Sentencing Today for Bishop O'Brien

From Sentencing is today for Bishop O'Brien in hit-run case:



"Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien learns today whether he will spend time in jail for leaving the scene of a fatal car-pedestrian accident. He was convicted Feb. 17 in the hit-and-run death of Jim L. Reed. He faces up to 45 months in prison and a $150,000 fine.



Prosecutors have asked Judge Stephen A. Gerst of Maricopa County Superior Court to sentence O'Brien to at least six months in county jail, four years of probation and 500 hours of community service. The bishop's attorneys countered by crediting O'Brien with a 'mountain of good works' in years as a priest and bishop. They asked for probation.



If O'Brien is sent to jail, Gerst has discretion to decide whether the bishop is taken away in handcuffs or allowed to return home for a time to prepare for incarceration. Regardless of the punishment, O'Brien will lose his driving privileges."