A Cherokee man who drove from the scene of a fatal collision with a bicyclist has been released from prison after serving a "shock sentence".
District Judge Charles Borth on Dec. 2 ordered the release of Casey Herwig, who had been sentenced in August to five years in prison on one count of leaving the scene of an accident with no knowledge of death.
Herwig's attorney, Justin Reininger, in November asked Borth to reconsider Herwig's sentence and alternately asked the judge to consider a shock sentence, generally described as a short sentence that shocks the offender with the reality of prison life, followed by probation.
In his order, Borth said his review of the case showed an initial recommendation from the Iowa Department of Corrections that Herwig receive probation. Given Herwig had served more than 100 days in prison, Borth ordered him released and placed him on two years' probation.
Herwig, 30, had pleaded guilty in July in Cherokee County District Court. In addition to his prison term, he was fined $1,025 and ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution to the estate of the victim, Phillip Watterson, whose insurance coverage had paid $100,000 of the state-mandated $150,000 restitution amount.
The bicyclist killed was 27 year old Phillip Watterson, a resident of Cherokee.
(Be sure to read the rest of the
news post for all the details)
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Crash Date: Dec 26th 2022 8:30pm
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BIKEIOWA NOTE: How would you and your family feel if someone struck your family member leaving them laying the roadway,then left the scene as your family member died, then they locate the person and his your pick-up has front-end damage matching the scene and when asked by officers if it was possible he hit a person, their respond was"it could’ve been.”... How would you feel?
Then they plead not guilty (2 years later) to one count of knowingly leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and receive a 5 year prison sentence only to be released on a 2 year probation after serving 3 months??? How would you feel?
In addition to his prison term, he was fined $1,025 and ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution to the estate of the victim, Phillip Watterson, whose insurance coverage had paid $100,000 of the state-mandated $150,000 restitution amount. How would you feel?
What is a "Shock Sentence"? A shock sentence is a legal policy in the US called shock probation, where a convicted felon is sentenced to a short prison term and then serves the remainder of their sentence on probation. The goal of shock probation is to deter recidivism by giving the offender a taste of prison.
How would you feel? While we don't know all the details leading up to the sentence re-consideration, it doesn't seem right to take a life with so little "repayment". The Watterson family may have been onboard with forgiveness and reduced recidivism, or they might not have been?!? Or was it the case of more dollars be thrown into the legal system? or a case of the small town "who knows who"? We may feel a little different if Casey didn't leave the scene and rendered aid, and was a little more compassionate with his responses to what he has hit.
How would you feel?