HOLLY SPRINGS, Miss. — Officials from Mississippi law enforcement agencies, D.A.’s offices, and Jackson gathered at the Holly Springs Police Station Tuesday to discuss cracking down on DUIs in the Magnolia State.
Since a crash took the lives of two Briarcrest students and injured others, many in the state have pointed the finger at Mississippi laws for allowing a man with a history of DUIs to fall through the cracks.
Major David Cook with the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office called the meeting.
A teacher from Briarcrest was one of the first to address a need for a national database that would contain DUI offenders’ information.
That way, arresting officers could see alleged drunk drivers’ pending DUI cases.
Currently, any driver without a DUI conviction would receive a “first offense,” even if he or she had other pending cases.
“You can put somebody in jail longer for a speeding ticket than you can a first offense DUI. Right? And it doesn’t have to be that way,” said Desoto County Prosecutor Craig Treadway.
State Representative Bill Kinkade said a state database would help Mississippi counties communicate better and catch repeat offenders.
A municipal prosecutor threw out the idea that prosecutors might have to review the database before accepting plea deals.
That could lessen the number of people getting away with first offense plea deals when he or she already has other pending DUI cases.
People at the meeting also discussed current laws relating to misdemeanors and felonies.
Currently, three DUI convictions in Mississippi equals a felony.
Desoto County Sheriff Bill Rasco agreed with the father of one of the surviving Briarcrest crash victims who argued that two convictions should be a felony.
“As a concerned father, I don’t want my daughters on the road anymore with a second offense drunk driver,” said Cody Holden, father of Kara.
Legislators reminded the group that the next legislative session is in January, so it could be some time before there is a change to Mississippi state law.
In the meantime, Major Cook suggested that law enforcement agencies email out DUI arrest information to other agencies nearby.
He believed that could help improve communication until there is something like a state database available.
He also emailed the state’s current reporting system vowing his office’s support.
Melandus Penson is locked up in the Marshall County jail for the wreck that killed the two girls, although he maintains that what happened was purely an accident.
He told WREG he was not drunk.
Penson has been charged with DUI in Lee, Union, and Pontotoc Counties.
He had already plead guilty to DUI in 2008 and 2013 for cases in Union County.
Officials have said slow paper processing and multiple DUIs in a short period might be the reason nobody knew Penson was driving when he should not have been.
