In a recent case, a 20 year-old girl, tweeted “2 drunk 2 care” before killing her two friends in a drunk driving crash. Though she was overwhelmed with guilt and tearfully expressed her remorse, faced with her friends’ angry relatives, a Broward judge sentenced her to 24 years.
Just days later, a 54-year-old alcoholic stood before a Miami judge awaiting his fate for driving into a Liberty City restaurant while under the influence, killing two church elders. The victims’ relatives forgave the defendant, who was sentenced to 10 years.
On the same day that he was sentenced, in a quiet courtroom with no news cameras, a 27 year-old lady faced the music for killing one person in a DUI crash, and killing another in a hit-and-run crash while she was on bail in the first case. The Miami-Dade judge sentenced her to just four years.
The daughter of the second victim she killed said that she is still shocked she only received four years. She said that she’s still upset and depressed.
Florida’s Mandatory Minimum Sentence
Under Florida law, any person convicted of DUImanslaughter shall be sentenced to a mandatory prison term of 4 years. However, as these recent cases demonstrate, the prison terms for DUI manslaughter vary widely from case-to-case, and from county to county.
According to the Miami Herald, in over 400 fatality cases since 2012, the statewide average for DUI manslaughter is less than 10 years in prison. Of all counties, Miami-Dade had the most cases over that time span, with 66 cases. Of those, the lightest average sentences served were 6 years. In contrast, Broward had 27 cases, with defendants in that time span serving just less than 10 years.
Broward has a reputation for being harsher than Miami-Dade County, the Miami Herald reports.
In Palm Beach, the average sentences are even higher, with convicts averaging 11.54 years for DUI manslaughter, while defendants in Hillsborough County serve just over 10 years.
According to legal experts, the reasons for the disparity in the sentences stem from an array of factors, including the skill of defense attorneys, the circumstances of the crash, the defendant’s criminal history, media attention, and the desires of the victims’ family members.
While judges can’t speak publicly about cases, former Miami-Dade judge, Ellen Leesfield told the Miami Herald that judges must have the courage to hammer someone when they deserve it, and the courage to give someone a break when they deserve it.
Arrested for DUI in Miami? Contact my firm, JonathanBlecher, P.A. to schedule a free case evaluation.
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