Back in April 2008, I wrote a commentary called “Sad Tragic Dumb” which was about John Patrick Carey who worked for U.S. Senator Max Baucus on his campaign and senate staff. Carey was driving a vehicle intoxicated and had an accident that killed his passenger – a young man named Matt Wilder. Wilder was 28 years old.

According to a story in the Billings Gazette:

Prosecutors said Carey had a blood-alcohol level of 0.189 percent, more than twice the state legal limit. Carey had two prior DUI convictions, and in another case he was charged with reckless driving when he refused to provide officers with a breath sample.

It seems we hear this same story a lot in Montana.

In December 2008, Carey was convicted of vehicular homicide and sentenced to 15 years at Montana State Prison, with five years suspended.

But on Thursday, all of that was basically thrown out. Continue reading →