BROCKTON Patrick J. Byrne was sentenced today to 8 to 10 years at the state prison in Walpole for killing a 26-year-old Weymouth woman in a drunk-driving crash last year.
The sentence was one of the most severe possible under state law, exceeded the five-year minimum imposed under Melanie’s Law, the anti-drunk driving measure enacted in 2005.
Byrne, 57, was convicted last week in Brockton Superior Court of vehicular homicide and vehicular manslaughter for the death of 26-year-old Melissa Leminen of Weymouth.
Leminen died on May 7, 2006, when Byrne slammed into her car head-on while driving the wrong way on Route 3 in Rockland. Her cousin, Theresa Leminen, was severely injured in the crash.
Byrne was drunk from an all-day bachelor party, and refused to listen to friends and relatives who begged him not to drive.
‘‘There's no sentence that I can give that will bring back Melissa, that will bring back Theresa's health and that will make the family happy,’’ Judge Paul Troy told the victim’s family today.
‘‘When you lose your child, nothing makes up for it, so I don't ask you to agree with anything I say.
‘‘As far as Mr. Byrne goes, his life is over. It is,’ Troy said. "(For) a man 57 years old, even a year in prison is a long time ... and he's going to serve a lot longer than that.’’
Byrne, a former U.S. Department of Defense employee from Woburn, has served 18 months in the Plymouth County jail awaiting trial. After serving the rest of his sentence, he must stay for six months in a locked alcohol treatment facility followed by fourmonths in a sober house and 10 years of probation.
When he is released, he will have a 7 p.m. curfew for four years and a device will be placed in his telephone to detect alcohol on his breath.
The district attorney’s office charged Byrne with second-degree murder, which carries a life sentence with a minimum 15 years to be served, but the jury acquitted him of that charge.
In addition to manslaughter and vehicular homicide, jurors found Byrne guilty of fourth-offense drunken driving and causing serious injury by drunken driving.
During the nine-day trial, the defense did not dispute that Byrne was drunk and that he drove on the wrong side of the highway.
WOW.......... Wish there were more sentences like this. KUDOS to Judge Troy.....
Posted by: mtc
What this particular article fails to mention, is that Byrne's attorney blamed the VICTIM for the crash, because she should have avoided him when she saw him coming the wrong way.
So, yeah, we was 'faced and on the wrong side of the highway, but SHE should have gotten out of HIS way... Sickening.
Her poor parents.
Posted by: Killjoy
Drunk drivers who kill people with their vehicles shouldn't be charged with vehicular homicide...they should be charged with murder!
Posted by: Andy0921
I absolutely agree, Killjoy.
IMO, not only should they be charged with murder, they should be publicly "bottled" with whatever alcoholic beverage they were under the influence of when they decided to hop in their car and kill someone.
Posted by: justanotherparatrooper
+1 Killjoy!
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