When you throw the book, a few pages are going to get ripped
Regardless of prevalence, or what extent of prevalence, of pilots operating hung-over from alcoholic beverages (though technically compliant with BAC levels) in the past, times change. Just have a quick read of Chair Hersman's separate statement in the Colgan Air NTSB Report, in which she points out how alcohol use once upon a time was not regarded the same way as it is today (in the course of advocating for greater recognition of fatigue as a contributing factor). But about the penalty meted out to a chemically-impaired pilot: the court was quite correct in my view to throw the heaviest volume or tome available at the man. Let him go get rehabilitated and prove he is worthy of reconsideration at some undefined and unspecified point down the road, way down that road. It's a perhaps biblical view; if he were to want to be entrusted again, alright, go work clean and sober and get tested for seven years, and come back with valid documentation proof. And then we'll tell you how many more years you have to conduct that little proof of character exercise before you strap on a commercial jet transport category aircraft appliance again.