Millions want 110-year prison sentence changed for trucker in deadly Colorado crash
A truck driver has been sentenced to 110 years in prison in the deadly 2019 crash that killed four in Colorado. Millions of people want his sentence changed.
More than 2.8 million people have signed a petition to lessen the sentence for Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, a 26-year-old truck driver who was sentenced to over a century in prison.
“There are many things Rogel could have done to avoid the courts, but he took responsibility, showed up and severely apologized to the victims’ families,” the petition said. “Some of the families even offered Forgiveness. Rogel is not a criminal.”
In 2019, Aguilera-Mederos was involved in a 28-car crash that killed four people on Interstate 70 in Colorado, according to The Denver Channel. Aguilera-Mederos said he lost control of the semi-truck’s brakes and crashed into traffic, the news outlet reported.
Police say he was driving 85 mph just before the crash.
Aguilera-Mederos was convicted of 27 counts, including four counts of vehicular homicide and six counts of first-degree assault, according to CBS Denver.
A judge in Jefferson County sentenced Aguilera-Mederos to 110 years in prison on Monday, Dec. 13.
“I accept and respect what the defendant has said about his lack of intent to hurt people, but he made a series of terrible decisions, reckless decisions,” District Court Judge Bruce Jones said, according to CBS Denver. “If I had the discretion, it would not be my sentence.”
The 110-year sentence for Aguilera-Mederos is twice as long as the sentence some murderers have received in the state, according to The Denver Post. His convictions triggered state law that requires a minimum 110-year sentence.
Many people, including the millions who signed the petition, want the sentence changed.
“This is a grossly excessive sentence,” Mark Silverstein, legal director for the ACLU of Colorado, told The Denver Post. “It cries out for the reform of sentencing laws. But I think calls for change also need to be directed at the seldom-criticized but largely unchecked power of prosecutors.”
Domingo Garcia, the national president of Latino civil rights organization LULAC, told The Denver Channel the organization is supporting the petition and the “case is so egregious.”
Garcia told the news outlet the group is planning to look into the district attorney to see if there is any evidence of racial discrimination in the charges.
Jefferson County District Attorney Alexis King , however, said the crash was “devastating to victims” and the actions of Aguilera-Mederos resulted in four deaths.
“The sentence – which our office requested the minimum for – is within the purview of the court and reflects the judgment of the legislature,” King told the news outlet. “Just as the law mandates this outcome, it also provides future opportunity to revisit the sentence, and we will again pursue an appropriate outcome if that opportunity arises, after consulting with the victims and survivors and receiving their input.”
This story was originally published December 17, 2021 at 12:33 PM with the headline "Millions want 110-year prison sentence changed for trucker in deadly Colorado crash."