The Judge is pointing out that the defendant is the one responsible for his actions.
Yes, and I think the judge is right. Alcohol and drugs are not an excuse for criminal behavior under any circumstances in my opinion.
amazing, a judge that actually knows this and isn't letting the client blame his problems on someone else?
that's one of the things i love about AA, they hold that the problem is personal and don't try to blame it on anyone or anything else. if everyone did this, we wouldn't ever hear about things like the coffee and obiesity suits against mcdonalds, and this bill we're trying to pass to protect gun manufacturers would be unneeded.
Alchoholism: Disease? Yes. Excuse? No.
Even if you consider alcoholism to be a disease, it does not relieve the person of responsibility. You can't be found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity due to alcoholism, for example. During the mitigation phase of a criminal case, the defense attorney can propose any number of circumstances in hopes that the judge will take them into consideration and lighten the sentence. The judge is under no obligation to accept any of these proposals.
The judge's only mistake here was to offer an unnecessary and gratuitous opinion for which she will take a lot of heat from the alcholism/addictions people.