I know he's out. Did 8 years of a 14 year manslaughter conviction, I believe...
From the Daily Iowan circa 1996. 17 years not 14...
OWl penalties not strict enough When people are drunk, everything gets distorted and blurry. They might get sick. ~he disorientation felt, dependmg on the percentage of alcohol in the bloodstream (legally drunk is .1 percent), can make walking seem more difficult than usual. This all can seem pretty comical, up until the time a person gets in a car and tries to drive home. Gregory Rutt was recently sen· tenced to 17 years in prison for the March 1995 death of Christopher Lillig. Rutt was operating while intoxicated and hit Lillig, who was riding his bicycle on Highway 923. Rutt fled the scene, but turned himself in a few hours later with a blood alcohol level of .228. Prior to this accident, Rutt had seven drunken-driving convictions and had lost his license five times. Rutt will be eligible for parole in three years, and his license has only been revoked for six years. A man who has been convicted of drunken driving eight times, who is supposed to be serving 17 years in prison for vehicular homicide , Drunken-driving sentences are very lenient. could be out dtlving the streets again by the time a baby born today is 6 and just getting the training wheels taken off his or her first bike. Drunken-driving sentences are very lenient. Examining OWl penalties (not taking into consideration whether any accident or injury occurred) will show the repercussions are no more than a slap on the wrist. In a first offense, the drunken driver gets 48 hours in prison and pays no less than $500 (or performs 200 hours of community ser· vice). The driver's license is revoked between 30 and 180 days. For a second offense, there is a seven-day prison stay, a fIDe of no less than $750 and if this conviction is within six years of the first, the license is revoked for one year. In a third conviction, and for all those subsequent, the violator gets a class "D~ felony, up to 100 days in prison, a fine of no less than $750 and cannot drive for six years. Every case is different, so these punishments vary. Also, OWl con· victions often lead to substanceabuse evaluations and treatments. A frightening sidebar is even when licenses are revoked for the sixyear maximum, licenses can be given back after two years through reapplication. Those convicted of a first OWl should have their license revoked for at least three years, 10 for a second conviction and forever after three. If they insist it's necessary to drive, give them a learner's permit so they can only drive with a responsible adult. This might seem harsh, but imagine someone you love being killed because of alcohol or because it seems too inconvenient to take someone's license away after it's abused. The punishment should be so bad that drunken driving becomes an oddity, a story of the past. Clancy Champanois is an editorial writer and UI senior.