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Former "Prison Break" actor, Lane Garrison, was sentenced on Wednesday to three years and four months behind bars for last year’s alcohol-fueled car crash which lead to the death of a 17-year-old high school student.
The 27-year-old actor, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter, drunken driving and providing alcohol to a minor, was facing a maximum penalty of six years and eight months in prison for being behind the wheel in December 2006 when he smashed a 2001 Land Rover into a tree killing one of his passengers, Vahagn Setian, while two other 15-year-old girl passengers were injured. Garrison suffered minor injuries.
Once again, a sober looking Garrison, sporting a suit and free from handcuffs expressed his regret towards his actions, vowing to compensate his wrongdoing.
"I just want to say how sorry I am to the Setian family. I am sickened by my behavior on that night. My thoughts keep coming back to that night," Garrison was quoted by E!Online as saying before his sentencing, "This remorse is genuine. I feel it every day."
"I want to show that my walk with sobriety will be very easy. I want to help other kids not make the same mistake I did," he added.
As Judge Elden Fox sentenced him, he told Garrison he believed that he was a human being who committed a very serious crime devastating three families, yet, "I think you are truly remorseful," Fox explained, adding that "the public needs to know crimes like this need to be punished and, unfortunately, you have to be the messenger."
Additionally, Garrison must also pay close to $300,000 in restitution to the Setian family and to the two girls injured in the crash.
Harland Braun, Garrison’s attorney, called the sentence "perfectly appropriate," saying that Garrison accepted his punishment saying he considers himself lucky to be alive and had no plans to appeal.
According to Garrison, he met the three teenagers at a store and was on his way to a party with them when the accident occurred. Police reports revealed that Garrison had a blood-alcohol content of 0.20 percent, more than twice the legal limit for driving, and was under the influence of cocaine.
Prior to this last hearing, the actor, whose criminal record was clean, spent three months after a judge postponed his sentencing in August so that Garrison would get a psychiatric evaluation to help decide his sentence.
"This is an out-of-body experience for me. I'm reminded of that night every day and I think about the bad decision I made. I am so sorry." Garrison told the judge during his August hearing.
A 3,600 signature petition, seeking maximum punishment for Garrison, submitted by friends of the teenager killed in the crash was rejected by the judge who called it inappropriate.
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