Most drivers in Minnesota have at some point thought about what the consequences would be if they were ever arrested for drunk driving. Most people understand that they might have to pay a fine, maybe complete community service, cope with the loss of their driver’s license for a time and might, under certain serious circumstances, even spend some time behind bars. However, almost no one would think that life in prison would result from a Minneapolis drunk driving case with no injuries, yet that’s exactly what happened to one man from East Texas.

Earlier this week a jury in Texas sentenced a 62-year-old man, Richard Morris, to life behind bars for drunk driving. The shocking case is the latest in a series of incidents where judges and juries have handed down increasingly punitive sentences to those who have repeatedly found themselves in trouble for driving under the influence.

In the Texas Case, Morris was sentenced to life in prison for his actions back in September of 2012 when he was arrested for driving while intoxicated early one afternoon. In that case, police say they were called to a one-car wreck located in rural Henderson County, TX. Upon arriving, police officers found an older GMC pickup truck smashed into a telephone pole. The pickup truck had sustained some damage to the front end and by the time officers arrived Morris had already been taken by ambulance to a local hospital.

A witness in the area told police that Morris had purchased a bottle of gin at a nearby liquor store immediately before crashing his truck. The same witness noted that he was following behind Morris until the crash occurred, watching as Morris weaved and swerved in and out of his lane. The witness then attempted to pass Morris, at which point he noticed that the man had passed out behind the wheel. Shortly thereafter his pickup truck left the road and smashed into the telephone pole.

Despite the circumstances of the accident, Morris suffered no injuries in the crash. The police officers then arrived at the hospital to interview Morris and conducted a blood draw to determine his blood alcohol concentration. The state crime lab later evaluated the sample and determined that Morris’s blood alcohol concentration was greater than 0.40 percent, more than five times the state’s legal limit.

Despite the fact that the September 2012 accident involved no injuries to Morris or others, the district attorney pushed to aggressively handle the case given Morris’ high BAC and his previous arrests for drunk driving. Prosecutors noted that Morris had been arrested and convicted of DWI seven times before the 2012 accident, something they claim warranted an extreme punishment.

Morris ultimately pled guilty to DWI charges, and jurors were then assembled to select his punishment. Prosecutors made an impassioned plea for jurors to fight against their instinct to be lenient and to instead act to protect other drivers from Morris’ drinking problem. The defense brought forward witnesses who mentioned how Morris had changed since the latest accident and even had Morris testify himself, admitting that he had a history of alcoholism. The jury evidently agreed with prosecutors and voted to keep Morris locked up for the rest of his life.

Source: “ETX man gets life in prison for drunk driving, blood alcohol level was .40,” by Reagan Roy, published at KETKNBC.com.