Sonora, CA — Emotions ran high Tuesday afternoon following the formal sentencing of 55 year old Joanne Dues to four years in prison on a gross vehicular felony manslaughter charge for the September 29th hit-and-run death of 43 year old Jackson Lawe.
District Attorney Donald Segerstrom stated that many factors were taken into consideration regarding the sentence: the defendant´s conduct at the time of the accident, the defendant´s remorse if any, the defendant´s prior record if any and whether or not the defendant pleaded guilty at an early stage in the proceedings.
Jack Law, Sr. was in attendance. As a recovering alcoholic, he spoke directly to Dues in the packed courtroom telling her she must win the battle over alcohol if she wants to have a meaningful life. During his talk he stated that he lost another son, 22 year old Joseph, to a drunk driver in North Dakota in 1996.
Law´s mother, Terry Schroeder of Soulsbyville, said she has a difficult time talking about Joanne Dues. She admitted that, “Dues had a choice about driving after drinking and the choice that she made killed my son.”
Written by Bill Johnson
This post was last modified on 01/31/2009 1:57 pm