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Reader: Rogel Aguilera-Mederos Deserves Prison, but Not 100 Years!

The comments over the sentencing are fast and furious.
Rogel Aguilera-Mederos

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Shortly after trucker Rogel Aguilera-Mederos was sentenced to 110 years in prison for causing a crash on Interstate 70 that killed four people in April 2019, the League of United Latin American Citizens demanded that Governor Jared Polis commute the sentence or pardon Aguilera-Mederos, saying that the Houston resident, an immigrant from Cuba, was innocent of the charges.

And a Change.org petition, "Offer commutation as time served, or grant clemency to Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos, 23," has already collected well over four million signatures.

The discussion has been fast and furious, and in their comments on the Westword Facebook post reporting the responses to the sentencing, readers show just how divided people are across the country. Says Kerry:
I saw this accident happen. It was awful. I couldn't believe it when I saw him try to hightail it out of there instead of helping people. He deserves prison, but not 110 years. And the trucking company deserves to be called out, too!
Notes Pat:
All because that company gave an incredibly inexperienced driver with brand-new commercial license, who barely spoke/read English, and sent him straight into the mountains with a full load. What could POSSIBLY go wrong?
Suggests Mike: 
No injustice. He should have never been here and sure as hell never should have been working here, much less driving a rig.
Comments Ted:
He shouldn’t have been sentenced to 110 years. Murderers and rapists have gotten less. That’s not justice. Other people who have been involved in car accidents that killed others, who were drunk or high on drugs and driving, have received sentences like 20-25 years. This is a gross miscarriage of justice.
Offers Mary: 
He was found guilty by a jury. He pulled his truck over because his brakes were already smoking and failing, he decided to get back in his truck and continue down the mountain, at which time his brakes failed completely, and again he passed not one but two runaway truck ramps. He murdered four people, and permanently injured sixteen others. What should his sentence be?
Responds Dev: 
His sentence is ridiculously harsh, but he still made choices that led to the accident, like ignoring multiple runaway truck ramps. His sentence shouldn't be more than that of rapists and murderers, but he is not innocent and does deserve some punishment. But so does the trucking company.
Concludes Lyndy: 
The law is written that he is sentenced per count; he had over 27 counts adding up to the 110 years. The judge even said he wouldn’t have handed down that sentence but it’s the way the law is written… it will get reduced...y’all need to chill…
What do you think the sentence should be? Post a comment or send your thoughts to [email protected].