APPEALS COURT RULING Man must be resentenced because of judge's threat

The conviction on vehicular homicide and assault charges still stands.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- A paraplegic convicted of driving a sport utility vehicle into a crowd of Bengals fans before a game must be resentenced because he was threatened by a judge, a state appeals court ruled.
Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Robert Taylor sentenced Darrin Stafford to 20 years in prison after the 2001 crash, which killed one person and injured three others.
During the trial on charges of aggravated vehicular homicide and three counts of vehicular assault, Judge Taylor suggested Stafford consider a plea to lesser charges.
Judge Taylor said he would likely sentence Stafford to 11 years in prison if he accepted the plea. But Judge Taylor said he would impose the maximum 23-year sentence if Stafford rejected the plea and was found guilty at trial.
The Ohio First District Court of Appeals ruled Friday that Judge Taylor's comments were a threat, violating Stafford's right to a jury trial.
"The right to a jury trial is a fundament of American law. We will not permit a trial court to threaten a defendant with a harsher sentence if he exercises a fundamental right," Judge Mark Painter wrote in the decision.
The court didn't overturn Stafford's conviction but ordered him to be resentenced.
Couldn't use brakes
Police said the Nov. 18, 2001 crash occurred because Stafford -- who is paralyzed from the chest down and permitted to drive only vehicles with hand controls -- could not use his legs to operate the brake pedal on his friend's vehicle.
When the men reached Paul Brown Stadium, Stafford couldn't stop the vehicle and it plowed through the crowd, killing 15-year-old Scott Asbrock and injuring three others.