54 -year-old- Gary Hammitt is being held in jail on two charges of first degree murder, one charge of first degree attempted murder, and suspicion of DUI after being accused of hitting and killing Claudia Mijares and her daughter Gisle. KAKE News spoke to lawyers, state lawmakers and D.U.I. victim's activists who said a serious change is needed when it comes to handling repeat D.U.I.offenders.

"It's not an accident, it's a crime and that was a crash that killed people and people need to start understanding that," said Mary Ann Khoury, the president of the DUI Victim's Center of Kansas here in Wichita.

"Something is wrong somewhere because I am getting more felony DUI cases than I ever have," said Warner Eisenbeis, a Wichita attorney who says 90 percent of his cases are felony DUI's.

Kansas law says a third offense becomes a felony. It now counts all D.U.I. charges in a person's life instead of wiping the slate clean after five years. A third offense can mean one year in prison, a suspended license, required treatment and later only using a car that has a breathalyzer installed. Some say, however, even that may not be enough to make the person change.

"If someone does not care, then all the negative reinforcement in the world isn't going to stop them," said State Sen. Phil Journey, (R) Haysville.

"It doesn't evidently make a difference because people are still driving," said Eisenbise.

Senator Journey said he'd like to see intensified treatment behind bars.
Others said penalties need to stiffen in addition to the treatment.

"Other than just throwing them in and throwing away the key, what do they get that will make them not do this, if they ever get out," said Khoury.

Whether it's tougher penalties or more treatment, many said change needs to take place now, before another tragedy like this happens.

"Everybody is impacted by this type of bad, bad decision making," said Journey.

Khoury said she is looking at organizing a task force in the coming week to address how repeat offenders are handled. Hammitt's trouble with the law dates back nearly 24 years. He has violated parole terms 15 times since 1984.