Following tremendous criticism and public protest, Colorado Governor Jared Polis has reduced Rogel Aguilera-Mederos’ 110-year sentence to only ten years.
Gov. Polis shortened Aguilera-Mederos’ jail term on Thursday, calling the lengthy penalty for a tragic roadway accident “unjust.” Aguilera-Mederos was employed as a truck driver at the time of the fatal accident.
‘You were sentenced to 110 years in prison, effectively more than a life sentence, for a tragic but unintentional act,’ Polis wrote in a letter.
‘While you are not blameless, your sentence is disproportionate compared with many other inmates in our criminal justice system who committed intentional, premeditated, or violent crimes.’
Millions of people criticized Aguilera-Mederos’ harsh sentence on December 13, including a juror who found him guilty and Kardashian, who has remained public about her displeasure with the verdict.
After learning about Aguilera-Mederos’ clemency, Kardashian took to Twitter on Thursday, having previously agitated for his behalf.
She expressed gratitude to Governor Polis for commuting the 26-year-sentence for a catastrophic vehicle accident that killed four people earlier this year.
Meanwhile, as of Thursday night, a petition on Change.org had 4.5 million signatures in favor of commuting his sentence to time served.
The case was prosecuted by First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King, who requested that the judge review Aguilera-Mederos’ sentence in response to the public outcry.
Judge Bruce Jones of the First Judicial District Court granted the request while scheduling a sentencing hearing for January 13, though the hearing is unlikely to take place today after this week’s commutation.
However, not everyone was in favor of his sentence being reduced.
Valerie Robertson Young, a survivor of the catastrophic 2019 crash, does not believe Aguilera-Mederos’ sentence should be reduced by a district court judge.
‘He chose to hit traffic,’ she told CNN.
On April 25, 2019, Aguilera-Mederos was driving a semi-truck along Interstate 70 in Lakewood, Colorado, when he collided with two dozen other automobiles.
Kardashian, who is studying law, had lobbied for Aguilera-Mederos to be given a lighter sentence.
A firestorm explosion resulted from the incident, incinerating automobiles and trucks and killing four persons. He was given a sentence of 110 years in prison. A firestorm explosion resulted from the incident, incinerating automobiles and trucks and killing four persons.
She told her 271 million Instagram followers that she’d heard about the case and that she’d ‘taken a deep dive in it to figure out what the scenario is.’
She continued: ‘He was not drunk or under the influence; his brakes on the tractor-trailer failed.
‘Another shocking and unfair part of this case is that the judge didn’t want to sentence him to such a lengthy sentence.
‘However, because of the mandatory minimums in Colorado, his hands were tied.”
‘Mandatory minimums take away judicial discretion and need to end.’
Kardashian also slammed the prosecutors’ joyous celebrations, claiming their gift of a brake shoe trophy made her sick.’
Jared Polis, the governor, ‘is a genuinely decent person, and I know he will do the right thing,’ she continued.
Polis gave many commutations and pardons at the end of the year, including one for Rogel Aguilera-Mederos.
The decision comes only days after a judge sets a hearing for next month to evaluate the sentence at the request of the district attorney, who expected to push for a reduction to 20 to 30 years in prison.
The brakes on Aguilera-Mederos’ semitrailer failed while he was descending a high gradient on Interstate 70 in the Rocky Mountain foothills, he testified.
His lawyer said he had no idea his truck’s brakes were burning or that he wouldn’t be able to stop.
He also claimed that Aguilera-Mederos’ acts were the result of a series of careless decisions and that he had no intention of harming anyone.
Prosecutors contended, however, that he should have utilized a runaway ramp meant for cases like these. For his part, Aguilera-Mederos said he was trying to avoid traffic and shifting to slow down.
A jury convicted Aguilera-Mederos guilty of 27 criminal offenses on October 15.
He was also found not guilty on 15 counts of first-degree criminal attempts to commit assaults.
On the eve of his sentencing, Aguilera-Mederos apologized to the victims’ families in a statement.
Kardashian earlier pleaded with Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt to spare the life of death row convict Julius Jones, who is set to be killed in three days after the governor refused to allow him to see his mother.
Jones, 41, was set to be hanged this month for killing Edmond businessman Paul Howell during a carjacking in 1999.
Jones maintains his innocence, claiming he was set up by the real killer, Christopher Jordan, a high school acquaintance and co-defendant who testified against Jones and was released after 15 years in prison.
Kardashian, who has been a vocal supporter of criminal justice reform in recent years, stated that they are all ‘anxiously awaiting’ Governor Stitt’s decision.
Jones’ sentence was commuted to life in prison after the state’s Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-1 to recommend that Stitt grant him clemency and reduce his sentence to life in prison.
