Man Convicted for Eighth DUI

 Posted on May 16, 2013 in Chicago News

Timothy Morrow, 43, was sentenced in mid-May to 13 years in prison for his eighth DUI conviction, according to the Chicago Tribune. The Round Lake Beach man got his first DUI when he was 17, and since then, “has been cited nine more times with driving while intoxicated and twice with boating while under the influence,” Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Ben Dillon told the Tribune. “Four of those cases ended with not-guilty verdicts or with charges dropped or reduced,” Dillon noted. Yet Dillon also told the Tribune that, “it defies logic that an individual that has been arrested for DUI 10 times continues to drink alcohol. It is clear that this defendant just doesn’t get it and doesn’t care.” Morrow, reports the Tribune, has already been to jail twice, “first in 1995 for DUI, then in 1996 for driving while his license was revoked.” 

According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics, about a third of DUI and DWI offenders are repeat offenders. “One study showed that about 3 percent of all licensed drivers had a prior arrest for DUI within the past three years, yet 12 percent of intoxicated drivers involved in fatal crashes had at least one prior DUI conviction in the past three years.” The same study reported that drivers with previous DUI convictions were about four times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than first-time DUI offenders.

According to the NHTSA, some states and communities have initiated programs to deal with repeat DWI offenders including house arrest, victim restitution, ignition interlock, increased fines, and insurance rates, license plate tagging and vehicle impoundment.

Dillon, according to the Tribune, had asked for a 15-year prison sentence, calling Morrow an “absolute public safety risk,” but a jury found him not guilty of several additional charges, such as fleeing and eluding an officer.

If you or someone you know has been accused of a DUI, don’t go through it alone. Contact a dedicated Chicago-area criminal defense attorney today.