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A Young Gentleman's Excessive Drinking Results In A DWI And Time In The Municipal Jail
Richard had a particularly difficult time keeping a job. If truth be told, because of his sluggishness and lack of drive, he was unemployed far more regularly than he was in work. And when he did get a job, he had a difficult time getting to work when his shift began, he often got less than satisfactory performance reviews, and he called off sick so many times that he regularly got fired three or four weeks after he started working.
To no one's disbelief, one of the results of Richard's irresponsible employment history was the fact that he was virtually penniless almost on an everyday basis. In spite of Richard's disgraceful employment track record and financial misconduct, conversely, somehow, someway he made it his business to drink in an irresponsible and abusive manner much of the time.
So it came as no big surprise when Richard got arrested for a second DUI. When he went before the court, the magistrate clearly stated to Richard that his alcohol-related behavior was awful and, as a result, he was going to sentence Richard to serve nine months in the local jail.
During his time behind bars, Richard was expected to learn more about alcohol facts such as alcohol related outcomes and alcohol deaths, about the adverse consequences of hazardous drinking, and he was required to get alcohol therapy. The magistrate underscored the fact that unless Richard receives quality alcohol treatment and learns how to live a life of sobriety, he will more likely than not be spending quite a bit of his time in jail.
Richard said that he understood what the judge was proclaiming but he still believed that placement in the local jail was not the best punishment. The magistrate saw things from an entirely different vantage point and stated that it was his duty to keep alcohol dependent people off the streets who drive and drink and who receive multiple DWIs. To give credibility to this view, the magistrate quoted some respected, highly evaluated alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse statistics and facts that underlined some of the damaging outcomes that are related to hazardous drinking such as alcohol related deaths.
Even though Richard realized that he drank in an abusive and hazardous manner, he never believed that he was an alcohol dependent person. So it was a real bombshell when Richard started to have chronic alcoholism symptoms and alcohol withdrawals approximately six-and-a-half hours after getting locked up in the county jail.
To treat his alcohol withdrawal symptoms in a safe manner, Richard was life flighted to a drug and alcohol treatment center for alcohol detoxification and then returned to the city jail. While locked up in the city jail Richard was given alcohol rehab but since he received this therapy as something that was mandated for him, he did not take ownership of his abusive drinking.
When his time in the county jail was completed, the magistrate without reservation announced to Richard that he would be under close scrutiny and would be mandated to take periodic random breathalyzer alcohol tests. After hearing how Richard failed to take ownership of his drinking circumstances and how he unwillingly followed the rehab policy and procedures while in the local jail, the judge knew that it was basically a matter of time before he would be seeing Richard once again in court about his careless drinking behavior.
As the magistrate reflected on Richard's situation, he couldn't help but think about how some people never "get it" and learn how to live in a responsible and effective manner.
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