The face of a DWI defendant

Today's Wall Street Journal has a great article by Michael M. Phillips about a marine dealing with the loss of a fellow soldier who fell on a grenade for him. The article mentions somewhat briefly this marine's arrest in a drunk driving incident and the consequences he faces. If you can access that article, it puts a good human face on a DWI defendant. Our current system dehumanizes defendants in all sorts of cases. The populist bashing is particularly severe for DWI cases. Maybe, just maybe, this one article will help the general public recognize that "tough on crime" means being harsh on people.