BATH – A 36-year-old Phippsburg man, who repeatedly drove drunk, is going to prison for a long time after a judge decides that he is incapable of reforming his behavior.

Samuel Burgess III will serve eight years in prison, provided he does not violate the terms of his probation after being released. If he does violate probation, Justice Andrew Horton said that Burgess would serve an additional seven years.

Burgess was convicted of manslaughter and aggravated operating under the influence in 1994 for his involvement in a Woolwich crash that claimed the life of his passenger and seriously injured a second passenger. He served nine months.

District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau said Burgess stayed out of trouble until 2004 when he was convicted once again of driving under the influence. That conviction was followed up by two more felony drunk driving convictions. He never served more than two years in prison for those convictions.

“In the past, Burgess has been given the opportunity to change his behavior, so that a long prison term would not be necessary. He has rejected those opportunities. The court had every reason to impose a long prison term on a man with a history of extremely dangerous driving,” Rushlau said.