Following a two-hour sentencing hearing at the Vermilion County Courthouse, Judge Derek J. Girton has sentenced 47-year-old Anthony Austin of Georgetown to nine years in the Illinois Department of Corrections in connection with the October 2, 2022 shortly after midnight accident that killed a father, mother, and daughter from Oxford, Indiana; on Catlin-Indianola Road at County Road 550 in Indianola.
Fifty-two year old Lee Hall; his wife, 48 year old Felisha Hall; and their daughter, 18 year old Madison Hall; all died in the accident. Subsequent testing showed that Austin had a blood alcohol level of .167%.
It was on January 29th of this year that Vermilion County State’s Attorney Jacqueline Lacy explained in court that Austin had agreed to a partial plea of pleading guilty to one count of “Aggravated Driving Under the Influence Resulting in the Deaths of Two Persons or More,” in exchange for the remaining counts being dropped.
State statute calls for such a case resulting in the deaths of two or more being eligible for a six to 28 year sentence. Part of the plea agreement was to have the amount of years capped at 20.
During the sentencing hearing, State’s Attorney Lacy called three witnesses; two from law enforcement and the third a forensic pathologist. Lacy also called three family members to read impact statements. The defense brought about four character witnesses, with the overall theme being that Austin was always a hard worker and good person who would never want to hurt anyone.
Austin struggled through a statement of apology that he read, turning to look at the family at the end and saying knows he cannot undo the pain and heartache he has caused, and that he is very ashamed of himself.
Before issuing the sentence, Judge Girton stated that he has both personally and professionally encountered similar situations; but he also stated he had never presided over “something like this.”
Judge Girton said he needed to follow the statute and plea agreement, which called for a sentence of up to 20 years; but also had to consider what kind of person Austin is according to testimony and his past that’s on record. The judge stated he did not feel that Austin was the type of person that simply had no remorse, didn’t care, and would likely do this again. While he told family members and friends of the Hall family that he knew they would not agree with his decision; Judge Girton issued the sentence of nine years, with a requirement that 85% of the sentence be served; followed by two years of mandatory supervised release.
