By now, I’m sure you’ve heard about the case involving Rogel Aguilera-Mederos.
In 2019, the brakes on Rogel’s tractor-trailer failed causing him to lose control on Interstate 70 outside of Lakewood, Colorado.
The fiery crash damaged 28 vehicles, injured dozens, and killed four people.
Prosecutors argued that Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, who was 23 at the time, was at fault for the deaths in the accident because of decisions he made, such as not steering the truck to a runaway ramp.
In October, Rogel was convicted on 27 counts and sentenced to 110 years in prison on December 13.
Colorado law requires that Aguilera-Mederos serve the time for each of the counts consecutively, not concurrently.
The egregious sentence brought national attention to the case and outrage.
A petition urging Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) to grant the driver “clemency or commutation-as time served” has garnered over 4.6 million signatures.
Celebrities, including Kim Kardashian, who took to Twitter writing:
I know everyone has been posting about Rogel Aguilera-Mederos this week. I took a deep dive in it to figure out what the situation is.
For those who don’t know about this case, Rogel Aguilera-Mederos is a 26 year old that was sentenced 110 years in prison for driving a semi-tractor-trailer and crashed into traffic killing four people.
He was not drunk or under the influence, his brakes on the semi-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.
Colorado law really has to be changed and this is so unfair.
@GovofCO is a really good person and I know he will do the right thing.
Another shocking part of the case is this post by the prosecutor after his conviction. Four people died in this tragic accident. Rogel has a life sentence for the accident, which will not only destroy his life, but it will also impact his wife and son’s life.
And yet, for some reason the prosecutor thought it would be funny to post a photo of a brake shoe trophy she received from a colleague with a plaque? Makes me so sick.
I pray that Governor Polis, who has been a leader on supporting reforms that increase human dignity in the legal system, will commute his sentence.
Click here to read her original tweets.
The conviction has also sparked the #NoTrucksToColorado online campaign vowing not to travel through Colorado.
First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King filed the motion to have now 26-year-old Aguilera-Mederos’s sentence reconsidered on Friday.
As Colorado law required the imposition of the sentence in this case, the law also permits the Court to reconsider its sentence in an exceptional case involving unusual and extenuating circumstances.
Watch the news report below.
Source: The Hill, ABC News
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