Kim Kardashian thanks Colorado governor for reducing sentence of truck driver to 10 years

Kim Kardashian thanked Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday after he reduced the sentence of truck driver Rogel Aguilera-Mederos to 10 years from 110 years in connection with a deadly 2019 crash.

Kardashian, 41, who has been outspoken over criminal justice reform, took to Instagram Stories to show her gratitude to the governor for his actions in the case, that was the focus of national attention.

‘Thank you @Govofco for taking action to reduce Mr. Aguilera-Mederos sentence!’ Kardashian said. ‘While his new sentence is 10 years, he will now have an opportunity to come home in five years and be with his son and wife.’

Kardashian said that ‘this case was a clear example of why mandatory minimums don’t work and need to be abolished,’ adding that she was ‘grateful to Governor Polis for his empathy and leadership on this case.’

Kardashian also shared a copy of the official executive order, thanking the governor for his actions in the case.

The governor said in a commutation letter to Aguilera-Mederos, ‘The length of your 110-year sentence is simply not commensurate with your actions, nor with penalties handed down to others for similar crimes. 

‘There is an urgency to remedy this unjust sentence and restore confidence in the uniformity and fairness of our criminal justice system, and consequently I have chosen to commute your sentence now.’

Aguilera-Mederos will be eligible for parole beginning December 30, 2026, as result of the commuted sentence.

Aguilera-Mederos, 26, was initially sentenced to 110 years in prison December 13 by Judge Bruce Jones, who cited that state law mandated the sentencing, adding, ‘I will state that if I had the discretion, it would not be my sentence,’ according to The Denver Post.

Aguilera-Mederos said in court testimony that in the April 25, 2019 crash on Interstate 70 in Lakewood, Colorado, the brakes on his semitrailer which he was transporting lumber in did not work, causing the truck to careen into vehicles ahead, leading to an explosive pileup in which four people were killed and six people were injured.

The people killed in the crash were identified as Miguel Angel Lamas Arellano, 24; William Bailey, 67; Doyle Harrison, 61; and Stanley Politano, 69.

Aguilera-Mederos in October was convicted in connection with four counts of vehicular homicide and other charges, as prosecutors said he failed to use a number of runaway ramps available that would have averted the deadly incident.

In his sentencing, a teary Aguilera-Mederos told the court, ‘I am not a criminal. I am not a murderer. I am not a killer. When I look at my charges, we are talking about a murderer, which is not me. I have never thought about hurting anybody in my entire life.’

A Change.org petition to grant Aguilera-Mederos clemency or commutation had garnered more than 5 million signatures on Thursday evening.

Kardashian previously worked with federal authorities on the release of Alice Marie Johnson, who was pardoned from a life sentence in 2018 stemming from a 1996 conviction on nonviolent drug charges.

Last month, Kardashian spoke out publicly against the scheduled execution of Oklahoma inmate Julius Jones in another controversial case; his death penalty sentence was commuted by Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt to life in prison without the possibility for parole.