You have little pity because you think the punishment fits the crime. For blowing a .09 at 4am, having never been charged with any crime before, she's out $27,000 and nine months' work. But then, you're from michigan, which I've sworn never to visit because of bullshit like this.
Part of the problem is sentence activism from judges. They give these assholes so much autonomy that it becomes a crapshoot. For example one of my best friends had mandatory drug and alcohol tests for 18 months for having one gram of pot on him when he was a passenger in a car that got searched. Meanwhile if you draw a different judge or are a few miles down the road in the next county, you might get off scot free. It's a terrible system, partly due to the fact that we have a moderately liberal majority and an arch conservative minority. But all that said, I don't think it should keep you from visiting if you get a chance. The shore of lake Michigan is one if the most beautiful places in the country.