A former doctor form Raleigh who was convicted of DWI, involuntary manslaughter and felony death by motor vehicle in 2011 is being allowed to leave prison. He is able to leave due to his participation in the work release program which permits him to go to work. He is also being allowed to leave the prison for a 48 hour period to visit with family on the weekends on a regular basis. The prison system will sometimes allow inmates to participate in these programs if they are well behaved and are nearing their release date.
In this case the allowance of this man to leave prison is not being taken well by the community. The former doctor was originally charged with 2nd Degree Murder for hitting and killing a ballet dancer in 2009. He had a BAC of .24 at the time of the accident. The jury was hung 10-2 in finding him guilty of 2nd Degree Murder but he was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. The judge expressed how heinous the crime was during sentencing, but that he could only sentence the defendant to a maximum of 3 years because of North Carolina’s structured sentencing laws.
The former doctor is not scheduled to be released until February 28, 2014.
