Why don’t they talk about capital punishment for drunk drivers in Texas?
As my students know, I often wonder why those who support the death penalty on deterrence grounds generally do not consider making drunk driving a potential capital offense. This Dallas Morning News article reports that, based on the latest national statistics, “Texas led the country in the number of drunken driving fatalities last year with 1,354.” Interestingly, this means that, based on data from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the number of years drunk driving deaths in Texas is roughly comparable to the number of murders.
As I have suggested in previous posts, typical drunk driving crimes seem likely to be much more deterrable than typical murders. Moreover, we could and should expect that only the most horrific drunk driving offenses would ever lead to capital charges (just like we can and do expect that only the most horrific murders lead to capital charges).
So, given the state’s capital punishment track record, is it only a matter of time before some Texans start talking seriously about the possibility of the death penalty for drunk drivers who kill?
Some related posts on drunk driving sentencing: