‘American Idol’ Alum Caleb Kennedy Pleads Guilty, Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison After Fatal Driving Accident

Country singer Caleb Kennedy, who participated in the contest American Idol Season 19, in 2022, he was sentenced to eight years in prison after being involved in a car crash that killed a man in Pacolet, South Carolina.

Kennedy pleaded guilty last week to a felony charge of driving while intoxicated, resulting in death. Greenville News. He was initially sentenced to 25 years in prison and a $25,100 fine, but that sentence and fine were reduced to eight years and $15,100; three of these years were spent in home detention. He also received credit for the nearly three years he has already served.

The singer will also be on probation for five years and will be required to attend mental health and substance abuse counseling.

The legal update comes nearly three years after Kennedy, then 17, struck and killed Larry Duane Parris, 54, while driving his Ford F-150 on Feb. 8, 2022. The warrants claimed that Kennedy was under the influence of marijuana at the time. and was arrested on drunken driving charges the day of the crash.

Kennedy’s lawyer Ryan Beasley said: News He said the punishment was fair. “There is no record of her and she was a minor when this happened,” Beasley said. “This wasn’t this egregious act that you see most of the time where people drink and drive and then hit someone at night or drive the wrong way on the road. “This was a strange reaction from his prescription medication and possibly the THC.”

Beasley also said Kennedy was “deeply remorseful” and that the sentence “begins the healing process for everyone involved in this situation.” ( News He notes that Parris’ family is asking for a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.)

Kennedy entered the top 7 American Idol season 19 but withdrew from the competition After video resurfaced of him standing next to a person wearing a Ku Klux Klan-style hoodie. “I was young and didn’t think about the actions, but that’s no excuse,” Kennedy said on social media at the time, in part. “I want to apologize to all my fans and everyone I disappointed.”