NATION : Jury: 16 Years for Bus Deaths
A jury today recommended a 16-year prison sentence for the man convicted of causing a fiery crash that killed 27 people on a church bus in the nation’s worst drunk-driving accident.
Under Kentucky law, Larry Mahoney would have to spend eight years in prison before he could be considered for parole. He was tried on 27 counts of murder, which carried a life sentence, but the jury convicted him Thursday of 27 counts of second-degree manslaughter, a lesser charge.
Mahoney, 36, was composed as he stood to hear Judge Charles Satterwhite read each of the sentence recommendations, but he appeared to have tears welling in his eyes by the time the judge concluded.
Satterwhite must schedule a formal sentencing. He could give Mahoney a lighter sentence than the jury recommended but cannot exceed the jury’s recommendation.
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