Traffic Accident nets Life Sentence
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Name Gretchen F. Kindrick
Address 678 Williamson Kindrick Trail
City Eclectic
State AL
Zipcode 36024
Phone (334) 541-2720
I have a story to tell. It is not so much my story as it is my son's. I will just hit the highlights, and if there
is any help out there, maybe someone can point me in the right direction.
In April of last year, my son was involved in an accident. He hit a truck from behind, and an 11 year old child
was killed.
They did a breath test on-scene, and the took him to the hospital for a blood draw for blood alcohol level. Both
tests results were less than .08. However, he was only 20 at the time, and so he ended up being charged with murder.
When we received "discovery" from the state, it included a urine alcohol level, which showed an extremely
high level of alcohol along with codeine and xanax. He was under a doctor's care, and the xanax was prescribed.
My son continued to insist that he never gave a urine sample. The time-line had it being given right there at the
scene of the accident. When he examine the consent form for the urine, he realized that it was NOT his signature.
We employed the services of a very reputable questionable document examiner, and he determined that in fact it
was not my son's signature. However, according to our lawyer, to whom we had given almost every penny we had to
retain as counsel, it did not matter.
During the 16 months from arrest to the time when advised our son to plead guilty, we met with him at the time
we bailed our son out, at the pre-trial (briefly), at the suppression hearing (he didn't even bring the problem
up), at the hearing, at the sentencing, and one other time during all of this.
He managed to return 5 or 6 of over 50-60 phone calls. My son received a life sentence. We never expected him to
go unpunished. He should not have been drinking and driving. However, we are astounded at the results.
The DA used the urine sample as her main focus, as well as emphasizing that my son had no remorse. My son is a
tender-hearted and kind man. He has never intentionally hurt any one in his life.
He has a wife and 16 month-old baby. He actually was hit by another car in his attempts to get across the road
to the people he hit. At the sentencing, when we had people to testify on our son's behalf, the judge told my son's
wife that neither she nor my son deserved to have their child.
She tore that sweet girl, who is a wonderful mama, to pieces. She basically told my husband and I that we were
terrible parents.
I don't understand how the forgery doesn't matter. I don't understand why our lawyer didn't fight for him.
The only conclusion I can come to is that he made a deal with the DA..... one of those "I'll give you this
one if you will let this one and this one walk" type of things. It is the ONLY logical explanation.
Is there help out there? Does anyone care? We are broke, and disheartened. Where can we go from here? Who do we
turn to? Anyone caring to communicate with me regarding this is free to do so. We are at our wit's end. I haven't
been able to sleep in over a year.
Gretchen Kindrick
678 Williamson Kindrick Trail
Eclectic, Alabama 36024
334-541-2720
[email protected]
