SENTENCE - VERY HIGH "MORAL CULPABILITY" LEADS TO 30 MONTH JAIL SENTENCE

Ms. Alm was driving on the wrong side of a divided highway and drove head on into a vehicle with two occupants. Her blood alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit and the two victims suffered permanent injuries. The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal increased doubled her sentence from 15 months to 30 months:

On the whole of the evidence, the moral culpability in this case is very high.  Knowing that she has had difficulty with a drinking problem in the past, including two previous convictions, albeit dated, of impaired driving, she nevertheless drove to the bar so that she could drink and gamble because she was bored.  Thereafter, she decided to drive back on a road which was unfamiliar to her.  Moreover, she was receiving medication for many of her medical problems arising out of her difficult personal circumstances in the past, and there were warnings on her medication bottles and the warnings of her doctor not to drink while taking the medication.  Despite this, she drank while taking the medication. The sentencing judge overemphasized the personal circumstances of Ms. Alm but said little about the victims, the gravity of the offence and Ms. Alm’s moral culpability.  The sentence imposed did too little to meet the objectives of denunciation and deterrence. There have been massive efforts in the last number of years by both government and non-government organizations to educate people about the tragic consequences of drinking and driving.  Legislation has changed to reflect the abhorrence by society of a crime which happens all too often and ruins people’s lives as a result.  Sentences have increased and still people drink and drive.  This is unfortunate.  Denunciation and deterrence are therefore still the primary objectives to be achieved when sentencing for offences in this area. R. v. Alm, 2013 SKCA 40