20 – Cincy Link

Truck driver may have sentenced reduced in fatal crash case

cincylink — Sun, 26 Dec 2021 02:07:06 +0000

DENVER, Colo. (KMGH) — The Colorado First Judicial District Attorney's Office will ask the court to reduce a truck driver's 110-year sentence to 20-30 years at an upcoming sentence reconsideration hearing, the district attorney announced in a statement Thursday.

Rogel Aguilera-Mederos was sentenced to 110 years in prison after he was convicted in the deadly crash on I-70 in April 2019.

In the statement, First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King said the decision to request a sentence reconsideration was made "based on the facts of the case and input from the victims and their families."

“Based on the facts of this case and input from the victims and their families, my office will be asking the court to consider a sentencing range of 20-30 years when the Court is prepared to address resentencing. As the jury found, Mr. Aguilera-Mederos knowingly made multiple active choices that resulted in the death of four people, serious injuries to others, and mass destruction. This sentencing range reflects an appropriate outcome for that conduct, which was not an accident. Given that the victims in this case have more than one view of an appropriate outcome, and this trial court heard the evidence presented, we believe that this hearing is the best path to securing justice for everyone involved.

Our team has connected with defense counsel and will continue to do so as both parties prepare for this resentencing opportunity. We have also been working with the Governor’s Office to ensure that the victims and their loved ones are heard both in this process and the pending clemency application with the Governor. We are grateful for the coordination with the Governor’s office and thank the Department of Corrections for expediting the required evaluation report for resentencing.

As I have in the past, I continue to support the efforts of the Governor’s Sentencing Reform Task Force. Criminal justice reform, including sentencing reform, is a priority of my administration for safer and healthier communities for all. I have been in discussions with the co-chair of the task force and have encouraged him to continue their efforts to address felony sentencing reform in Colorado.”

Millions expressed disappointment in the lengthy sentence.

More than 4.8 million people have signed a Change.org petition calling for Aguilera-Mederos to have his sentence commuted or to be pardoned, saying the crash was a tragedy but the sentencing is unfair. On social media, posts are also petitioning for truck drivers to boycott Colorado until Aguilera-Mederos is released or a mandatory minimum sentencing law is changed.

During the sentencing, Judge A. Bruce Jones said his hands were tied when it came to sentencing because of mandatory minimum laws in the state. On Oct. 15, a jury convicted Aguilera-Mederos, 26, on most of the 42 counts he faced, including vehicular homicide, first-degree assault, attempted first-degree assault, reckless driving and careless driving.

The sentence reconsideration hearing has been scheduled for Monday, Dec. 27 at 11 a.m.

This story was originally reported by Sydney Isenberg on thedenverchannel.com.

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More than 20,000 students in Mississippi quarantined after being exposed to COVID

cincylink — Fri, 20 Aug 2021 04:07:39 +0000

More than 20,000 students in Mississippi were quarantined after being exposed to COVID-19 during the first week of school.

According to data from the State Health Department, 20,334 total students were quarantined between Aug. 9-13.

During that same time period, 4,521 students tested positive for the virus, according to the data.

The department reported that the total of students who tested positive for COVID since the beginning of August was 5,933.

Teachers and staff who tested positive during that week were 948, and 1,463 were quarantined due to exposure.

The data complied was reported to the state from 803 schools in 74 counties.

According to The Clarion-Ledger, close to 600 schools have implemented universal masking for indoor settings following the recent surge in cases and isolations.

Data from the state health department showed that only 36% of the entire state's population had been vaccinated.

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Saints quarterback Drew Brees retiring after 20 years in NFL

cincylink — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 04:58:07 +0000

NEW ORLEANS, La. – Drew Brees announced Sunday that he’s retiring after 20 years in the NFL.

The quarterback made the announcement on Instagram, saying “it is time I retire from the game of football."

The 42-year-old spent a majority of his career with the New Orleans Saints, playing on the team for 15 years and helping them win a Super Bowl title in 2010. In fact, it was 15 years ago to the day when Brees signed with the team, NBC Sports reports.

“Each day, I poured my heart & soul into being your Quarterback. Til the very end, I exhausted myself to give everything I had to the Saints organization, my team, and the great city of New Orleans,” wrote Brees in his Instagram caption.

Brees specified that although he’s retiring from football, he’s “not retiring from New Orleans."

“This is not goodbye, rather a new beginning. Now my real life’s work begins!” wrote Brees.

Before his time in the NFL, Brees also had a successful college football career at Purdue University, becoming one of the most decorated players at the school and in Big Ten Conference history.

In his retirement post, Brees included a video of his children saying their dad can now spend more time with them.

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