One of the new state laws that take effect tomorrow will allow judges to sentence drunk drivers to attend a “victim’s impact panel.”
These panels always include victims of drunk driving accidents or family members who may have lost a loved one. Other panelists may be EMT responders and even past DUI offenders.
Some Tennessee judges have been sending drunk drivers to victim’s impact panels for years. Others were hesitant to use them until they became a specific option under Tennessee law.
Tom Kimball is the Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor for Davidson County. He says that about a third of offenders don’t take the charge seriously, so the panels bring “a face to victimization.”
“This is something where the person can’t be ignored. I mean, it, it happens in a, in a room, you can’t sleep through it, you can’t ignore it, its something real, there’s some emotion, there’s some, some… I think it just, it opens some people’s eyes.”
Mothers Against Drunk Driving has been hosting a monthly victim’s impact panel in Davidson County for 5 years.
This law is one of 218 that go into effect tomorrow.
WEB EXTRA
The law referenced above is Chapter # 978 and Bill # HB0831.
Download a PDF file of new laws that are Effective July 1, 2008:
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