They reduce the sentence of a Cuban trucker sentenced in the United States and for whom famous people like Kim Kardashian advocated from 110 to 10 years

The press office of the governor of Colorado, Jared Polis, announced this Thursday that, using his constitutional power, reduced the sentence of Cuban truck driver Rogel Aguilera Mederos to 10 years in prison, instead of the 110 years of imprisonment he had initially received.

Polis, of Democratic affiliation, he has made no public statements in this regard.

The Cuban driver’s case had made headlines in the US following the April 25, 2019 incident when Aguilera Mederos, then 24, was involved in an accident while descending the Rocky Mountains on I-70 west. from Denver because his truck lost its brakes.

In that mishap, four people were killed and dozens of other motorists were injured.

Last October a jury found Aguilera Mederos guilty of most of the charges against, including using his truck as a weapon to cause death and injury.

Therefore, on December 13, the judge in charge of the case had sentenced the Cuban truck driver to 110 years in prison, by imposing on Aguilera Mederos the maximum penalty for each of his charges and ordering that the sentences should be served successively, and not simultaneously.

From the moment the conviction was known, efforts began to reduce that sentence, including an online campaign that gathered some 5 million signatures and the intervention of the prosecutor Alexis King, who appeared before the judge to ask the magistrate to reconsider the sentence.

Famous people also spoke in his favor, like model Kim Kardashian.

At the same time, local legislators had announced that would seek to change the laws that allowed someone to be sentenced to more than a century in jail for a car accident, when in similar circumstances (ie fatal accidents) truckers in Kansas and Nebraska recently received sentences of no more than five years.

It was even expected that next January 13 the judge in charge of the case informed about how the court would proceed to review the sentence.

But the burden of responsibility to act in favor of Aguilera Mederos fell on Governor Polis who, as it became known this afternoon, consulted both with the Colorado First District Attorney’s Office and with representatives of the victims’ next of kin before making your decision.

So far, neither Aguilera Mederos’ family nor leaders of the numerous organizations that support him have been expressed publicly.

Previously, Hilda Martínez, from Ni1Menos and organizer of a recent march in favor of Aguilera Mederos, He had indicated to Efe that the Cuban’s family (including his mother, Osleyda Mederos, and his brother Antonio Aguilera Mederos) were in Denver “waiting for a miracle” because “with faith everything is possible.”

“We trust that with all the people who accompanied us to the demonstration, with all the media present, with all the authorities who gave us their support, with those who call us from afar, the blessing will come ”, Martínez commented to Efe this week.

Due to the time Aguilera Mederos spent in jail before trial and other possible factors (such as good conduct), the Cuban could be released in about five years, according to local experts.

Polis also commuted, reduced or overturned the convictions of four other people.