(Photo credit: ABC7)
Colorado Governor Jared Polis has granted clemency to Rogel Aguilera-Mederos – reducing his 110-year prison sentence to ten. In a letter, the Governor expressed belief that Aguilera-Mederos’s sentence was disproportionate compared to similar cases, and excessive given the circumstances of “a tragic, but unintentional act,” for which he was responsible for a crash that killed four people.
Aguilera-Mederos originally received 110 years due to Colorado’s mandatory minimum law, but it was able to be reviewed on appeal depending on circumstances. At Monday’s initial hearing to reconsider his sentence, District Attorney Alexis King said that her team would recommend 20-30 year. Judge A. Bruce Jones scheduled a follow up hearing for January 13th, 2022, but that could now be moot. Over five million people signed an online petition asking for Aguilera-Mederos’s sentence to be commuted or for him to receive clemency.
Aguilera-Mederos could now be eligible for parole on December 30, 2026.