Mel Gibson better stay away
A Texan county has come up with a rather innovative way of keeping
drunk drivers off the roads during the holiday season, and no, it does
not involve shotguns.
The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office has decided to publish
names of all drivers charged with driving while intoxicated over the
holidays on Twitter. If the scheme works, the county will start
publishing similar lists on other holidays, such as Fourth of July and
Memorial Day. We must admit we like the idea. It won't cost the
taxpayers much and it does sound like a good way to embarrass people
into getting a cab, as egos are usually more powerful than legislation.
The man behind the idea is County Vehicular Crimes Prosecutor Warren
Diepraam. "It's not a magic bullet that's going to end DWIs, but its
something to make people think twice before they get behind the wheel
of a car and drive while they're intoxicated," he said.
However, the plans are also drawing flack from legal experts who
believe publishing such information just isn't fair considering the
presumption of innocence and whatnot. Several lawyers are a bit worried
that innocent people could end up on the list and that publishing such
information could affect their right for a fair trial. Since we don't like lawyers or drunk drivers, we still think it's a good idea.
More
here.