The State of Florida vs. Beruch Zegeye, a Palm Beach County DUI manslaughter case, is highlighting the debate between Justice and Mercy.  It is also raising the question of whether the purpose of the US justice system is to punish perpetrators or whether the point it is to mete out the best sentence, even if it is outside sentencing guidelines, given the circumstances of the case.

In September 2008, then 17-year-old Beruch Zegeye spent the day partying with friends on a boat reportedly owned by pro-golfer Jack Nicklaus.  According to testimony in the case, after spending most of the day drinking “cases” of alcohol, Mr. Zegeye and several other teenagers took the prescription anti-anxiety drug Xanax. 

Beruch Zegeye's booking mug shot.

That testimony also states that a friend of Mr. Zegeye’s took the keys to Zegeye's Porsche SUV to keep Mr. Zegeye from driving because he was “obviously impaired.”  The teens then went to a party, where Mr. Zegeye found his car keys and drove away.  Witnesses report seeing Mr. Zegeye weaving through traffic, speeding and running a red light.  The ride ended with Mr. Zegeye plowing into several cars stopped at a red light, not even braking, according to other witnesses.  Mr. Zegeye struck and instantly killed Paul Krommendyk, who was working his second job as a Domino’s Pizza delivery man. 

Police officers reconstructing the scene say Mr. Zegeye was driving 80 miles per hour when he made contact with the cars.

On 29 November, 2010, Mr. Zegeye appeared before Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Karen Miller, known as one of the toughest judges in the County, and plead guilty to vehicular homicide, DUI manslaughter, driving under the influence causing or contributing to serious bodily injury and reckless driving.  He appeared with his father, a well-respected neurosurgeon, but no attorney, and waived his right to a trial.

Mr. Zegeye’s plea, without legal representation, means that Judge Miller has sole authority to sentence him.  Florida sentencing guidelines state a minimum of 14 years and a maximum of 20 years in prison. Judge Miller can follow those guidelines or impose more or less time. 

This horrific incident is Mr. Zegeye’s first offense of any type.  By all accounts, he is a soft-spoken responsible young man who makes very good grades at one of the most difficult – and most expensive – schools in Palm Beach County.  He has accompanied his father, neurologist Yonas Zegeye, on humanitarian trips to Haiti and other poverty-stricken areas.  His family is well-respected in the community for their kindness and community activism. 

Despite all that, no one disagrees that on September 12, 2008, Beruch Zegeye made a series of poor decisions that directly resulted in the death of an innocent man.

Proponents of a long sentence for Mr. Zegeye note those bad decisions and say that at this point he needs to pay for those decisions.  They say he chose to drink, while underage, then added to that bad choice by taking Xanax as a recreational drug, and then retrieved his car keys and decided to drive.

He was wrong.  Undeniably, terribly wrong.

It is also true that after the first of those bad choices – drinking all day – Mr. Zegeye was in no condition to make any good decisions.  The dominoes continued to fall for Mr. Zegeye that day; however the subsequent bad decisions clearly demonstrate that once you are impaired, you are unlikely to suddenly make good decisions. 

Mr. Zegeye is not Mark David Chapman or Charles Manson, violent criminals who not only committed premeditated acts of brutality, but who would also likely repeat their behavior given a chance. 

Unlike serial, hardened criminals, Mr. Zegeye also is remorseful.  The prosecuting attorneys and the parents of Mr. Krommendyk say Mr. Zegeye visibly carries the burden of what he did. He knows he killed someone, and he is beyond sorry for his actions.

No one will deny that Mr. Zegeye made appalling, irrevocable choices that ultimately resulted in him plowing his car into another vehicle and killing the driver of that car.  That is a fact. 

The question now is how is justice best served?  Should Mr. Zegeye, an immature but by all accounts basically “good kid,” poised, hopefully, to contribute positively to society, spend the next 14 to 20 years in jail?  Wwhat positive comes from that sentence?  Will he emerge a better citizen?  As a society, do we have an obligation to punish him, or do we have a responsibility to ensure he carries the weight of killing someone while moving forward in a positive way?  Can we do both?

Other jurisdictions have implemented creative sentencing in similar cases, aimed at demonstrating the serious consequences of poor actions while positioning the perpetrator to contribute to society.  One judge, for example, ordered a DUI manslaughter defendant to pay $1 a week to the parents of the victim and to spend 10 years talking to high school students about his experience.  Another judge sentenced a DUI manslaughter defendant to probation, community service talking to kids about the evils of drinking and driving, and ten years as a designated driver on a local anti-drinking hotline. 

The parents of Mr. Krommendyk say they hold no anger against Mr. Zegeye.  They say he knows what he did, he is sorry for his actions, and they wish him well.  They forgive him. 

It is true there is always more to the story.  There is always another interpretation or another view.  The tragedy here is that a very stupid lapse of judgment, an inexcusable failure of any sort of common sense by one individual, cost another man his life.  Another life is damaged.  Two families are broken. 

Judge Karen Miller carries a difficult burden as she weighs the evidence.  Like all of us, she probably wishes the case had never happened,  that there was a “do-over” button we could push to rewind the evening and allow Mr. Zegeye to make different choices.  But there isn’t.  There is no way to un-do the tragedy, the hurt, the devastation.  Unfortunately, there are no easy answers.  Only broken, grieving families and a Judge charged with finding the right answer.

We wish her wisdom.