KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Former Chiefs assistant linebackers coach Britt Reid has been charged with driving while intoxicated in reference to a Feb. 4 crash that left a 5-year-old girl with a traumatic brain injury. And on account of a change in Missouri legislation 4 years in the past, the utmost quantity of jail time he may face if convicted is seven years.
“My job is to work inside Missouri legislation, and that is the best cost I can stage beneath Missouri legislation for the details and circumstances that I’ve for this case,” Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker informed 41 Motion Information in an unique interview.
The Jackson County Prosecuting Legal professional’s Workplace introduced Monday the Reid, 35, has been charged with DWI-Critical Bodily Damage, a category D felony with a possible jail sentence of 1 to seven years.
Missouri lawmakers modified the state’s DWI legal guidelines in 2017 after they overhauled the state’s prison code. The adjustments introduced “unintended penalties,” based on Chris Mann, a Kansas Metropolis, Missouri, legal professional and Moms In opposition to Drunk Driving (MADD) advocate.
“The change within the legislation has affected what occurs when there are a number of injured events in a crash or a number of fatalities in a crash,” Mann stated. “Previous to 2017 (prosecutors) may have charged quite a few counts of assault for the a number of people who have been harm on this incident, however due to the change within the legislation, this single cost is essentially the most they will do.”
MADD yearly publishes a “report card” for every state, based mostly on state legal guidelines and initiatives which might be aimed to cut back drunk driving. In 2019, Missouri scored a 3.5 out of 5. Kansas scored a 4.5.
The report stated whereas Missouri turned the 18th state to require ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers, the state “took a seismic step backwards by defunding lifesaving sobriety checkpoints.”
There currently is a proposal being debated to ban sobriety checkpoints within the state.
“If we are able to ensure that device continues to be accessible for legislation enforcement, then we wish to do the whole lot we are able to,” Meghan Carter, director of subject operations for MADD Missouri, stated. “Each life misplaced, every particular person injured is 100% preventable.”
