Kim Kardashian says 110-year jail sentence for lorry driver Rogel Aguilera-Mederos is 'unfair'
Kim Kardashian has branded the legal system “unfair” after a 26-year-old lorry driver was jailed for 110 years in the US.
Rogel Aguilera-Mederos was sentenced in October for vehicular homicide and other charges following an pile-up that killed four people in Colorado in April 25, 2019.
Aguilera-Mederos said the brakes on his semitrailer failed as he was driving down a steep slope on a highway.
The semitrailer crashed into vehicles that had slowed because of another accident in Lakewood, causing a pile-up involving 28 vehicles.
The incident ruptured gas tanks, causing a fireball that consumed vehicles and melted parts of the highway.
Aguilera-Mederos was traveling at least 85 mph on a part of the highway where commercial vehicles are limited to 45 mph.
The crash killed Miguel Angel Lamas Arellano, 24; William Bailey, 67; Doyle Harrison, 61; and Stanley Politano, 69.
Kardashian, 41, who recently passed the “baby bar” on her fourth attempt as part of her law apprenticeship, wrote on her Instagram story: “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.”
She continued: “(A) 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.”
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In sentencing Aguilera-Mederos, district court judge Bruce Jones said the 110-year sentence was the mandatory minimum term under state law.
Mandatory minimum sentencing laws required that sentences on 27 counts of vehicular assault, assault, reckless driving and other charges run consecutively.
“I will state that if I had the discretion, it would not be my sentence,” the judge said.
More than 4.5 million people had signed a Change.org petition urging Colorado Governor Jared Polis to grant clemency or commute Aguilera-Mederos’ sentence by Tuesday.
Kardashian said: “(Governor Polis) is a really good person and I know he will do the right thing.
“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.”
She added that the behaviour of the prosecutors, who allegedly shared insensitive posts following Aguilera-Mederos sentencing, made her “sick”.
Kardashian said: “Four people died in this tragic accident.
“Rogel has a life sentence for the accident, which will not only destroy his life, but 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.”
Prosecutors argued that as Aguilera-Mederos' lorry rolled down the mountains, he could have used a runaway ramp designed to stop vehicles that have lost their brakes.
Aguilera-Mederos said he was struggling to avoid traffic and to shift his vehicle into lower gears to slow it down.
Relatives of the crash victims said at Aguilera-Mederos’ sentencing he should serve time for the crimes.
Duane Bailey, the brother of William Bailey, asked the judge to sentence Aguilera-Mederos to at least 20 years.
Bailey said: “He made a deliberate and intentional decision that his life was more important than everyone else on the road that day.”
Bailey's wife, Gage Evans, told The New York Times the driver's sentence shouldn't be commuted but lawmakers should instead examine the sentencing laws.
She said: “This person should spend some time in prison and think about his action."
She added she and other victims' relatives object to a “public narrative” that Aguilera-Mederos is a victim. “We are truly the victims,” she said.