DUI shock probation bill passes committee

FRANKFORT — The man who killed Debbie Moskaw’s 24-year-old son while driving drunk on I-71 in 2002 was sentenced to 13 years in prison for killing Ricky Moskaw.

But less than eight months later, a circuit court judge granted the man shock probation, meaning he was released without serving a full year of his 13 year sentence.

Ricky’s death was difficult, but his killer’s release nearly broke the Michigan family who was traveling through Kentucky when the accident happened.

“We became victims of the Kentucky criminal justice system,” Moskaw told members of the House Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

But under new legislation that passed out of the committee on Wednesday, judges would no longer be able to grant shock probation to those who kill someone while driving under the influence.

Moskaw, who has been pushing the Kentucky legislation for nearly four years to prohibit shock probation for DUI-related deaths, cried outside the committee hearing room after the legislation passed the committee.

It was victory also for Carolyn Scharf whose 17-year-old daughter was killed 22 years ago by a drunk 19-year-old girl in Louisville. The woman was sentenced to five years but only served 63 days of her sentence.

“Her life was worth more than my daughter’s,” said Scharf.

The bill passed the Senate last year but was never voted on in the House Judiciary Committee in the past. Backers of the bill said they believed that H.B. 192 would pass the Senate again this year.

But some members of the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday expressed some reservations about the bill before passing the measure.

Rep. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, who is a lawyer, said she has seen cases in Eastern Kentucky where a family member who kills a relative while drinking under the influence. The loved ones of those that have died have asked for leniency for the one accused of killing their own family member, Webb said. Webb also expressed reservations about meddling with a judge’s discretion in sentencing.

Rep. Darryl Owens, D-Louisville, asked if the sponsors would be open to allowing an amendment that would allow a relative of someone who was killed by a drunk driver to ask for shock probation if they felt that it was appropriate.

Angela Criswell, director of Kentucky’s Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said they would not be opposed to such an amendment as long as there were some protections for the grieving family members.

“We wouldn’t want anyone to feel pressure to do that,” Criswell said.

The proposed amendment would be offered before it came for a vote on the House floor.

– Beth Musgrave

Filed Under: Featured • KY Courts • State Government