Wilmington man sentenced in death of UNCW student

I miss her.

Out of PURE respect of the McLeod family and friends, please don't use this site to defend Cardwell. I am sure you are hurting too, but you STILL have him. I am in no way trying to take away from your suffering, BUT THIS IS NOT FOR YOUR COMFORT! I am so sorry to be so blunt, try to understand. He did make every choice himself that night. Your family didn't get the call that morning that your loved one was gone. Think about it.

I am the girlfriend of cardwell.he is not a bad person nor is he a heavy drinker.this was a big mistake he made.he never meant 2 hurt anyone.hes payin 4 wat he did.it is crazy how the laws r.when murderers get out on bond,people get no jail time cuz the plead insanity & when rapist jus get a slap on the hand 4 wat they did,u know sumthn has 2 b done.u can't judge him 4 wat he did cuz he's not a bad person.he knows he was wrong & he has 2 face that.i send my blessings 2 annie & the other victims families.

I hesitated yesterday as to whether to make a post to this story and decided this morning to do it. Drinking and driving goes much deeper than drinking and driving whether anyone is hurt or not. My Father, who has been dead for 34 yrs now died when he was 54. He left home one night drunk when I was a young girl and totaled our car and hit a city utility pole. Insurance paid for car and pole and he lost his lisence for 5 yrs. He did not drive again for 10 yrs as he chose not to. But none of it changed the abuse I had to endure with an alcholic Father.I don't know exactly what to think about the drinking and driving laws. I do think if a drunk driver has killed someone they should serve time in prison. I look back now and wish my Father had served time even though he never hurt anyone drinking and driving. If he had been in prision it would have made a big difference in my life as I would not have had to endure anymore abuse.

This like all other deaths at the hands of a Drunk driver is senseless. In many cases these people who are risking the lives of others is a crime that goes for the most part unpunished. Remenber, the jail is over crowded. One must sit in a court room and watch as defense attorneys pick apart the law and the judges that find in their favor and guess what,,,case dismissed, not guilty and so on. We as law abiding citizens need to flood our law makers with letters to make this a more serious crime and stop these murders at the hands of a drunk driver. While I agree with some of what "Fighting for Victims" had to say, I DO NOT agree that this is the fault of our ADA's who are running court every day. In most cases their hands are tied as a result of the law,,,nothing more nothing less. The young men and women of Law Enforcement that are out there on the streets trying to stop these people are only shot down when they are in court. Loopholes are getting these people off. And I think "Fighting for Victims" knows that. If we want to see a change, write your legislator, change the law. But rember it's going to take an army of many to achieve this not an army of one. Also look at the Judges that are finding in favor of the defense, perhaps they need to be held accountable at the polls. How many of us knew there is only one Judge that is being challenged this election year,,, I wonder why??? It's my understanding the challenger is a young woman by the name of Joy K. Alford Brand, I took the liberty to look her up this morning,,quite an impressive lady. I encourage people to check out her website joy4judge. The Court room is a public arena, I would suggest taking some time and go see what goes on there. Make changes as we "The People" see fit. We all need to get on the same page and re-write the laws and get rid of those that don't work.

So very sad, he should be in jail for the rest of his life for what he did, our legal system SUCKS! And you can bet that he very well might be, if the person he killed was related to the judge!

I will tell you that I to got a dui, I blew a .09 I have realized now what I did and I thank God I did not hurt anyone BUT, the counseling you have to go through, nobody cared. They were just mad they got caught and they said the police were just making money. I found it very sad because they left with revenge in their minds and thats what makes them go back out again. I'm not sure of what the solution would be but from experience, the punishment makes people look for revenge and that's exactly what we don't need. Something has to change, there has to be a way to get to these people!

Do you want to know what the real problem is? The problem is that DWI is bringing BIG PROFITS to the judicial system. We are talking revenue between 11-13 million just in New Hanover County alone. Want to know who gets the biggest piece of the pie? THE ATTORNEYS PROTECTING THESE IDIOTS! It's true...cases are "DISPOSED" of all the time...just like the Tracie Mills Kharbat case. Even after killing an innocent victim, the driver left the scene and was only charged with Death by Motor Vehicle and Felony Hit & Run. Then, three years later, finally he gets caught again drinking and driving. Remember that case? GUESS WHAT...THAT FELON almost got off AGAIN, because "someone" within the court system placed his so called conviction schuck into the vault to be "disposed" of. Are you kidding me....the fault is at the hands of our local DA's and court employees. If it wasn't for vigilante people keeping an eye on these folks, this guy would have gotten away AGAIN. Check the stats on repeat offenders...it's amazing, and now, our DA's don't even want to call dockets in the open public to keep these vigilante people from finding out the stats on how cases are handled. WAKE UP PEOPLE...WE HAVE AN EPIDEMIC...AND IT'S RIGHT HERE IN YOUR BACKYARD. This is big business for everyone, and they certainly don't want that to go away!! Unfortunately, it is innocent people like Annie and Tracie who have paid the price for our elected officials mistakes. They may not make the law, but they can certainly enforce it each and every time...no exception.

....and the worse part is that 3-5 years is about the max limit with structured sentencing. The only way we as a society are ever going to do something about this is to enact tough sentencing legislation. There is no difference than shooting someone with a gun and driving into them at a red light drunk. NONE. But, the elected officials have determined that DWI is not the same as ADW. I think a large part is that Alcohol is not looked upon as a real drug and these elected officials do not want to see them or their sons/daughters in jail for 25 years for one night's mistake. The fact is that in this case his record (or prior convictions) were obviously pretty low, and since the law is set up this way, people get sentenced "structurally". Remember the girl that killed the ex UNCW baseball player? 6 months and 5 years intensive probation. Ridiculous. Lets get these sentences changed at the ballot box.

I knew Annie in high school. This was a horrible thing that happened to her. I saw her the night before at El Cerro and never thought that I would never see her again. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family. If only this man could get more than a max of 3 years in prison. I feel that he should get at least 25, and I feel this for every person who gets behind the wheel while they are drunk. It is a horrible thing to do. It not only puts your self in danger, it puts others in danger too. It is such a tragedy that people still get behind the wheel drunk, thinking oh it wont happen to me, I will drive safely. YOUR DRUNK!!! ALCOHOL AFFECTS YOU!!!! DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE! THERE ARE OTHER METHODS OF GETTING WHERE YOU WANT TO GO!! Rest in Peace Annie, we miss you!

Only 3-5 years for killing. I am so sorry to the McLeod family. I pray that peace and comfort will be with you.

Look at this guy's sentence and you'll see why. Even if you REALLY screw up and kill someone, the worst you face is five years. No license Reckless Driving Twice the legal limit Snuffs out a young life All that nets you only five years. Un-friggin'-believable.