In a series of reports last year, Denver Post readers were introduced to men and women in Colorado who were repeatedly busted for drunken driving but never faced jail timeeven after they killed people.
Hopefully, legislation Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law last week will reduce the extreme danger caused by drunken drivers as it attempts to close enormous loopholes that allowed repeat offenders to go free.
The new law imposes a 10-day jail sentence for a second offense and 60 days for third and subsequent offenses. Work release is allowed, but at-home detention is restricted.
Before this law was passed, sentences varied wildly from judge to judge and county to county, The Post’s David Olinger, Kevin Vaughan and Burt Hubbard found.
Colorado still lacks the teeth of a felony conviction for those who repeatedly drive drunk, but the new law finally institutes some mandatory jail time to, if nothing else, give abusers a chance to contemplate their actions.
Further, repeat offenders are put on probation for two years and required to take alcohol-education and treatment programs. House sponsor Claire Levy rightly said Colorado’s courts needed to stop “operating a revolving door for drunk drivers.”
We’re glad to see this law on the books.
