West Palm Beach, Fla.
A man convicted of drunken driving got three years shaved off his prison term last week after he paid the victim’s family $100,000. Dennis McLennand Jr., 26, made the offer the night before pleading guilty to manslaughter for a 2001 crash that killed 3-month-old Alayn Aguila. After receiving the money, the boy’s family asked the judge to go easy on McLennand, who was to receive five years under the plea bargain. Judge Stephen Rapp sentenced McLennand to just two years, angering prosecutor Elizabeth Parker. “If you have money, you can get your sentence reduced,” she said. “This isn’t buying justice,” defense attorney Fred Susaneck said. “Why should we penalize people who can make restitution?”
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