• 19
  • August
    2010

Today's post will briefly examine a very interesting DUI/DWAI story out of Texas, where a 54-year-old man was recently sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of drunk driving for the ninth time.

(Please note, in the state of Texas, adult defendants are charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI), not driving under the influence (DUI).)

Bobby Stovall was arrested in Round Rock, Texas, for driving while intoxicated this past July. Law enforcement officials indicated in their reports that Stovall's pickup truck hit another vehicle after swerving across multiple traffic lanes. The collision resulted in severe injuries to the other motorist.

Stovall's blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at the time of his arrest was .32, more than four times the state's legal limit of .08.

When Stovall was initially brought before the court in Williamson County for sentencing, the judge had no idea that he had been convicted for DWI on eight previous occasions.  Upon learning this fact, he sentenced Stovall to life in prison.

(It is worth noting that Stovall had been convicted for multiple offenses besides DWI, including theft, burglary, possession of a controlled substance, credit card abuse and supplying alcohol to a minor.)

Many in the legal community are supportive of Stovall's sentence, declaring that it was both necessary and appropriate taking in light of the circumstances.

According to Williamson County District Attorney Jon Bradley, the sentence was entirely warranted.

"[Stovall] basically walked through the penal code for the past twenty years without any regard for safety or society. In every single one of his cases, he had an opportunity to change," said Bradley.

However, opponents are denouncing the verdict as both shortsighted and draconian. They believe the life sentence fails to take Stovall's obvious chemical dependency issues into account.

"This guy has a disease, he is an alcoholic and this isn't the kind of situation where he's acting with malice to hurt people ... You're essentially doing just that, ending this man's life at the expense of taxpayers," said prominent DUI attorney Lawrence Taylor.

While Stovall is eligible for parole in five years, this eligibility could be extended to as long as 15 years depending upon his conduct while in prison.

Stay tuned for further developments ... 

This blog will periodically offer posts that communicate significant developments in the area of DUI/DWAI.

Related Resources:

• Is Life Sentence Too Harsh for Man Convicted of Ninth DWI? (ABC News)