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Doshier v. State3/18/1998
MEMORANDUM AND JUDGMENT
Driving while intoxicated, Pamela L. Doshier struck another car; she killed one person and seriously injured another. Convicted of manslaughter, AS 11.41.120(a), and second-degree assault, AS 11.41.210(a), Doshier received a composite sentence of 20 years' imprisonment with 6 years suspended (14 years to serve). The facts of the case and Doshier's background are detailed in our prior decision, Doshier v. State, Memorandum Opinion No. 3474 (Alaska App.; October 9, 1996).
In our prior decision, we asked the superior court to reconsider Doshier's sentence in light of other published decisions dealing with drunk-driving homicide sentences. In particular, we asked the superior court to elaborate on its sentencing comment that the facts of Doshier's case were more serious than the facts of Puzewicz v. State, 856 P.2d 1178 (Alaska App. 1993), where the defendant was convicted of second-degree murder and received a sentence of 18 years' imprisonment with 5 years suspended - 13 years to serve - for killing two people and seriously injuring three others.
At the remand hearing, the defense attorney argued that Doshier's case was not as aggravated as Puzewicz: first, because Puzewicz had caused more deaths and more injuries, and second, because Puzewicz's driving record was worse than Doshier's. The State conceded that "it cannot be said that [Doshier's] conduct ... was more serious than [the conduct in] Puzewicz because of the number of deaths and injuries in that case". Nevertheless, the superior court reaffirmed Doshier's sentence of 14 years to serve. In reaching this decision, the superior court made the following comments about Puzewicz:
the Puzewicz case[,] there were three deaths, and as a result ... the court imposed 18 years - four more years than the court has imposed in this case. ... here there are more deaths, there is likely to be more time imposed. However, [Doshier's] sentence is less than Puzewicz and consistent with Puzewicz.
With due respect to the superior court, we disagree.
The defendant in Puzewicz had three prior DWI convictions, and his license had been revoked until the year 2000. He went to a bar for the avowed purpose of getting drunk. After several hours of drinking, and in spite of a friend's repeated entreaties not to drive, Puzewicz drove along the Kenai Spur Highway, crossed the center line, and struck an oncoming car. He killed two occupants of this car and seriously injured three others. Puzewicz eventually pleaded no contest to two counts of second-degree murder (in exchange for the State's agreement to drop three counts of first-degree assault). Puzewicz, 856 P.2d at 1179. On appeal, this court affirmed Puzewicz's sentence of 18 years' imprisonment with 5 years suspended - 13 years to serve. Id. at 1181, 1182.
There are several facial distinctions between Puzewicz's case and Doshier's case, all of which point toward a lesser sentence for Doshier. Doshier stands convicted of manslaughter, not second-degree murder. Manslaughter requires proof of recklessness, a lesser culpable mental state than the extreme indifference to the value of human life required to establish second-degree murder. Moreover, Doshier killed one person and seriously injured another, while Puzewicz killed two people and seriously injured three others. And although Doshier has a history of alcohol-related driving offenses, her driving history is not as egregious as Puzewicz's.
These aspects of Doshier's case seem to point toward a more lenient sentence than the one Puzewicz received. However, Doshier received a more severe total sentence (20 years as opposed to 18 years) and a greater period
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