Wife of Sheffield dad killed on roads wants tougher sentences for dangerous drivers
The wife of a Sheffield dad who was killed by a drink driver says sentences should be much tougher for those who kill on the roads.
The wife of a Sheffield dad who was killed by a drink driver says sentences should be much tougher for those who kill on the roads.
Karen Codling's husband Eric was knocked of his bike and killed back in 2013 - the driver was given 4 years in prison but will be released early after serving just half of the sentence.
Karen's now backing our campaign urging the government to reassess the sentencing guidelines for dangerous drivers - we're taking it to Parliament later.
She says she couldn't believe the sentence handed to Eric's killer:
"I was furious. 4 years for taking my husband, my children's father. Grace and Eve were 8 and 11 when he was killed. It's just nothing - it just made us feel like his life was worthless."
"I just don't feel like she's received any punishment whatsoever for what she's done. Our sentence is never ever going to be over. We've got to learn to live our lives without Eric and my girls won't have their dad to give them away when they get married. I just think it's absolutely outrageous."
We're working on the campaign alongside Yorkshire road safety charity BRAKE, who say 90% of people in our area think those driving under the influence of drink of drugs who kill on the roads should be charged with manslaughter.
At the moment, people can be charged with causing death by dangerous driving or causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs.
Sentences range between 26 weeks and 14 years, though sentences at the higher end of the range are rarely handed out.
Karen says that's outrageous:
"I can't understand why killing somebody with a car is any different to murder or manslaughter, and I think the sentence should reflect that. For them to be given a paltry sentence just because that's the guidelines, it's just outrageous. How can that be justice? It's just not justice at all."
"To open the door to a police officer and they've come to tell you the worst possible news that you could ever wish to hear, you just hope there's going to be some consequence for that. For the bad decisions that she made that day. You have to wait possibly over a year before that goes to trial and all the time you want justice for what's happened."
"It's difficult to come up with words to describe how it makes you feel. There's certainly no justice - and that's the big thing. You want justice for what's happened to your loved one and your family. And for someone to walk out of prison after 2 years, that's not justice."