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Sep 5, 2008 11:05 pm US/Central
Father Outraged By Sentence Given To Drunk Driver
Reporting
Jack Fink
ARLINGTON (CBS 11 News) ―
Philip Cullens believes the jury cheated him and his family of justice after the drunk driver convicted of causing the crash that killed his son received probation.
He says, "The thing I get is maybe Texas juries don't like to ruin a young man's life. Well my son was 17 and he has no life."
Cullen's 17-year-old son was killed in a violent crash at an Arlington intersection in April of last year.
The jury convicted 23-year-old Adam Parks of intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault. He received 10 years probation, but must first spend six months in the Tarrant County Jail.
The victim's father says it's not enough and wants him to spend at least ten years in state prison. He calls the verdict "cowardly. I think the best way to describe it was they showed cowardice."
Parks' attorney, Jeff Boncek, says the jury got the penalty phase right. "I really do believe they got it right because Mr. Parks wasn't the only party involved. There was another driver. It was a two car accident," he said.
The car Nick Cullens was in was driven by a girl who may have also been impaired. A DUI charge against her was dropped.
A witness testified the driver of Cullens' car made a left turn from Sublett onto Cooper with a green arrow when Parks crashed into them at a high rate of speed.
"You can't blame the system. We can blame ourselves because 12 people in Tarrant County didn't have the guts to send him to jail," said Cullens. "I think the message it sends out is life is cheap."
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