Caleb Kennedy, a “American Idol” graduate, was sentenced to eight years in prison for drunk driving in a fatal 2022 car accident.
Kennedy, 20, pled guilty on Monday to a felony charge of driving under the influence, according to the Greenville News.
He was initially sentenced to 25 years in prison and a $25,100 fine, but this was reduced to eight years and $15,100.
Three of those eight years will be spent in home detention, and he will be given credit for the nearly three years he has already served since being arrested.
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Kennedy will also serve five years on probation and be required to attend mental health and substance abuse counseling.
The victim’s family reportedly wanted Kennedy to serve the maximum 25-year term; however, the former singer’s lawyer said the sentence was fair.
“He’s got no record, and he was a minor when this happened,” Greenville, SC, lawyer Ryan Beasley told the local site. “This wasn’t such an egregious act that you see most of the time, where people were drinking and driving then they hit somebody at night or going the wrong way down the road.”
The attorney stated that his client had a “weird reaction” to prescription medication and “possibly THC” on the day of the accident.
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“A very good person died, and I feel so bad for the Parris family,” Beasley said of the victim, Larry Duance Parris. “Caleb is deeply sorry, and his warmest condolences are conveyed to the Parris family. This sentence begins the healing process for everyone involved in this event.”
Kennedy drove under the influence of marijuana after using a vape pen on his way to meet his girlfriend in South Carolina on February 8, 2022, according to warrants obtained by the site.
He was driving his Ford F-150 pickup when he struck 54-year-old Parris, who was conversing on the phone.
Parris was forced into a building using Kennedy’s pickup truck. The sufferer was taken to a local hospital, but he died of his injuries.
Kennedy, then 17, was arrested and charged with DUI the same day.
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Prior to the fatal incident, the musician had a colorful reputation. He finished in the top five on Season 19 of the ABC singing competition. He left the show in 2021 after being photographed sat near to someone donning a Ku Klux Klan hood in a Snapchat post.
“Hey y’all, this is gonna be a bit of a surprise, but I am no longer going to be on American Idol,” he stated on Instagram at the time. “There was a video that surfaced on the internet and it displayed actions that were not meant to be taken in that way.”
He went on, “I was younger and did not think about my conduct, but it is not an excuse. I want to apologize to all of my fans and everyone I’ve let down.”
Kennedy’s mother said that the video was taken when he was only 12 years old.
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