Newport Man's Life May End In Prison Because of Drinking

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Orleans District Court

Newport Man's Life May End In Prison Because of Drinking

By ROBIN SMITH, Staff Writer

Thursday December 30, 2004

NEWPORT VERMONTNEWPORT CITY -- Ricky Gauthier of Newport City said he has two years to live.On Tuesday, Judge Dennis Pearson sentenced Gauthier, 43, to serve those two years in jail for his fourth drunken driving conviction.Pearson said he had no faith Gauthier would stop drinking, based on his record. It was compassion, Pearson said, to put Gauthier in jail despite illness because that's the only way to ensure he does not drink.Gauthier had pleaded no contest to the charge on Nov. 10 but contested the state-requested sentence of 2 to 5 years in jail.City police said they saw Gauthier driving on Route 58 on May 17 and stopped him, knowing he did not have a license. Police said Gauthier took a breathalyzer test, which revealed he had 0.126 percent blood alcohol at 11:40 a.m. The legal limit is 0.08 percent.During Tuesday's sentencing hearing, Gauthier and his attorney J. Gilbert Power said Gauthier has cirrosis of the liver from a life of drinking alcohol.Three months ago, Gauthier said he found out he also has hepatitis C."If I drink, I have 30 to 60 days to live," Gauthier told the judge. "If I chose not to drink, I have two years."

Power asked Pearson to have compassion and give Gauthier a sentence of alcohol treatment outside prison.Gauthier was convicted of driving while intoxicated in 1989, 1996 and 2000. He also has a record of repeatedly escaping from the work crew or furlough.He was sentenced to 3 to 5 years of intensive alcohol treatment for the 2000 DWI offense.Probation officer Barbara testified that intensive treatment had not been terribly effective for Gauthier. He was drinking within seven days of getting out of jail, she said."As soon as Mr. Gauthier is out, he drinks. And as soon as he drinks, he drives," said.Contracting hepatitis C represented a life choice of using drugs and drinking, she said. If he is bed-ridden, the corrections department will provide nursing home or hospital care for Gauthier, she said.Prosecutor Sipples said Gauthier has been afforded treatment, yet his record worsens over time, with unsatisfactory discharges from probation and three escapes."It's clear to the state that any other sentence is not an option," Sipples said. He called prison time "the only method that the public can be protected."Sipples said he could not understand why Gauthier expected a lesser sentence.Power asked the judge to take Gauthier's life-shortening illness into account."He can't drink or it will kill him now," Power said.Gauthier has been in jail since May for violating probation and will serve out his sentence for that, Power said."This is a case for compassion of the court," Power said.Gauthier said he had made mistakes."I want to be able to get out and enjoy life [with] what few years I have left," he said.Pearson was not moved, saying Gauthier's mistakes are what led to his illnesses. Gauthier is probably alive today because he has been in jail since May, Pearson said.Another two years of detoxification will lengthen Gauthier's life, Pearson added."I don't even agree it's lack of compassion to sentence you," he said.Gauthier will probably have better medical care inside prison than what he would seek outside, Pearson said.Gauthier was sentenced to 2 to 5 years in jail, and he also must pay $181 in fees.

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