LETTER: Harsh DUI penalties are well-deserved

So some local attorneys question whether murder charges are appropriate for DUI cases (Friday Review-Journal) Really? I am someone who lost a significant other and had his skull fractured, his neck, back and pelvis broken by a drunken driver. The perpetrator was responsible for his own drinking (premeditated), he was responsible for driving when taxis were available (specific intent to potentially kill) and he killed and crippled with his actions. He ruined lives permanently. Is this not the definition of murder?

Because no killer is assured his actions will actually result in death, no one can be charged with murder? That does not hold water.

An impaired person can kill with a weapon of mass destruction, one increasingly being used by terrorists. But defense attorneys believe impaired drivers should be treated differently than a person who kills with a gun or knife? I fail to understand people who always blame the tool but never the person, and defense attorney interpretations of our laws favor only criminals at the expense of victims.