2008 Woodie Awards
Shelton revokes motion, begins serving jail time
Amber Chemam
Issue date: 1/29/08 Section: Other News
Sophomore Elizabeth Shelton began serving her four-month jail sentence Dec. 20, after being convicted of intoxication manslaughter on Oct. 9 of last year.
Shelton, 21, filed a motion with the court on Dec. 17 requesting that she be allowed to serve her jail time on weekends and holidays. The motion stated that she would lose her scholarship to UST if she had to serve all four months at once, but Shelton dropped the request two days before she was scheduled to begin her sentence.
Her lawyer, Robert Loper, said that Shelton decided against dividing her jail time because she felt it was too difficult to juggle the demands of school while in prison. He also told the Houston Chronicle that he was unsure whether Shelton would lose her scholarship.
Visiting District Judge Richard Mays, who presided over Shelton's case, had allowed Shelton to begin her sentence after the end of the fall semester and later granted her request to serve time on the weekends.
According to the Houston Chronicle, prosecutors in the case, who were opposed to Shelton's request, believed that her decision to serve the time all at once showed that she was taking responsibility for the 2006 accident that killed her boyfriend.
Shelton's sentence of 120 days in jail is the minimum for probationers convicted of intoxication manslaughter. She was also sentenced to eight years probation and must pay a $10,000 fine. She will face a five-year prison sentence should her probation be revoked.
Shelton, the daughter of Juvenile District Court Judge Pat Shelton, was convicted in the death of Matthew McNiece, 19, after he was killed in a car accident on Oct. 23, 2006. The wreck occurred when Shelton's Lexus SUV collided with a large box truck on the Southwest Freeway, around 2 a.m. Shelton, who was driving, was later determined to have a blood alcohol level of 0.26 and 0.28, well above the 0.08 legal limit in Texas.
Witness testimony during the trial showed that the couple had been drinking together at a friend's nearby condominium before the accident.
Both Shelton and McNiece's family requested that jurors grant leniency to Shelton during the sentencing phase of the trial.
Shelton could not be reached for comment.
Shelton, 21, filed a motion with the court on Dec. 17 requesting that she be allowed to serve her jail time on weekends and holidays. The motion stated that she would lose her scholarship to UST if she had to serve all four months at once, but Shelton dropped the request two days before she was scheduled to begin her sentence.
Her lawyer, Robert Loper, said that Shelton decided against dividing her jail time because she felt it was too difficult to juggle the demands of school while in prison. He also told the Houston Chronicle that he was unsure whether Shelton would lose her scholarship.
Visiting District Judge Richard Mays, who presided over Shelton's case, had allowed Shelton to begin her sentence after the end of the fall semester and later granted her request to serve time on the weekends.
According to the Houston Chronicle, prosecutors in the case, who were opposed to Shelton's request, believed that her decision to serve the time all at once showed that she was taking responsibility for the 2006 accident that killed her boyfriend.
Shelton's sentence of 120 days in jail is the minimum for probationers convicted of intoxication manslaughter. She was also sentenced to eight years probation and must pay a $10,000 fine. She will face a five-year prison sentence should her probation be revoked.
Shelton, the daughter of Juvenile District Court Judge Pat Shelton, was convicted in the death of Matthew McNiece, 19, after he was killed in a car accident on Oct. 23, 2006. The wreck occurred when Shelton's Lexus SUV collided with a large box truck on the Southwest Freeway, around 2 a.m. Shelton, who was driving, was later determined to have a blood alcohol level of 0.26 and 0.28, well above the 0.08 legal limit in Texas.
Witness testimony during the trial showed that the couple had been drinking together at a friend's nearby condominium before the accident.
Both Shelton and McNiece's family requested that jurors grant leniency to Shelton during the sentencing phase of the trial.
Shelton could not be reached for comment.