?Miscarriage of justice?: outcry after Colorado trucker given 110 years for fatal accident

The case of a young Colorado truck driver sentenced to 110 years in prison over his role in a fatal collision has prompted widespread calls for leniency and fueled criticism of the US justice system.

On Tuesday, the Colorado district attorney whose office prosecuted the case asked the court to reconsider the sentence of Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, 26, following the backlash over a punishment that's been called unduly harsh.

Aguilera-Mederos was convicted in October of vehicular homicide and other charges related to a deadly crash in April 2019, which occurred while he was hauling lumber in the Rocky Mountain foothills. He has said he was descending a steep portion of the highway when the brakes on his semi-trailer failed, leading to a multi-vehicle pileup and four deaths.

The judge in the case has said he was obligated to give Aguilera-Mederos the lengthy sentence based on minimum sentencing laws for the charges, prompting further criticism of the criminal justice system. .

More than 4.5 million people have signed a petition calling for Colorado's governor, Jared Polis, to grant clemency to Aguilera-Mederos or commute his sentence. Meanwhile, truckers and civil rights groups have expressed outrage over the sentence.

"It is a stark miscarriage of justice," said Domingo Garcia, the president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (Lulac). "Here's a man with no prior criminal record who went to work to feed his family. The brakes go out on his truck. It was a terrible accident. He's given 110 years for the first crime he's ever committed, a crime that was not intentional."

Lulac sent a letter to Polis on behalf of Aguilera-Mederos, a Cuban immigrant, requesting a pardon or a reduction of his sentence. Aguilera-Mederos' lawyer has filed a clemency petition to the governor.