Woman sentenced to 3 days a year in jail for 3 consecutive years after fatal crash
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Jackson County, North Carolina (WLOS) — A woman who crashed while driving impaired in 2017, resulting in the death of the vehicle’s passenger, has been given a specific sentence.
On Monday, Feb. 15, Jackson County Superior Court Judge Athena Brooks ordered Mary Harper, 41, to spend three days a year in jail for three consecutive years.
District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch, with North Carolina’s 43rd Prosecutorial District, says Harper had entered two Alford pleas to driving while impaired and misdemeanor death by motor vehicle. DA Welch explained that an Alford plea occurs when a defendant does not admit guilt, but enters a plea of guilty. The consecutive sentences of 90 days and 75 days, respectively, were suspended with three years of supervised probation imposed.
In a press release from Welch, she states that Shannon Marsden, the passenger in Harper’s vehicle, died on Nov. 4, 2017, after she and Harper left work. At the request of Marsden’s parents, Judge Brooks on Monday ordered Harper to serve the days in jail over three weekends that most closely follow the anniversary of Marsden’s death.
“They are a family of compassion, not vengeance,” Assistant District Attorney Christina Matheson, who prosecuted the case, told Judge Brooks. “They did not want Mary sentenced as a felon with active time in prison.”
Additionally, Welch says Harper must undergo substance-abuse treatment as part of her sentencing and “serve the community by discussing with groups — such as students — the consequences of her decision to drive that night while impaired.”
Harper maintains she does not recall details about the wreck. The press release states that while in court, Harper spoke directly to Marsden’s parents, telling them she was sorry for what had happened.
The women left No Name Bar after 2 a.m. in Harper’s Subaru Impreza in 2017. About a minute later and a half-mile from the bar, the car rounded a curve, went off the road and became airborne, crashing into a power pole. It was broken into two pieces.
Harper’s car flipped at least once, if not more, Matheson told the judge. Neither woman was wearing a seatbelt, and first responders found them entangled on the ground about 50 feet from the totaled Subaru.
Harper suffered severe injuries in the wreck. At the hospital, a blood sample revealed the presence of amphetamines and cocaine, in addition to alcohol, said Matheson, who prosecuted the case.
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