikes law treats all crimes the exact same way, which makes the law unjust.
In the U.S. texting while driving is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. Everyday in the United States there are about nine people who are killed and over 1,000 who are injured by distracted drivers. In 2015 according to NHTSA, 660,000 people reported that during the day they used their electronic devices while driving. Distracted driving alone caused 3,477 deaths, 3,196 deadly car crashes, and a total of 391,00 injuries (Clerkin). A simple solution to this deadly problem is to enforce stricter laws or even banning texting and driving to save thousands of lives each year.
Drunk driving is the act of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. Because a person’s motor skills are impaired while drunk, driving under the influence is a major threat to public safety and is a criminal offense in most countries. (3 100) A number of suggestions have been made to combat drunk driving, including reducing the number of underage drinkers, imposing restrictions on licenses to keep drinkers off the roads and increasing the use of sobriety checkpoints. The current legal limit for drunk driving is 0.08 BAC which some people feel does not go far enough. Many advocates support tougher penalties for DUI and are in favor for a zero tolerance policy for drinking and driving.
There are many laws out there that ban texting and drinking while driving to keep people from harm’s way but there are so few people who actually obey the laws. Research shows that drinking while driving & texting while driving are equally harmful because they both impair the driver’s vision, the driver’s reaction time, & the driver’s concentration & vigilance, all skills needed to prevent millions of accidents, deaths, & injuries every year. There’s ample evidence that shows drunk driving fatalities have definitely decreased in the last 40 yrs. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration provides us with some interesting information, which I have converted into a line graph. My visual aid shows the fast decrease in drunk driving fatalities between 1970 & 2012.
The family began to walk out the court when they anticipated a probation sentence but Judge Perry continued that a young man died, and that prison was appropriate. He then sentenced Mehserle to the low term of 2 years, with 146 days of in custody. (Wikipedia) What I have picked up through this research is that the technology of the Taser gun still has some bugs to work out. I would definitely suggest longer training in the use of the Taser gun. I believe the BART police department only required 6 hours of training prior to use of the gun.
After the creation of MADD in 1980 and a combination of other activist groups, drunk driving fatalities are down 40%. (Cornelison.2006.) But it took time for MADD and other groups such as RID (Remove Intoxicated Drivers), to fully become organized, put faces with the statistics and to be heard by the people who could really make a difference, the public and our government leaders, the people in power. The statistics on drunk driving
This means that any sober legally licensed driver over the age of eighteen can sign the offenders out. This has to stop; at what point and cost will the laws be changed. It is the proposal of the citizens of Brunswick County, and the surrounding counties to make the penalties for DUI harder, and compile ways to decrease occurrences. It is the hopes of these citizens to reduce the number of occurrences of these charges, and that is why this has been brought before the local legislation. Current law dictates first offense minimum of 24 hours (level 5 offenders) in jail, fines, and penalties up to $200 (level 5 offenders), license suspension 60 days to 1 year, and the ignition lock is not required.
These are innocent people who had such a life ahead of them and had it so abruptly taken from their hands. Something needs to be done and it needs to happen soon. Many people have lost loved ones due to drunk driving, I know I almost did, but she was lucky enough to live. Another fact that I found truly astonishing is that the south had more fatalities each year due to drunk drivers then the north. Maybe that is because a lot of southerners like to have a cold beer on the weekends after a long work week, but they forget to leave their stupid butts where they are at instead of trying to drive home even when they know they can’t.
Gun Control “How many have to die before we will give up these dangerous toys?” This quote is from Stephen King a famous author and it was in support of banning assault weapons. Stricter gun laws will cut down on gun related deaths and will also prevent future acts of terror and violence. In 2011 there was 12,664 murders in the United States, 6,220 were due to handguns alone, that is about 49% of the total murders. This horrifying number has been the cause of some pretty big arguments over the last 4 years and let me tell you why. Most gun activists stand by the 2nd amendment but does it really make sense to do that lets just think for a second why was the 2nd amendment made?
Detroit recorded 308 criminal homicides in 2010, a 15.4% drop from the previous year’s count of 364. Non-fatal shootings were also down 10.5% from the previous year. We the people should be concerned about this each and every day because it’s getting dangerous and out of hand. Detroit is the capital of Michigan and without it we pretty much don’t have anything. In 2007 analysis said that Detroit officials noted about 65 to 70 percent of homicides in the city were confined to a narcotics catalyst.