A life sentence for the victim (From Bournemouth Echo)

A life sentence for the victim

8:54am Thursday 29th July 2010 in

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LET’S get my stance straight from the start here and state that David Whittaker is drunken scum.

Of all the wanton acts of drink-driving recklessness we have reported on over the years, his demolition of 36-year-old Sam Fairbrother’s life is one of the very worst.

The fact that Sam is still alive is down to luck, although that is not a word that’s bandied about much in the Fairbrother household as Sam battles to piece together his life after Whittaker ploughed into him.

Whatever pitiful bleatings of remorse he offers are pointless. This is a man who drove drunk – while still disqualified after a drink-driving conviction let’s not forget – and after mowing down his victim, walked off, hailed a taxi and left passers-by to help stricken Sam.

Sam’s wife Kerry-Anne’s heartfelt reaction to Whittaker’s lightweight sentence is both emotional and frustrating, and one hopes that her future appeal to the Prime Minister provokes some thought on the legal process.

Yet how infuriating is it that these idiots who drink and drive continue to receive such comparatively soft sentences?

If you get behind the wheel of several tons of vehicle knowing your vision and judgement has been impaired, it is a deliberate act.

Killing or maiming someone might be an accident, but it should carry a sentence that matches not only the severity, but also the heartbreak.