DWI offenders just off of their second offense had better keep out of trouble, because new legislation on the Governor's desk would place third offenders in jail or a treatment facility for a full year, and the offender may have to pay for it themselves.
The legislation, championed by both Senator Willie Mount and Calcasieu Parish District Attorney John DeRosier, would increase the minimum incarceration time of third and fourth DWI offenders from 45 and 75 days respectively to one year and two years, respectively.
"For a long time our laws didn't effectively target multiple DWI offenders," DeRosier said.
The law does allow for some leeway in the sentencing; judges can elect to send an offender to a treatment facility for the entirety of his or her sentence, where they would be allowed to work. The catch, however, is that the offender would have to pay for his incarceration during this time. Even so, it may be more of an attractive option for some non-violent offenders than spending a year or two in jail, Mount said.
Those electing to spend time in treatment would save the state from having to spend taxpayer money on them, making fiscal sense, the Senator said.
"As we're trying to reduce expenditures at the state capitol, this program stands out. In this case, not only are we making the penalties harsher, we're also making the offender pay so it's not on the taxpayer's backs."
DeRosier said that the local Academy of Training Skills, which houses a pre-trial diversion program, would be one of the places that offenders could go.
Present law provides that, on a third DWI conviction the offender will be imprisoned for not less than one year and not more than five years, though that time is often shortened with parole or probation to the minimum of 45 days. Similarly, a fourth DWI conviction would mean that the offender would be imprisoned for not less than 10 years and not more than 30, though it is often dropped to 75 days with probation and parole.
The new law would increase the minimum sentence to one year for a third offense, before parole or probation reductions could be applied; a fourth offense would garner a two year minimum sentence.
"We're not interested in putting more people in jail, but we do want to make people stop driving while impaired," DeRosier said.
The District Attorney expressed satisfaction with the sentencing alternatives available to judges.
"This way we won't end up in the position that California is in right now, where they had to release 4,000 felony prisoners because of lack of funding," he said.
"This is why we have the sentencing alternatives."
DWI offenders on their fourth offense won't be offered an alternative sentence arraignment if they've already participated in one for their third offense, according to the new law.
The new law gives the District Attorney discretion on impounding vehicles that are involved in a DWI arrest. DeRosier said that sometimes, when a vehicle is impounded, then it's not necessarily appropriate to auction the vehicle off, as the owner may not be the offender or extenuating circumstances may come into play. Under current law, the vehicle must be sold at auction, while the new law will allow the District Attorney to decide when and if to auction a vehicle.
Also, the funds from such an auction will now partially go to pay local court costs, towing and storage costs, and then allocated to local law enforcement (60 percent of the sale), the local District Attorney's office (20 percent of the sale) and the Louisiana Property and Casualty Insurance Company (20 percent of the sale.)
Mount expressed satisfaction with the bill.
"This is a win-win," she said.
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DWI offenders just off of their second offense had better keep out of trouble, because new legislation on the Governor's desk would place third offenders in jail or a treatment facility for a full year, and the offender may have to pay for it themselves.
The legislation, championed by both Senator Willie Mount and Calcasieu Parish District Attorney John DeRosier, would increase the minimum incarceration time of third and fourth DWI offenders from 45 and 75 days respectively to one year and two years, respectively.
"For a long time our laws didn't effectively target multiple DWI offenders," DeRosier said.
The law does allow for some leeway in the sentencing; judges can elect to send an offender to a treatment facility for the entirety of his or her sentence, where they would be allowed to work. The catch, however, is that the offender would have to pay for his incarceration during this time. Even so, it may be more of an attractive option for some non-violent offenders than spending a year or two in jail, Mount said.
Those electing to spend time in treatment would save the state from having to spend taxpayer money on them, making fiscal sense, the Senator said.
"As we're trying to reduce expenditures at the state capitol, this program stands out. In this case, not only are we making the penalties harsher, we're also making the offender pay so it's not on the taxpayer's backs."
DeRosier said that the local Academy of Training Skills, which houses a pre-trial diversion program, would be one of the places that offenders could go.
Present law provides that, on a third DWI conviction the offender will be imprisoned for not less than one year and not more than five years, though that time is often shortened with parole or probation to the minimum of 45 days. Similarly, a fourth DWI conviction would mean that the offender would be imprisoned for not less than 10 years and not more than 30, though it is often dropped to 75 days with probation and parole.
The new law would increase the minimum sentence to one year for a third offense, before parole or probation reductions could be applied; a fourth offense would garner a two year minimum sentence.
"We're not interested in putting more people in jail, but we do want to make people stop driving while impaired," DeRosier said.
The District Attorney expressed satisfaction with the sentencing alternatives available to judges.
"This way we won't end up in the position that California is in right now, where they had to release 4,000 felony prisoners because of lack of funding," he said.
"This is why we have the sentencing alternatives."
DWI offenders on their fourth offense won't be offered an alternative sentence arraignment if they've already participated in one for their third offense, according to the new law.
The new law gives the District Attorney discretion on impounding vehicles that are involved in a DWI arrest. DeRosier said that sometimes, when a vehicle is impounded, then it's not necessarily appropriate to auction the vehicle off, as the owner may not be the offender or extenuating circumstances may come into play. Under current law, the vehicle must be sold at auction, while the new law will allow the District Attorney to decide when and if to auction a vehicle.
Also, the funds from such an auction will now partially go to pay local court costs, towing and storage costs, and then allocated to local law enforcement (60 percent of the sale), the local District Attorney's office (20 percent of the sale) and the Louisiana Property and Casualty Insurance Company (20 percent of the sale.)
Mount expressed satisfaction with the bill.
"This is a win-win," she said.
