Americans are calling our courts a "revolving door for criminals"....they walk in when they're arrested, walk out in 2 or 3 days.
Two reasons:
Most common criminals (alleged) have no money, but they have a right to a fair legal process, a fair trial, and fair treatment, so judges assign them a "free" defense attorney. In addition to the attorney fees, taxpayers cover all booking fees, court costs, medical attention if the accused needs it, any prescription drugs they're supposed to have, and all their meals and stuff while they sit in jail awaiting their hearings and eventual trial.
1) Every arrested person costs the state thousands of taxpayer dollars every single day, and there are millions of arrests every day. Naturally, the longer they're kept in custody, the more they cost. Petty criminals are bleeding out America's tax revenues.
2) Due to those costs, many states have decriminalized a huge number of certain types of crime.
Theft is one, and that includes car-jackings, home invasions, and retail theft up to $5K (varies from state to state). Some states are lowering bonds on certain crimes, including manslaughter...so people accused of *accidentally* killing someone, or even multiple people (i.e. when they were driving drunk), can get out of jail for as little as $500.
I agree, that dude should have his driving privileges revoked for life.
Most US states revoke a drunk driver's license on the 3rd DUI. But I saw a video of a guy who was in court for his 8th! He'd simply been driving without a license, while on probation. This judge finally put him in jail, but he also gave him a bond....$4,001, if I remember right. He also ordered rehab, for what that's worth. Taxpayers will pay for it.