Almost a year after the arrest of Oscar Rodriguez, he was convicted of reckless manslaughter and will serve two-to-six years in prison.
Last November, Rodriguez was accused of fatally injuring his girlfriend, Morgan Lee Dumas. Both were students at Colorado Mesa University. Rodriguez appeared in court this past week and the Mesa County jury found Rodriguez guilty of reckless manslaughter. The jury also found Rodriguez not guilty of second degree assault. His sentence will start in December.
Dumas was taken to the hospital after being unresponsive the morning after the two got into a fight. Rodriguez told the police that he did push Dumas twice and that she hit her head on the floor.
Public Defender Ruth Swift told the jury that Dumas’s death was unintentional as Rodriguez was attempting to defend himself; according to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.
After 11 months, Rodriguez was tried and convicted.
On Oct. 5, family member, Alden Wayne Dumas, shared the GJSentinel link to an article about the conviction of Rodriguez on Facebook. Comments on the shared link included Alden Wayne Dumas explained what reckless manslaughter is. The comment said, “Manslaughter: Recklessly causing the death of another person or intentionally causing or aiding another person to commit suicide. This is a Class 4 Felony punishable by up to 6 years imprisonment and up to $500,000 in fines.”
On this Facebook post there were 21 shares and likes and angry faces. Another commented they were sorry that he will only serve a few years. The third comment was saying he should get life.
Although he was found guilty and will serve time; those who were close to Dumas may feel as though he deserved more.