Eye Team Investigates: Repeat DUI Offenders
from KTVA-CBS 11 News: How much does it take to get a repeat offender off the street? When it comes to DUIs, turns out a lot.
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So what can be done?
That is exactly what our state’s lawmakers are trying to figure out: how to close the loophole that let Lori Phillips kill another person with her drunk driving.
“It’s the kind of case that makes you want to do something,” says Anchorage Democratic Senator Hollis French.
Last year, the state legislature beefed up Alaska’s DUI laws.
A 3rd DUI is now a felony. Ignition interlocks are mandatory with the first DWI, and offender’s bail conditions are now available to police officers on the street.
“DWI is the kind of crime Alaskans are sick and tired of,” says Senator French, “As the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, we are going to look at this, and make certain we are doing everything we can to be fair to the innocent public who deserve protection from these drivers.”
Senator French vows to direct his Senate Judiciary Committee to specifically look at revising bail conditions and tougher mandatory minimum sentences to prevent someone like Lori Phillips from offending again.
“DWI laws are an ongoing process,” Says Sen. French, “Every year we think of new ways to toughen our approach to this crime. “It’s simply not fair to put the loaded gun of a DWI driver on the roads and have them kill innocent citizens.”
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