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Plea change hearing goes on

A young man sentenced to 30 years in a fatal car crash in 2004 wants to switch his no-contest plea.

By JOHN FRANK
Published July 27, 2006

INVERNESS - In a case tinged by allegations of racial bias and intense emotions, a Citrus County judge heard testimony Wednesday about whether to allow an 18-year-old Sumter County man to change his plea of no contest after he was sentenced last year to 30 years in prison for a car crash that killed two people.

The attorney for William Thornton IV made the case to Circuit Judge Ric Howard that his client didn't understand the grave sentence he faced because of bad legal advice from his previous attorney, Public Defender Eric Evilsizer.

At the same time, Assistant State Attorney Rich Buxman established through questioning that Thornton was aware of the maximum penalties through his meetings with Evilsizer, though both expected leniency.

With testimony extending late into the evening, Howard delayed closing statements until Friday. It's unclear when he will make a decision about whether to give Thornton's case a second chance.

The case stems from a fatal collision just before midnight Dec. 28, 2004.

Thornton was speeding back to Oxford when he skidded through a stop sign into a major four-lane highway. The car he borrowed from a girlfriend collided with a sport utility vehicle carrying Citrus County residents Sara Jo Williams, 23, and Brandon Mushlit, 25. Neither wore seat belts, and both were thrown from the vehicle.

Last year, Thornton changed his plea from not guilty to no contest for two counts of vehicular homicide after a trial appeared too risky.

But with no plea bargain, sentencing was left up to Howard, a judge with a reputation for issuing stringent punishments. Howard ruled that Thornton should serve 30 years in state prison.

[Last modified July 27, 2006, 01:15:36]