An Anchorage jury didn't take long to find Lori Phillips guilty of second-degree murder, drunken driving and other offenses in the 2009 vehicle collision that killed Louis Clement and severely injured Joyua Stovall.
If any good is to come of this tragedy, perhaps the jury made it possible with its sobering decision. Maybe someone will remember what happened when a drunken driver took to the road and killed another human being. Maybe they'll see the loss, the waste, the suffering -- and the verdict -- and decide not to get behind the wheel.
Maybe that's wishful thinking. After all, impaired judgment -- or obliterated judgment -- is a result of too much alcohol.
But that hesitation on the part of a potential drunken driver might make all the difference. And if the driver doesn't remember, maybe a friend or family member will remember what Lori Phillips did, and take the keys.
Last week we asked readers what they would do to reduce drunken driving. Many responded with calls for tougher penalties, stricter enforcement. Some called for treatment. Others invoked the principle of personal responsibility. Some readers vented their anger and frustration and sense of outrage over the suffering inflicted by drunken drivers.
On Wednesday, the jury delivered the response that mattered most.
The judge will respond at sentencing March 4. We hope the message remains clear. We hope potential violators, and those who love them, take it to heart.
We hope the good that comes out of all this grief is that we have fewer violators, convene fewer juries, bury fewer victims.
BOTTOM LINE: May the jury's verdict in DUI murder be a powerful deterrent.