Flying Lawyer,
With due respect to whom I'm talking to and their expertise in the field...
For some reason, in threads of this nature, posters who suggest that imprisonment is too harsh a punishment and/or not the appropriate way to deal with a pilot found to be over the limit are invariably accused of defending the pilot's actions.
Is that because their posts make it seem like (at the time) "rehabilitation only" instead of "punishment + rehabilitation"?
It is easy to forget the requirement for that (other) component of justice when arguing in the third person....hence, the suggestion I made to "personalise" the matter and ascertain whether or not this changes anything....from the POV of the contributors?
Whether or not pilots caught over the limit should be sent to prison, it's silly to trivialise/under-estimate the enormous impact of being imprisoned upon people who have never associated with criminals and have not previously been in trouble.
The comment was made in the same vein as the post to which it made reference. Curiously, this post has been deleted, by whom, I am not sure?
Having lived with an alcoholic for many years, it was not my intention to trivialise the matter.