No jail for mom whose son died jaywalking with her
Raquel Nelson will not be going to jail — at least not anytime soon.
The single mother from Marietta, Ga., who potentially faced more prison time for jaywalking than the man convicted for the hit-and-run accident that killed her 4-year-old son, was sentenced to 40 hours of community service and 12 months probation in Cobb County State Court, but then also given the option of a new trial in an unusual decision.
Whether Nelson will accept the option of the new trial was not immediately clear. Her attorney, David Savoy, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he will confer with her about the decision but that she "wants to proceed'' with a new trial at this time. However, Nelson herself told Patch.com that she is unsure whether she will seek the new trial, saying, “I'm just taking [it] one day at a time.”
Several witnesses spoke on Nelson's behalf at the sentencing, and numerous supportive emails were presented. Her situation also galvanized the online community: A petition posted on change.org asking that she not receive any jail time received more than 140,000 signatures in 48 hours.
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