Two of my very good friends were in a car accident about a month ago and one of the boys (the passenger) was killed in the accident. The driver, who was the passenger's best friend, is now facing vehicular homicide charges and up to 8 years in prison. As you can imagine, the driver of the car is already beside himself with grief, and none of us want to see him go away for this as he'll be haunted by this tragedy for the rest of his life. All of our friends and families would like to ask for leniency but do they actually take it into consideration or are we all wasting our time?? Who do we write the letters to, the judge, prosecutor?? Thank you so much for your help.
Answers:
The defense attorney could possibly use such letters in plea negotiations with the prosecutor, or at the time of sentencing by the judge. It's not a waste of time.
Helpful letters would give examples of good things that he has done, such as volunteer work. They would say that he is very remorseful.
If he has been charged with criminal vehicular homicide, the prosecutor would have the burden of showing not just that the passenger died, but also that the driver was at fault in some way, for example that he was under the influence of alcohol or that he was driving recklessly.
If you have anything to say about that factor, you should say it in the letter. As an example, if his blood alcohol was above the legal limit, and it is true, you could say that you have known him for ten years, and you have never seen him take a drink, that drinking was very unusual for him.
Or if he was above the legal limit, but he has now gone into rehab, and you feel that he is getting a lot out of it, you can say that.
If he was not drinking, but there is an argument that he was driving recklessly, you could say, if it is true, that you have driven with him many times, and you have always found him to be a careful driver.
It would also be good to have a minister or teacher write a letter, if he has someone like that in his life who could vouch for him. And if someone who was close to the victim, such as his girlfriend or siblings or parents would be willing to write a letter, that would be good, too.
Good luck to him.
Contact his defense attorney as to who to forward the letters to. Appearing in court is a possibility. Talk with his lawyer. Some States are different
As to your original question, no it won't make a difference in the world but money to the judge might.
Thats horrible...The letters couldn't hurt.But how do you think the family of the dead boy feel? There son wasn't even driving and yet he paid the ultimate price.The same happened here, but not only was the young man prosecuted for this girls death, she was also pregnant and they included the unborn babies death to his sentence.There is little sympathy for people who drive wrecklessly, and put other lives in harms way...Sorry about your friend,.:(
You may not know what judge is going to handle the case so the best bet would be send the letters to your friend's lawyer and a copy to the prosecutor (original signatures and dates on both), that way you cover both bases. His lawyer can then see that the judge gets a copy.
Whether they help or not may have alot to do with what y'all say. If you just ramble and state you don't want to see him go to jail, save your paper and time. Explain to them "why" he shouldn't go ~ give good, bonafide reasons, not emotional rhetoric.
Personally, I think a little time in jail is the right thing, even if it's only 6 months. I'm sorry to hear that this happened but too many people get off far too easy and don't have to take responsibility for their actions and that is wrong and sends the wrong message to others.
A request for clemency from the parents of the dead friend would be much more effective, although the judge might take some family and friends requests into account a little bit.
And yes, they need to go to the defense attorney.
yes, like you said these letters can usually be used by the defense to prove to the judge that the persons being charged were generally model citizens and only a temporary lapse of judgement is the cause of the accident. the judge is does, howeve, have a minimum and maximum scentence if your friend is found guilty. for it to get to that however, a guilty pleas has to first be found.
http://www.onlinelegalguides.com/wrongfu... there is a section on this site on fatal car accidents, it might be useful
Yes. Each judge would treat it differently, but it's worth doing.
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