A truck driver who was sentenced to 110 years behind bars for a fatal crash in Colorado has been resentenced to only 10 years in prison following public outcry.
According to ABC News, on Thursday (Dec. 30), Gov. Jared Polis revealed the commutation of Rogel Aguilera-Mederos’ sentence. “I am writing to inform you that I am granting your application for a commutation,” the governor wrote. “After learning about the highly atypical and unjust sentence in your case, I am commuting your sentence to 10 years and granting you parole eligibility on December 30, 2026.”
“The length of your 110-year sentence is simply not commensurate with your actions, nor with penalties handed down to others for similar crimes,” Polis added. “There is an urgency to remedy this unjust sentence and restore confidence in the uniformity and fairness of our criminal justice system, and consequently I have chosen to commute your sentence now.”
Earlier this month, Mederos was sentenced to 110 years in prison for his involvement in an accident that took the lives of four people and injured several others. He told jurors that his brakes failed, however, he was driving 85 mph in an area where the speed limit was 45 mph. Police said he also drove past a runaway truck ramp before plunging into stopped traffic.
Mederos was found guilty of 27 counts by a Jefferson County jury, with the most serious charge being first-degree assault.
While many people rallied for Mederos to be released from prison, family members of those who were killed in the crash thought that he should remain behind bars. “I think we all can agree that [110 years] is excessive,” Duane Bailey, whose brother William Bailey died in the crash, told “GMA.” Bailey added that the jury “came to the correct decision to convict [Mederos].”