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After Rogel Aguilera-Mederos was sentenced successful transportation with a 2019 clang successful Colorado that near 4 radical dead, a territory lawyer asked a justice to reconsider the lengthy punishment.
Dec. 22, 2021, 5:16 p.m. ET
Prosecutors successful Colorado person started a process that could trim the punishment for a motortruck operator who was sentenced this period to 110 years successful situation for his relation successful a 2019 clang that killed 4 people.
The lengthy sentence, which was handed down connected Dec. 13, drew scrutiny from the justice and from much than 4 cardinal radical who signed an online petition calling for it to beryllium reduced.
On Tuesday, conscionable implicit a week aft the motortruck driver, Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, was sentenced, Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado said that his bureau was reviewing the driver’s exertion for clemency. Also connected Tuesday, the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office successful Colorado said it had filed a motion to reconsider the penalty.
“As Colorado instrumentality required the imposition of the condemnation successful this case, the instrumentality besides permits the Court to reconsider its condemnation successful an exceptional lawsuit involving antithetic and extenuating circumstances,” the question said.
Mr. Aguilera-Mederos was driving a motortruck connected Interstate 70 successful Lakewood, Colo., conscionable westbound of Denver, connected April 25, 2019, erstwhile it crashed into respective cars, sidesplitting 4 people.
He said malfunctioning brakes were the main origin of the crash. Prosecutors argued that helium was liable for the deaths due to the fact that of the decisions helium made portion driving, including not steering the motortruck onto a runaway motortruck ramp on the highway.
In October, a assemblage recovered Mr. Aguilera-Mederos, present 26, blameworthy of 27 counts, including vehicular homicide and vehicular assault. On Dec. 13, a territory tribunal judge, A. Bruce Jones, sentenced him to 110 years successful prison, explaining that Colorado instrumentality required that sentences for each number beryllium served consecutively alternatively of concurrently.
“If I had the discretion, it would not beryllium my sentence,” Judge Jones said, according to Reuters.
The justice was not unsocial successful his criticism.
The Denver Post urged Mr. Polis to commute the condemnation successful a Dec. 15 editorial and said authorities legislators should alteration the instrumentality that required the lengthy sentence. As of Wednesday afternoon, much than 4.7 cardinal radical had signed a petition connected Change.org calling what happened a “tragic accident” and urging Mr. Polis to either assistance Mr. Aguilera-Mederos clemency oregon commutation.
On Tuesday, Kim Kardashian West, who has go an advocator for changes to the transgression justness system, said that the lawsuit was “shocking and unfair” successful a bid of posts on Twitter, wherever she has 70.8 cardinal followers. “Mandatory minimums instrumentality distant judicial discretion and request to end,” she wrote.
Alexis King, the territory lawyer whose bureau prosecuted Mr. Aguilera-Mederos, filed the request to reconsider the condemnation connected Friday. Her bureau announced the determination connected Tuesday.
Prosecutors are collecting input from victims successful the lawsuit arsenic portion of the process.
Gage Evans, whose husband, William Bailey, died successful the crash, told The New York Times connected Sunday that she did not judge Mr. Aguilera-Mederos’s condemnation should beryllium commuted.
“This idiosyncratic should walk immoderate clip successful situation and deliberation astir his actions,” said Ms. Evans, 65. “I don’t deliberation helium should beryllium fto disconnected with a slap connected the wrist.”
In Colorado, the condemnation for a idiosyncratic convicted of a convulsive transgression can’t beryllium changed until 119 days aft the suspect enters prison. James Colgan, a lawyer for Mr. Aguilera-Mederos, said the justice had ordered each the parties successful the lawsuit to beryllium successful tribunal connected Monday to sermon however to alteration the condemnation nether these conditions.
Mr. Colgan said connected Wednesday that the past week had been a “whirlwind” for his client. “Just the infinitesimal you get adjusted to something, thing caller pops up,” helium said.
In summation to the territory attorney’s telephone for a reappraisal of the sentence, Mr. Colgan petitioned the governor’s bureau for clemency, and different lawyer for Mr. Aguilera-Mederos is considering filing an appeal. “We’re conscionable keeping everything connected the array until we get a affirmative result,” Mr. Colgan said.
Mr. Polis, the governor, said astatine a quality league connected Tuesday that his bureau received the clemency exertion connected Monday night. “When we person a decision, we volition denote it,” Mr. Polis said successful Spanish, according to a section quality channel, KDVR-TV.
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