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By Nate Taylor, Fort Collins Coloradoan
During a series of events rarely seen inside a
Colorado courtroom, Gregory Nessler was allowed Tuesday during his
sentencing hearing to turn and face the family of the Maine man he
killed last year while driving high on drugs.
Before he was sentenced to four years in prison for vehicular
homicide and four years for vehicular assault, Nessler fought back
tears and vowed to Christopher Douglass' family to live his life the
way their son and brother no longer could.
"I take full responsibility for my actions," Nessler said facing the
15 friends and family members in the courtroom after being granted
permission to do so by Judge David Williams. "I can truly say he's
an inspiration for the way I wish I could live my life. I'm truly,
deeply sorry."
Nessler, a 21-year-old Colorado State University student, was
sentenced Tuesday afternoon in Fort Collins after pleading guilty in
March to the vehicular homicide and assault charges filed against
him after a fatal crash on May 31, 2008, on U.S. Highway 287 north
of Fort Collins.
He'll serve the two sentences concurrently and serve three years of
mandatory parole upon his release. His attorneys can file a motion
to reconsider the sentence in the next nine to 12 months.
With the prescription drug Xanax, marijuana and cocaine in his
system, prosecutors say Nessler dozed off and his Chevrolet
Avalanche collided head-on with the Toyota Camry driven by
24-year-old Amy White of Denver and carrying the 28-year-old
Douglass of Lisbon.
The Camry was demolished, and Douglass was pronounced dead at the
scene. White survived, but a year and a month after the crash, she
has permanent brain damage, is in a child-like state and is blind in
one eye, according to a Colorado State Patrol victim's advocate.
The sentence Williams handed down took into consideration
circumstances he and attorneys for both sides said were the most
difficult they've encountered during their legal careers. Nessler's
crimes were his first against society, and his parents described him
as a caring young man who became addicted to pain killers while
battling an illness.
Loved ones described Douglass as an outdoors enthusiast, musician,
artist and best friend to many. Douglass had traveled to 48 states,
run a marathon in Dublin, Ireland, and was planning a cross-country
walk from Colorado to his home-state of Maine in the months before
he died.
"He was my adventurous son, and he was my baby," Douglass' mother,
Linda Douglass, said. "Chris had so many plans he hadn't done yet."
Linda Douglass, along with her husband, Jerry, also read a "bucket
list" - things to do before one dies - that their son had created
when he was 20 years old. He also read a letter Chris wrote the
Father's Day before his death, where he thanked his dad for teaching
him the three principles he need to live by:
Be nice, be honest and be thankful.
"The memories that brought us smiles before now come with all these
tears," Chris' sister and best friend, Bethany Douglass, told
Williams.
Nessler cried throughout the two-hour hearing, but most
uncontrollably when he addressed the Douglass family for about five
minutes. His attorneys asked Williams to sentence him to 10 years in
community corrections.
Williams said sentencing Nessler to community corrections would
minimize his crime and not carry out the principle of deterrence.
Gregory Nessler was sentenced to four years in prison for vehicular
homicide and four years for vehicular assault on Tuesday in
Colorado. The sentences stem from a fatal crash on May 31, 2008, in
Colorado that killed Maine native Chris Douglass.
Reprinted with permission of the Fort Collins
Coloradoan.
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