Carroll County, GA -- Georgia legislators are considering a bill that would give DUI offenders a "second chance," if they can keep a clean record for the five years following the incident. The bill states that if someone is convicted of driving under the influence, but maintains a clean record for the next five years, then the DUI should be "permanently expunged" and "completely removed" from their record.

Several law enforcement agencies statewide are speaking out against the bill, including the Temple Police Department and Chief Tim Shaw. "My biggest concern with this involves the judicial process," he says. "When these cases go to court, the accumulation of offenses dictates the way each is prosecuted. If you have an individual who repeats offenses, yet something is cleaned from his record, the guy should perhaps be in prison, but is not."

President of The Carroll County chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Wanice Odell says she urges legislators to vote down the bill. "Being the victim of a drunk driving crash, I wasn't too happy learning about the bill," she says. "My sister was killed by a drunk driver in 1990. My family just experienced this past week, the 22-year anniversary of that crash and so it's very real in our lives."

O'Dell says her sister did not get a second chance and she does not see why a drunk driver should get a "second chance." "She's not here to defend herself so why are we giving a DUI offender a second chance," she asks. "My idea of a second chance for DUI offenders would be passing the 'First-Time Offender Ignition Interlock Bill in Georgia, which the House and Senate are considering." Georgia law currently supports that second and subsequent DUI offenses within five years can lead to the mandatory installation of an ignition interlock device in a vehicle.