Things aren't looking too good...

In case you missed it, Kiefer Sutherland was officially charged Friday with misdemeanor driving under the influence and driving with a blood-alcohol level of .08 or above (The actual level has not been disclosed, although some reports had it at twice the limit.). If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of a year in jail and a minimum of four days.

If he is found guilty of violating his probation (from his 2004 arrest), he could be sentenced to an additional six months.

Kiefer’s arraignment is October 16th. He does not have to appear, unless the judge orders him to be there. But eventually Kiefer will have to face the same judge who sentenced him to probation in 2004—the same judge that threw the book at Paris Hilton. And then there’s that 1993 conviction for alcohol-related reckless driving hanging over his head.

In other words, things aren’t looking too good…

Now, let me say again that I believe Kiefer does deserve to go to jail, but if he does get 18 months in jail, you can say goodbye to “24.” And I would hate to see all of those people lose everything they’ve worked so hard for because of one man’s stupid decision.

And speaking of stupid decisions, allow me to share one more thing before I put this issue to rest. RT, who you all know as my second favorite Canadian (although this whole thing moves her A LOT closer to being my favorite), sent me a link to a video that absolutely turned my stomach. It shows Kiefer, clearly intoxicated, signing autographs for fans as he leaves the FOX party. There’s a guy standing next to him helping him move through the crowd who is either party security or a PR guy. After Kiefer gets away from the fans, he is escorted to his car by the unknown guy and…wait for it…TWO COPS! Yes, you read that correctly. One of them even asks Kiefer where his car is.

Two cops put an intoxicated man behind the wheel of a car and let him drive away. Now you know why it made me sick…

Now, those of you who are fans of conspiracies would say that those two cops then called the other cops who pulled Kiefer over, and I guess anything is possible. The boards and blogs are certainly buzzing about it, including a post over at TMZ.com by a woman who claims her boyfriend, who was working the party, is helping Kiefer’s lawyer fight for his innocence.

Again, let me reiterate that Kiefer should go to jail. But what about those THREE people who let him drive? No, Kiefer should have never put himself in that position to start with, but alcohol impairs judgment. Shouldn’t someone have stepped in to help?

I think what makes me the sickest about this whole thing is that it brings back some bad memories for me. It reminds me of a person I knew that was busted because someone didn’t care enough to take the keys. Thankfully, that situation worked out okay, but it could’ve been so much worse. I’d like to think if I had been there, I would’ve done something…

I hope that if you find yourself in a similar situation, you’ll do something too…