Did Cody Stevens get a fair shake when he was sentenced this week to nine months in jail and 10 years loss of driving privileges for misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter?
Friends and family of accident victim Bertilia Lyn Redfern seemed satisfied with the sentence Monday from Blaine County Magistrate Court Judge R. Ted Israel, but friends and family of Stevens see it differently.
"No, I don't think justice was served," said Stevens' longtime friend Nick Montano, a former West Magic-area resident who now lives in Rigby. "It was a horrible accident, but it was just an accident. I think he was just passing out and unfortunately a car happened by at that moment."
Montano said further that Stevens has been unfairly portrayed in the case.
"I know Cody and people are just forgetting the fact that he's not a bad person," Montano said. "He's a great friend. He's been there for me through and through, and he's that way all the time, even with people he doesn't know."
Linda Bolling, Stevens' mother who now lives in Tennessee, criticized the sentence in an e-mail to the Idaho Mountain Express.
"They made a plea agreement with Cody and turned around and screwed him," Bolling wrote. "This case should have never been held in Hailey. It should have been moved to another county. After all, Mrs. Redfern did work for attorneys and was known in the courts. They made it personal. Forget justice. It's more like revenge."
Redfern, a 53-year-old legal secretary for the Roark Law Firm in Hailey, was killed on March 10, 2009, in a traffic accident that 29-year-old Stevens admitted causing when he suddenly swerved into her lane of traffic on state Highway 75 in Hailey. Originally charged with felony vehicular manslaughter, Stevens pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in January in a plea agreement with the Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney's Office after test results came back negative for alcohol or drugs in his blood.
Stevens' grandfather, Richfield resident Bill Coffey, didn't like the sentence either.
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"I was really disappointed in the way this was handled," Coffey said. "He's not a threat to anyone. It doesn't make sense to put him in jail. That 10-year driver's license suspension was completely out of line—they may as well cut off his legs."
Coffey alleged that Judge Israel should have disqualified himself from the case.
"He [Israel] admitted he was confused and didn't know what to do," Coffey said. "His sentence didn't make sense for sure."
Coffey was referring to statements made by Israel just prior to pronouncing sentence, when the judge said the case had "kept him up at nights" and that he'd had a difficult time reaching a decision.
"I think we'll get this decision overturned," said Coffey, adding that an appeal is likely.
Neither Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Matt Fredback nor defense attorney Douglas Werth could be reached for comment on the sentence.
Hailey Police Chief Jeff Gunter, whose agency investigated the accident, said "as long as Mr. Redfern's happy with the sentence—I'm happy with that. I want the Redferns to get some closure out of this."
Hailey attorney Douglas Nelson, a partner in the Roark Law Firm, offered his perspective on the outcome of the case.
"You have to trust that a knowledgeable prosecutor and a knowledgeable defense attorney will reach an agreement that's fair," Nelson said. "If you can't trust that, then it means the system is broken, and I don't think the system is broken in Blaine County."
Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com
Friends and family of Cody William Stevens, shown here in court Monday, say justice was not served in his nine-month jail sentence and 10-year driver’s license suspension. Photo by Willy Cook
