[cgordon]

He did intend to kill. He intentionally got himself drunk and high on drugs and then intentionally got behind the wheel of a car. He intentionally put himself in a situation to take the life of another human being. No matter how you cut it, it is murder.

"financially liable for his negligence"? The person he is financially liable to is DEAD!

[Atlas Sneezed]

"He did intend to kill. He intentionally got himself drunk and high on drugs and then intentionally got behind the wheel of a car. He intentionally put himself in a situation to take the life of another human being. No matter how you cut it, it is murder."

You fail to distinguish between the dangerous fool who thinks: "I can get home safely when drunk, since I have done it hundreds of times," and the madman who thinks: "I am going to drive my car across that center line and try to squash that oncoming motorcyclist."

Both are criminal, but there is an important moral distinction in mental states. Moral principles of criminal justice put important weight on mental state, and not just outcomes.