Record sentence for driving offence?

In the US a jury awarded a man some US$22 million as reparation following his arrest for suspected drink driving. The payout was made as the man was mistakenly kept in solitary confinement after the arrest and was then kept for two years behind bars. The man was arrested in New Mexico and charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, aggravated driving while under the influence of alcohol, driving with a suspended licence, possession of an open container of alcohol in a vehicle and improper use of registrati
October 9, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
In the US a jury awarded a man some US$22 million as reparation following his arrest for suspected drink driving. The payout was made as the man was mistakenly kept in solitary confinement after the arrest and was then kept for two years behind bars. The man was arrested in New Mexico and charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, aggravated driving while under the influence of alcohol, driving with a suspended licence, possession of an open container of alcohol in a vehicle and improper use of registration. But the case was not resolved for two years, when he was finally discharged as being incompetent rather than dangerous. During his stay behind bars he was even refused dental treatment, resulting in him having to pull out his own tooth. The authorities responded to the award for damages by pointing out that the man’s arrest record is 26 pages long and appealed against the jury’s verdict.

Related Content

  • Which way now?
    March 1, 2012
    Drivers using GPS navigation systems are being urged not to trust their devices too closely by police forces. In the Australian state of Victoria, police are telling drivers not to throw away their maps after a series of incidents in which motorists in ordinary road cars have become stranded after following GPS directions and taking routes only accessible to four-wheel drive vehicles.
    Read More
  • Cannabis users are at risk from DUI
    February 16, 2022
    Cannabis users who drive are at serious risk from DUI.
    Read More
  • Rotten record
    February 22, 2012
    A 50-year-old British man is well on track to becoming the country's worst driver. The man has over 110 driving offences on his record and is said to regularly break driving bans, despite living a short distance from a police station. He was recently stopped by police for driving while disqualified and for not having a licence, despite having been due to face a sentence on similar charges. The man has explained that he needs to drive as his job is as a mobile DJ. In all he has been banned from driving 59 ti
    Read More
  • Back in time
    February 9, 2017
    A car thief in the US has been the butt of many jokes after failing in his attempt to steal a DeLorean DMC-12 sports car. The vehicle was parked by the roadside and had attracted the interest of many passers-by when the thief intervened and forced the owner out of the car, then drove off at speed, but police were alerted quickly. A low speed chase ensued and after a short distance, the thief crashed the car into another vehicle. The DeLorean DMC-12 was made famous by the Back to the Future series of movies
    Read More

Highlighted Content