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Caleb Kennedy, a finalist on the hit show American Idol, has been handed an eight-year prison sentence for his involvement in a fatal DUI crash in 2022.
According to E! News, the 20-year-old singer pleaded guilty to the charges on November 18th.
The crash took place in South Carolina and killed 54-year-old Larry Duane Parris.
Kennedy was charged with 25 years in prison and a $25,100 fine, but his sentence was reduced to eight years and a $15,100 fine.
According to the publication, Kennedy will serve three years of his sentence in home confinement and has already had time credited since his arrest in 2022.
They will also place him on probation for five years, mandate that he seek mental health and substance abuse counseling, and subject him to random drug and alcohol tests.
“[He] wants to express his heartfelt sympathies to the Parris family. Caleb fully accepts his responsibility for this accident and hopes for healing for everyone affected by this tragedy,” Kennedy’s legal team said in a statement on Nov. 22.
His attorney, Ryan Beasley, told a local news source that he believed the penalty was appropriate given Kennedy’s age at the time of the event.
“This wasn’t such an egregious act that you see most of the time, where people were drinking and driving then they hit somebody at night or going the wrong way down the road. This was a weird reaction from his prescription medicine and possibly THC,” Beasley revealed.
Kennedy was high on marijuana when he attacked and killed Parris in his driveway in February 2022, while Parris was conversing on the phone.
The victim’s daughter, Kelsey Parris, expressed, “He intentionally killed my father.” I wish I could pay a little or a lot of money to get my daddy back.”
Kennedy competed on Season 19 of the popular ABC reality show in 2021.
He made it to the final five contestants before departing after a video surfaced online apparently showing Kennedy standing next to someone wearing a Ku Klux Klan-style hood.
“I was younger and did not think about the actions, but that’s not an excuse. I wanna say sorry to all my fans and everyone who I have let down,” he said on Instagram at the time.
