Jeju Court to Determine if Man is Guilty of Murdering Girlfriend After Driving Drunk with a .118 BAC
This is one of these cases where the is guy is guilty of something for causing the death of his girlfriend while driving drunk, it is just a matter of determining what he is guilty of:
The prosecution has asked a local court to hand down a sentence for a 15-year jail term to a man who “intentionally” caused a car crash on Jeju Island which led to the death of his girlfriend in the passenger seat.
Korea Times
Lawyers representing the man, however, claimed the prosecution lacks sufficient evidence for him to be found guilty of murder.
During a hearing at the Jeju District Court, Monday, the prosecution sought the jail term for the man, 34, alleging willful negligence on his part.
On Sept. 10, 2019, the man was driving a convertible car with the victim, 28, as a passenger, during their trip to the resort island. The man was found to be driving under the influence with a blood alcohol level of 0.118 percent, far above the level that warrants cancellation of a driver’s license. The car hopped a curb and rammed into a farming vehicle parked on the side of the road. The woman, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was thrown from the car as the roof of the convertible was open.
She suffered severe head wounds and underwent surgery three times after the accident but remained unconscious until she died on Aug. 23, 2020.
The bereaved family and the prosecution claimed the man caused the accident deliberately because she had refused his demands to end the relationship multiple times. The couple were quarreling over the issue moments before the accident, with their conversation recorded on the victim’s phone.
You can read more at the link.
There is, in many places, what is called the Felony Murder rule. That is, a death caused as a result of someone committing a felony can be charged as effectively 1st Degree Murder against the criminal, regardless of how the person died or the intent of the criminal.
Most places in the US avoid this more serious approach and effectively coddle drunk drivers and shield them from this.
The actual justice in any situation is different from every other situation. I hope the courts make the right choice here. Whatever it takes to prevent that driver from killing someone else’s daughter.