Ever worked a full duty day on 3 hours sleep? Ever worked the same with no sleep? Ever had a late afternoon show for a 8,10,12 hour duty day(night) after having a full day of activities with only 4,5,6, hours of sleep?
Yup, my last flight was 14.5 hours of block time and 27.5 hours of duty...
(Single crew,,None of that Triple 7 stuff when they go back and sleep half the flight.)
From bed to bed was more like 40 hours.
All perfectly legal and performed with the blessings of the FAA, the company, the customer, God and Santa Claus.
As far as them jail-birds:
Tough luck I'd say
Most guys gets away with burning the candle in both ends, some don't.
Consider the odds and the gamble BEFORE ya go the bar the night before an early flight.
We have all made the choice once or twice.
OJ is playing golf in MIA these days, proof enough that the US legal system is screwed up beyond fixin'.