Millions signed a petition imploring Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) to commute Rogel Aguilera-Mederos’ 110-year sentence for a 2019 crash that killed four people. Polis agreed, but at least one person is not happy about his decision: The brother of one of the car crash victims.
CBS Denver reported that Duane Bailey, whose brother William “Bill” Bailey died in the crash caused by Aguilera-Mederos, called Polis a “despicable human being.”
“As far as I’m concerned, [Polis] undermined the integrity of the courts,” Bailey told the outlet.
“The governor has decided political and social media pressure is more important than the victims of this crash,” the grieving brother added.
As The Daily Wire previously reported, Aguilera-Mederos maintains that his brakes failed on a downhill grade outside Denver, causing him to fatally strike four people. During his trial, prosecutors argued that Aguilera-Mederos acted recklessly in his decisions prior to the deadly crash.
Aguilera-Mederos was traveling an estimated 85 mph on a stretch of road with a 45 mph speed limit for commercial vehicles. He was sentenced to 110 years in prison for a 28-car crash and fire caused by his failed breaks.
Bailey disagrees with the claim that the crash was an accident.
“This was not an accident, it was a series decisions on the part of the driver that caused [four] deaths,” he said. “The jury heard the evidence and convicted him.”
A resentencing hearing had been scheduled before Polis commuted Aguilera-Mederos’ sentence.
“The governor put himself above the law by not letting the court proceedings finish out. There was a hearing scheduled on January 13th to reconsider his sentence. The governor should have let that hearing take place,” Bailey said, according to CBS.
“On top of that [Polis] made the announcement when he knew people would be focused on the tragic fires. So In a way he also took advantage of them to provide coverage so he could announce this without much news coverage,” Bailey continued. “You all should be upset about that.”
“You also have to realize [Aguilera-Mederos] will not spend the entire 10 years the governor put his sentence at. He could get out in as little as 5 years,” he added. “Would your brother’s life be adequately compensated if he spent 1 1/4 years per death in prison?”
Polis wrote in a letter to Aguilera-Mederos that, ““While you are not blameless, your sentence is disproportionate compared with many other inmates in our criminal justice system who committed intentional, premeditated, or violent crimes.”
“This was a tragic event that affected many Coloradans,” Polis wrote. “Though your actions have caused immense pain, I am encouraged by your personal reflection and the commercial vehicle safety changes that were made in the wake of this tragedy to ensure this type of event never happens again.”