By Melissa Dunson

mdunson@joplinglobe.com

Heather Jensen, 29, spent four years in prison for killing her best friend while driving under the influence of methamphetamines. She called her sentence a slap on the wrist.

“I should have gotten more time,” Jensen, of Webb City, said.

Today, Jensen is a proponent of tougher sentences for anyone involved in driving while under the influence of any substance or for providing drugs or alcohol to minors, especially if someone dies because of it.

Jensen isn’t alone.

Police officers, victims’ families and others are calling for tougher penalties for those involved in the deaths of teenagers when alcohol, drugs, recklessness or negligence is involved.

Missouri law

Dan Whitworth, a general practice attorney in Joplin, said penalties for driving under the influence, being a minor in possession or selling or providing alcohol to a minor vary from a fine to 5 to 15 years behind bars.

A minor who is driving is considered intoxicated at a much lower level than adults, he said. Minors can be arrested for DWI at 0.02, while adults have to register 0.08. People can be charged with driving under the influence of drugs with any amount of the drug in their system, Whitworth said.

A first-offense DUI is a Class B misdemeanor in Missouri punishable by a fine of up to $500 and six months in jail. Repeat offenders can get progressively more serious fines and jail time — up to $5,000 and 5 to 15 years in prison, according to Missouri statutes.

“You do see people get that much but they really have to be a perpetual offender,” Whitworth said.

In Missouri, minors also can be charged with possession of alcohol if they are found with the bottle, or with alcohol in their blood stream. That minor in possession by consumption law is unique to Missouri, Whitworth said. The penalty for being a minor in possession is similar to, but lower, than the beginning penalty for DWI or DUI.

Providing alcohol to a minor, either by selling it as a retailer or furnishing it to them as a friend or parent also carries a fine of $500 and not more than 6 months in jail. On the second offense, Whitworth said that penalty can jump to a fine of up to $1,000 and one year in county jail.

Businesses that sell to minors can also face other penalties as well. The employee who sold the alcohol can be fined or charged as well as the business.