TULSA, Okla. — After originally pleading not guilty in the hit-and-run death of a Fort Gibson teen one year ago this Friday, two of the three adults charged in the crime and alleged cover-up now have pending plea deals.
"They stand before these courts and say, ‘Oh I’m sorry I lied to the grand jury,’ and that’s the only crime they admit to," Amber Jackson, mother of Eden grace Ferrell told 2 News on Nov. 1. "All of the rest of the crimes just disappear, and they take that. And that’s okay, that’s justice.”
Sixteen-year-old Eden grace Ferrell was hit and killed by a pickup truck while walking with her best friend a few yards off Highway 80 on Nov. 6 last year.
Months later, prosecutors charged Timothy Thompson with manslaughter. His wife, Stephanie, and her brother, Cairl Glenn Hayes Jr., are accused of lying to investigators about what happened.
All three pleaded not-guilty to their charges in April. However, the latter two defendants have changed course.
- Previous coverage>>> Defendants plead not guilty in deadly hit-and-run of Fort Gibson teen
Stephanie Thompson’s change of plea hearing is November 4 for a still-undisclosed agreement. She's been out on bond since April.
Hayes Jr. already pleaded guilty to lying about covering the truck damage with pieces of a deer carcass. He's free on bond but faces five years in prison, according to his plea agreement document.
Timothy Thompson, the accused driver, kept his not-guilty plea. His trial begins at the Muskogee federal courthouse December 1.
Neither the U.S. Attorney's Office nor lawyers for the suspects have commented on the case.
"She was always such a kind-hearted person. She made the world a better place. And I feel like the world is darker without her," Jackson said.
“I don’t think the world knows how severe this case actually is," the family's victim advocate Rachel Dallis said. "And I think that due to federal mandatory sentencing guidelines, I don’t think anybody is going to feel like there’s a sense of justice in this case.”
Both said they are angry at the thought of less-than-maximum penalties for all three suspects, and what they call a lack of communication to victims by the courts.
"There’s just no place for victims in there. You show up, you get to speak. But the law is the law, and it’s a point-based system,” Dallis said.
“(Stephanie Thompson and Hayes) got to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with their families. I didn’t get to have that with my daughter," Jackson said. "That was taken from us. And now, here we are a year later and they’re being released just in time to spend Christmas and Thanksgiving with their families. And again, we don’t have our daughter.”
The family said it has also started a Change.org petition get lawmakers to come up with a federal version of Oklahoma’s Marcy’s law to strengthen victim’s rights, especially when a child’s life is impacted.
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