The following article was posted on www.wbay.com
Police Promote Online Petition for Tougher OWI Laws
Updated: Dec 4, 2008 04:16 PM
A Wisconsin family is on a mission to make the state's OWI laws stricter, and police agencies, including the Green Bay Police Department, are helping spread the word.
About eight months ago, Jennifer Bukosky from the Milwaukee area, who was pregnant, and her ten-year-old daughter Courtney were killed when a former doctor slammed into their car.
The family says the man who hit them was high on prescription pills, was a repeat offender who abused both alcohol and prescription drugs, and was convicted of OWI a third time just two days before the crash.
"I don't think any mother, certainly any grandmother, could even envision what it feels like," Judy Jenkins, Jennifer's mother, told Action 2 News.
But through her pain, Jennifer's mother took action. She and her husband started an online petition asking people to support stricter Operating While Intoxicated laws in Wisconsin.
"We're asking that the first offense be a misdemeanor rather than a traffic citation," Jenkins said. Also, "that the third offense be a felony, that jail time is mandatory for all offenses."
It's a grassroots effort Green Bay police and other law enforcement agencies in Wisconsin are joining. The Green Bay Police Department added a link to the online petition on its own web site.
"It seemed appropriate to our mission here in Green Bay to try and eliminate some of the drunk driving. We thought it was a great idea, so we added it to our web site," Lieutenant Brad Florence said.
So far, nearly 3,000 signatures have been collected and more than a thousand emails were sent to legislators.
"I am so excited. I am so thankful to the Green Bay Police Department," Jenkins said.
"Any time that myself and the police department here can help to ease a family's suffering in a senseless tragedy such as this, that's something we're all for," Florence said.
The driver who allegedly killed the Bukoskys, Mark Benson, has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting an April jury trial.
