Drunk Driver Who Pled Responsible to Killing New Bride in Crash Asks for Lowered Sentence

Jamie Lee Komoroski, 26, was sentenced on December 2 to 25 years behind bars within the April 2023 accident that noticed Komoroski, touring 65 mph in a 25-mph zone, slam right into a golf cart carrying the newlywed couple, Samantha Miller and Aric Hutcherson, from their Folly Seashore wedding ceremony reception.

Additionally within the golf cart have been the groom’s brother-in-law and a nephew. All three males survived the crash with severe accidents. Miller, nonetheless in her wedding ceremony gown, died immediately.

Three days after her sentencing on two counts of felony DUI leading to nice bodily harm and one rely every of felony DUI leading to dying and reckless murder leading to dying, attorneys for Komoroski filed a petition to Ninth Judicial Circuit Decide Deadra L. Jefferson asking her to rethink her sentence.

After pleading responsible, Komoroski was sentenced to 25 years for the DUI leading to dying, 15 for every DUI leading to harm, and 10 for reckhless murder — with sentences to run concurrently.

On this newest court docket submitting, Komoroski’s attorneys are calling this sentence “unwarranted and grossly disproportionate,” in line with Legislation & Crime. The paperwork state that related instances in “neighboring jurisdictions” carried sentences starting from 9 to 18 years, with some instances in that very same county seeing sentences so long as six years imprisonment.

The attorneys acknowledged that there have been 25-year sentences, however these solely on paper, with defendants finally serving anyplace between three and 18 years.

As famous by Komoroski’s attorneys, these are “essentially the most extreme penalty permitted by state regulation” for every rely. In addition they famous that in not one of the neighboring states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, or West Virgina does a drunk  driving incident resulting in dying lead to a sentence larger than 20 years.

On the scene after the deadly accident, Komoroski allegedly refused a discipline sobriety check, insisting she’d solely had one beer and a drink of tequila an hour earlier than, regardless of officers reporting she strongly smelled of alcohol.

She reportedly advised a witness on the scene she “did nothing fallacious.” Her blood-alcohol content material when it was examined, after police obtained a warrant to attract blood, was nonetheless greater than thrice the authorized restrict at that time.

Finally, although, Komoroski did plead responsible in court docket.

“That is the worst determination I’ve ever made in my life, and it has affected the lives of so many. I’ll use the time to raised myself,” she advised the courtroom and Miller’s family members after admitting that she was a recovering alcoholic forward of her sentencing.

“I take full accountability for the tragic consequence that my selections have made. I’ll carry this guilt with me for the remainder of my life.”

Of their movement, attorneys for Komoroski allege that the decide didn’t contemplate mitigating components when figuring out the defendant’s sentence, per Legislation & Crime:

• Lack of any felony historical past or any historical past of violence
• Unprotected pleas of responsible to spare the victim-family members from the issue of trial and save the State time and sources
• Absence of intent to trigger dying
• recognized struggles with alcohol abuse, and remedial steps taken to deal with her dependancy
• real expressions of regret and remorse for her actions
• Historical past, character and rehabilitative potential
• No prior historical past of DUI or DUI-related offenses
• Full and unequivocal acceptance of accountability for her actions

“The Court docket is required to equally contemplate each aggravating and mitigating components and, as evidenced by the utmost sentence issued towards Ms. Komoroski on every rely to which she pleaded, such balancing didn’t happen,” states the brand new submitting.

The protection argued that pleading responsible and saving State sources and time has all the time led to some form of sentence credit score in related instances previous to Komoroski’s, suggesting that the larger media protection seen in her case could have been an element on this sentence.

“These different instances seemingly didn’t garner the identical diploma of media consideration; nevertheless, the numerous media curiosity can’t function an aggravating issue justifying an extended sentence,” Komoroski’s attorneys argued of their submitting.