Life Sentence for a DUI

Suppose you were 23-years-old, you were attending the University of Washington, you went to a party, you did something stupid, and you were arrested for a DUI?  Although you are undocumented, you had assurance under a previous federal program that you would not be deported.  

However, if you plead guilty, under the current policy, you will be deported.  You can’t speak Spanish, have no relatives in Mexico, but you will receive a life sentence of deportation.

There are a couple ways to look at this.

“Strict Father interpretation”:  Hey, she was here illegally.  What part of illegal don’t you understand?  She should be deported even if she didn’t have a DUI.

“Strict Father interpretation #2”:  Besides she should have known not to drink and drive.  She could have killed somebody.  DUI deserves a life sentence.

“Nurturing Parent interpretation”  Every 20-something does stupid things.  Depend on it.  A life sentence for a DUI is way too harsh.  Have some empathy.

In case you are wondering what the prosecutors in Seattle are doing, they are adopting the nurturing parent approach.  They are finding ways to lessen the charges in cases like this.  Most prosecutors feel everyone should be treated the same, but when some people are give a community service sentence while others are subject to a lifetime punishment, the law is not treating everyone the same.  It needs to be adjusted with some prosecutorial discretion.

Once again I am indebted to the Times, “Deal with Prosecutor to Avoid a ‘Life Sentence of Deportation’ ” by Vivian Yee (Aug. 1, 2017), pp. A1, A15.