Defendants no longer have the right to use drunkenness as an excuse for committing a crime, under a law enacted this week by state lawmakers.
The law prohibits those on trial from using voluntary intoxication as a defense in murder, child abuse, breaking and entering, armed robbery and assault and battery cases.
Prior to the law’s passage, defendants could argue they were too intoxicated to have formed an intent to commit a crime.
In cases of acquaintance rape on campus, MSU Police Chief Jim Dunlap said about 75 percent of defendants blame their actions on being drunk.
“It put one more burden back on the victim of an assault to prove that they really were a victim,” he said.
The law will be effective because “it eliminates the opportunity for the defense to say that the individual is voluntarily intoxicated and thus not responsible for their actions,” Dunlap said.
Rep. Ruth Johnson, R-Holly, started campaigning for the law eight months ago. She said the law will send a clear message: “If you do the crime, you’ll do the time.”
“People will think twice about taking personal responsibility, rather than blaming it on the fact that they were drunk or high,” Johnson said.
“It serves as a warning to people who decide to do criminal action.”
Many students agreed that eliminating excuses could prove positive for the community.
English junior Kiel Phegley said he is glad that the defense has been taken away from those accused of committing a crime.
“I think using ‘I was drunk, so it’s OK’ as an excuse is cheap,” he said.
“There is no reason that getting drunk should allow someone to do something outside the law.”
Criminal justice junior Jackie Supianoski said getting drunk is a decision, not an excuse. She said it is important to go after loopholes in the law to eliminate crime.
“I think it’s foresight,” Supianoski said. “If you can pass legislation before a crime happens, it’s prevention.”
Joyce Draganchuk, Ingham County’s chief assistant prosecutor, said the defense was never very successful.
“As a prosecutor, it has always been a defense that has been really easy to knock down,” she said. “At the risk of sounding cynical, I don’t really think that people read laws and say, ‘Well, now I can’t commit that crime.’”
But Draganchuk said the law sends an important message.
“People are responsible for their actions,” she said. “As a society, we have gone to a more ‘hold people accountable’ attitude.”
