Any DUI defense attorney would always strongly recommend to a person who has been accused of DUI and related criminal charges to defend themselves properly with the help of legal professionals. However, there is no guarantee that this will limit a possible sentence. Every DUI case is unique and the result will depend not only on the particular circumstances of the incident, but on the validity of the evidence as well as the behavior of the defendant and the actions and skill of the attorney.
Proof of this came this week with the sentencing of Brooksville mother of 7, Karen Macchione, who had been found guilty of DUI manslaughter after her vehicle killed a construction worker two years ago. Macchione was sentenced to 15 years in jail – 5 years more than the minimum sentence prescribed for this offense. The judge deliberately chose a sentence at the higher end of the scale despite listening to contributions from Ms. Macchione’s family and her defense attorney who attempted to portray her in a better light.
The death of 27 year old Stephen Thompson Junior happened when Macchione’s Dodge Ram pickup swerved off the road near the Sunway Parkway on November 8th 2011. In testimony later on, after she was arrested, she claimed that she had heard her cell phone ring and reached down for it, causing her to lose attention momentarily. She said this caused the vehicle to swerve into the direction of the roadside worker. If the statement could have been substantiated, it would have probably meant a reduced sentence for Macchione. However, the trial hinged on evidence that pointed to her being affected by a prescribed drug, methadone, hence the DUI manslaughter charge. Macchione continued to insist throughout the trial that her behavior was caused by the cell phone distraction and not because of the effects of the drug.
No one can be found guilty unless the evidence for a particular charge is convincing enough to leave no reasonable doubt in the jury’s collective mind. In this case, the prosecution was successful in arguing that it was the methadone in Ms. Macchione’s body that affected her judgment sufficiently to cause her driving to be erratic.
Macchione suffered from a number of disabilities and was being treated with a cocktail of medications, including methadone. However, she was adamant that she had not taken a methadone dose on the morning that she left on her fateful drive, despite a methadone dose being found in her purse at the scene of the accident. Her mother and sister also testified at the trial that she had not taken any methadone that morning. However, the highway troopers who interviewed Macchione immediately after the crash happened said that she appeared “drowsy”.
More convincingly from the prosecution’s point of view was the tape recording of the conversation between Macchione and a crash investigator immediately after the crash which appears to show that she was not talking or thinking clearly. A blood test taken after the arrest showed that there was methadone present in her bloodstream, although the amount was at the lower end of the therapeutic scale. Forensic toxicologists testified that her behavior as recorded at the time was consistent with the effects of methadone.
Speaking on her behalf, Macchione’s sister, Catherine Judd, said that she had grieved badly after the accident. She said that her sister had a master’s degree in social work and had had a job helping inmates at a women’s prison before her disabilities became more serious. Macchione’s defense attorney, Scott Smith, said that the judge should take into account her previous lack of a criminal record and her health issues and should consider a minimum jail sentence, together with probation and community service.
The Assistant State Attorney, Bill Catto, told Judge Anthony Tatti that Ms. Macchione had failed to take sufficient account of the effects of her medication and the maximum jail sentence was “deserved”. It appears that Judge Tatti listened to his advice.
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