{"id":1208,"date":"2012-05-09T09:00:35","date_gmt":"2012-05-09T15:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alcoholmonitoring.com\/blog\/?p=1208"},"modified":"2021-08-26T12:05:01","modified_gmt":"2021-08-26T18:05:01","slug":"does-public-shaming-work-to-curb-drunk-driving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scramsystems.com\/blog\/2012\/05\/does-public-shaming-work-to-curb-drunk-driving\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Public Shaming Work to Curb Drunk Driving?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recently, a Houston offender convicted of DUI after killing a young man must wear a sign<\/a> created by the victim\u2019s mother, at the original crash site, over four consecutive Saturdays as part of his sentence. The sign read, \u201cI Killed Aaron Coy Pennywell While Driving Drunk.\u201d<\/p>\n

This requirement was part of a two-year probated sentence, which many argued was quite light for the crime. The offender, Michael Giacona, was convicted of a DUI\u2014his second. After serving 90 days of a one-year sentence, Giacona was released on \u201cshock probation,\u201d a program created by the state legislature for offenders deemed good candidates for rehabilitation who are \u201cscared straight\u201d after a short period of incarceration.<\/p>\n

The judge,\u00a0expressing concern over Giacona’s selection for shock probation,\u00a0added the sign and a number of other sentencing requirements, including use of a SCRAMx monitoring bracelet<\/a>, after expressing concern about Giacona\u2019s behavior after the accident, his high BAC at the time of arrest, and the fact he was a repeat offender.<\/p>\n

The sentence brings\u00a0up an interesting question. Does shaming a DUI offender\u2014and in this case, a repeat DUI offender\u2014work to curb drunk driving?<\/p>\n

Last year, an article appeared in the Wall Street Journal discussing the \u201cWhisky Plate\u201d idea<\/a> as a potential punishment for convicted offenders once they resume driving privileges. The article shared Washington State\u2019s push to implement such a law. Minnesota had already adopted a Whiskey Plate law. With the threat of having to install what many would call a \u201cscarlet letter\u201d on your car, would it deter drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel in the first place?<\/p>\n

Many would say no. Though the sign may be embarrassing for Giacona for a few hours, many believe that the embarrassment is temporary.<\/p>\n

As for the Whiskey Plates, critics say it \u201cunfairly stigmatizes offenders\u201d and their families and is not effective at prevention. Take Ohio for instance. The Akron Beacon Journal<\/a><\/em> reported in 2009 that Ohio\u2019s restricted plates weren\u2019t working because fatal alcohol-related crashes were up 2% since the state\u2019s famous 2004 \u201cRed Tag\u201d law had gone in to effect. At the time of the article, Ohio had sentenced 46,000+ convicted DUI offenders with specially marked plates.<\/p>\n

But the impact of Giacona’s sign sentence be more significant than you might first think. The case took an interesting turn when it was reported<\/a>\u00a0that the judge was going to reconsider Giacona\u2019s sign sentence because of fear for his safety at the site. Reports indicate there was a great deal of verbal harassment from people during the first week of the sentence, presumably young people who may have known the victim. It\u2019s not too difficult to envision the mob mentality at work and the potential for violence, though witnesses say the threats were verbal and “to be expected.”<\/p>\n

Yet before the case could proceed, Giacona was sent back to jail to serve the remainder of his sentence<\/a> because he refused to complete yet another court-ordered requirement of his controversial probation: Writing a letter of apology to the victim\u2019s family. Apparently shaming has its limits.<\/p>\n

What do you think? Is shaming a deterrent? Or is it a tactic that could help alter future behavior for a convicted drunk driver? Would it be more powerful when used on a first-time offender who is not necessarily alcohol-dependent, versus a repeat offender that is likely struggling with addiction or alcohol misuse issues?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently, a Houston offender convicted of DUI after killing a young man must wear a sign created by the victim\u2019s mother, at the original crash site, over four consecutive Saturdays as part of his sentence. The sign read, \u201cI Killed Aaron Coy Pennywell While Driving Drunk.\u201d This requirement was part of a two-year probated sentence, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,5],"tags":[50,60,185,218,237,247,260,296,368,375,384,582,617,662],"class_list":["post-1208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alcohol-addiction","category-community-corrections","category-drunk-driving","tag-alcohol-addiction-2","tag-alcohol-dependence","tag-continuous-alcohol-monitoring","tag-drinking-alcohol-problems","tag-drunk-driving-2","tag-dui","tag-dui-tactics","tag-feature","tag-impaired-driving","tag-incarceration","tag-intoxication-manslaughter","tag-recidivism","tag-shaming","tag-supervision"],"yoast_head":"\nDoes Public Shaming Work to Curb Drunk Driving? | Sobering Up<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Recently, a Houston offender convicted of DUI after killing a young man must wear a sign created by the victim\u2019s mother, at the original crash site, over\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scramsystems.com\/blog\/2012\/05\/does-public-shaming-work-to-curb-drunk-driving\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Does Public Shaming Work to Curb Drunk Driving? 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