[Kevin]

Zeph, the problem with DUI laws in this country is that most states make no distinction between someone who has literally had one too many and someone who is completely blitzed. I'm guessing that the individual who hit KSigKid was probably in the blitzed column, but there are a lot of folks who get DUIs who really are not much more dangerous than someone talking on their cell phone. People do make mistakes and DUI is just one sort of behavior which is dangerous. It is already punished disproportionately to other risky behavior, so what would you change? Would you put someone in the electric chair after the first offense?

And your burglar situation... you just changed the facts in a major way. If they are in your home, i.e., not running away, that's a much different situation than one where their backs are turned to you and they're fleeing.

As for the movie... let's stick to real life examples. Hollywood productions are probably not the best sorts of materials to rely on when you're shaping your views as to crime/punishment, dontchathink?

Finally, as for criminals having more rights than victims, that's just not true. I'm assuming you are a law abiding citizen who has had minimal contact with the criminal justice system. While my contact is indirect as of yet (I plan to go into criminal law, but I do work with many attorneys who do criminal cases), I can tell you that the system is definitely not stacked against victims. At least not in Oklahoma. We lock LOTS of people up.