Man sentenced to 7 years for manslaughter in DUI case
Published Tuesday, November 4, 2008
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Stumble It!FAIRBANKS — A judge Monday sentenced a Fairbanks man who killed a friend in a drunken driving accident to more than seven years in prison, a sentence determined through a plea deal.
David Flaherty, 28, pleaded guilty in June to a manslaughter charge two years after rolling a pickup truck into a ditch. The accident claimed the life of his friend, Ian McCarthy, and left Flaherty wounded.
Judge Mark Wood noted to those in the courtroom, including McCarthy’s father, that Flaherty had no criminal record and had never before been charged with drunken driving. But he said state laws are tough on drunken driving crimes, adding that the Legislature has focused on deterring motorists from driving drunk.
“The court is amazed at the number of DUIs we have each year in Fairbanks,” he said.
Flaherty’s lawyer, Tom Temple, said Flaherty could be released in five years with good behavior, adding that a parole board would have the power to release him earlier than that.
Wood said the plea deal with prosecutors stipulates Flaherty must pay restitution to the McCarthy family.
Contact staff writer Christopher Eshleman at 459-7582.
Community Discussion
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“The court is amazed at the number of DUIs we have each year in Fairbanks,”
I'm not, The system has failed to stop drunk driving, drug use, stealing, violence. Just locking people up does nothing but make the self richeous feel good.
It is sad that the young man is being punished for killing his own friend. The death is probably punishment enough, HOWEVER, that being said, the biggest part of the problems with the number of DUI's is that the punishments are not enforced. People just simply get away with too much. If every single offense was punished to the letter of the law and ENFORCED, the problem would go away much faster. So, to David, I sincerly hope your personality is altered to the better over this and that you don't become embittered for the punishment you must endure. Good luck, honestly I hope you are a better person for your experience.
dukit22, aren't you the same person who made an insensitive comment in the comments section of the letter to the editor that I wrote (available to view here: http://newsminer.com/news/2008/jun/20/ch... )? Though that comment has been removed now, you said then that my brother deserved to die. Any comment you now have to make about this situation is meaningless.
Dave doesn't need to become a better person or have his personality "altered." He was a good friend to my brother.
For my other thoughts on what we could do to proactively address issues of drunk driving, see my comments and Paul Adasiak's comments in this thread: http://newsminer.com/news/2008/apr/29/pe...
I'd reply at more length, but right this very second I'm finding that difficult to do in a productive fashion, so I think I'll wait til I feel more composed. :)
A tragedy for all involved. The DUI laws have been on the books for a long time now and there is no excuse for driving while intoxicated. Don't do the crime if you can't do the time, and in my drinking days I had to deal with my errors. Different time and different laws then. I feel for you David, and for Ian's family. I have lost a half a dozen friends to alcohol related death in my life and the losses are haunting. I was lucky and am grateful that I never caused one of the deaths through my own drinking. I've been sober now for going on 16 years and can tell you that life is better without the booze. You will get a 5-7 year start on your own sobriety if you choose to and I hope that you do. I also hope that you find the emotional help that you surely need to get past the death of your friend. Hopefully you are sent somewhere where that help is available and you choose to take advantage of it. Be careful in there.
Julia,
My condolences on the loss of your brother. Sorry this has brought back painful memories for you.
Hopefully David will be able to take advantage of the Reformers Unanimous chapter at FCC. It has helped many people find the strength to stay away from alcohol, and has given them a new lease on life.
Roadtrip, your comment is puzzling. What do you see as the solution to the problem?
Thanks, akf.
If Dave chooses to participate in a program educating people about alcohol abuse, kudos to him. Perhaps all people would find it helpful to do so, since the vast majority of Americans binge drink.
If readers look to the LTE that I linked above, they would note this comment,
"The predominant reason I wrote a letter to the editor is that the DNM missed an invaluable opportunity to inform. We live in a society wherein MANY people think that 2 beers with dinner is no big deal. That ideology is reinforced by people (and newspapers) that portray all accidents where alcohol may have played a factor as occurring when people are partying. This is just not true."
I would add to that that not all people who are involved in alcohol related accidents are alcoholics. Alcohol itself is not the problem for many people, rather the prevalent attitudes toward alcohol consumption & myth making create a culture wherein people feel like they are behaving safely or responsibly when they are not.
dukit22: If you were at all familiar with the "correctional institutions" around this country you would know that chances that David's "personality is altered to the better" are slim at best.
Given the length of his sentence the more likely scenario is that he will become institutionalized, which will not make him a "better person".
Shortly here however, we should see an influx of people screaming for mandatory checkpoints and factory installed breathalyzers, which will also do nothing to address the underlying problem.
"What do you see as the solution to the problem?" there is insufficient data to properly address that question right now. What can be said though, is this, if a man is dying from infection you don't focus your attention on solely on cutting off the gang green; I realize that this logic will be lost on most.
DUI's are the infection and locking people up is the amputation, where are the antibiotics and which--or which combination--of them do you use is the real question.
7 years...
As sad as the loss of life is, what sense does it make to now take away this other young mans life (yes,7 years in jail would seem like a lifetime)?
Even the family members don't appear to be asking for that.
I have said it before and I will say it again, jail is not the answer.
I don’t know what the answer is but I have always felt that jail should be for malicious acts. Intentionally criminal (I am sure I will hear out cry that this is a crime also) robbery, murder, rape, those type of crimes.
I really wish we could come up with another way.
It seems like we have become a throw away society, even our friends and family aren't worth investing in. They screw up we just throw them away.
Julia, I am so sorry for your and David’s families.
Rest in peace Ian. I remember you. God bless you and your family.
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