Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) defended his choice on CNN Friday to commute the sentence of a semi-truck driver who killed four people in 2019 when his brakes failed and he smashed right into a dozen vehicles on a crowded highway.

Rogel Aguilera-Mederos used to be using on Intestate 70 close to Lakewood, Colorado, on April 25, 2019 when his brakes failed and he sooner or later crashed into different motorists. Prosecutors argued at trial that the driver made no try and keep away from the lethal collision.

A judge sentenced Aguilera-Mederos to one hundred ten years at the back of bars on Dec. sixteen in a decision he admitted he did not want to must make. Jefferson County District Judge Bruce Jones mentioned obligatory sentencing laws for the sentence.

The sentence quick caused national outrage, and Polis commuted it to 10 years on Thursday.

The governor joined The State of affairs Room Friday evening to speak about his resolution to intervene with visitor host Poppy Harlow.

Harlow performed a clip for Polis in which a woman who was within the crash named Valerie Robertson Young expressed outrage over Aguilera-Mederos’ movements. Harlow mentioned the woman had additionally requested Polis not to commute the sentence.

Polis told Harlow he understood Younger’s anger, however stated he believed Aguilera-Mederos’ sentence was once inconsistent when in comparison with these from identical incidents.

“Smartly, he without a doubt deserves to be punished for the errors he made, and… you know when you make mistakes on the street, you don’t, it’s now not out of malicious intent,” Polis mentioned. “But nonetheless, we do punish that. And whilst you take a look at how others who’ve been concerned with inadvertent, vehicular murder, reckless using. This sentence of 10 years is extra in step with that than a hundred and ten years, which is frankly greater than you get should you go in and deliberately attempt to murder any person and be successful.”

Polis mentioned that the judge had additionally expressed he felt the 110 yr sentence for Aguilera-Mederos was once too robust, and explained why he commuted it.

Polis stated:

What we did in our workplace is we went via and stated, “Let’s take a look at these reckless driving and deaths that occur and how do we, in our state, punish them.” And we in reality saw that ten years was once really that 10 years was once in that vary, actually towards the upper end of that range. We noticed sentences from all of the means from zero deferred sentence as much as 10, 12 and even 15 years. So, we went with one on the larger range. He’ll serve his time, pay his debt to society and I am hoping that he tries to heal with the households of the people that have been effected.

Polis concluded he hopes the attention surrounding the case results in a renewed hobby in reforming mandatory sentencing regulations.

Watch above, via CNN.

The publish ‘He’ll Serve His Time’: Colorado Gov. Defends Commuting Sentence for Trucker Given one hundred ten Years in Lethal Crash first regarded on Mediaite.