Woman convicted of deadly DUI crash in southern Indiana asks for early release
A Louisville woman convicted of a deadly DUI crash in 2020 is seeking to be released from prison early.
Taylor Barefoot went before a Floyd County judge on Thursday to get her 12-year sentence modified.
In 2020, she pled guilty to causing a wrong-way crash on Interstate 265 in southern Indiana. The crash killed Taylor Cole, 21, her unborn child, Cole’s 4-year-old son Braxton, along with Leah Onstott-Dunn, 22.
Records show Barefoot's blood-alcohol level was three times the legal limit.
In April of last year, Judge J. Terrence Cody sentenced Barefoot to 20 years: 12 to be served in prison and eight on probation. So far, she has served less than 2 years of her sentence.
Families of the victims protested the early release outside the courthouse ahead of the hearing.
“Anything other than her staying behind bars is not okay,” Carla McDonough, Cole’s mother, and Braxton’s grandmother. “Killing four innocent people who did nothing wrong. She gave them a death sentence and she gave us a life sentence.”
During the hearing, Barefoot’s attorneys argued for her release citing her improvements while incarcerated and that she has not seen her 4-year-old daughter since she began serving time.
Meanwhile, prosecutors say Judge Cody should deny the modification request because Barefoot was not given an unreasonable sentence.
On Thursday, Judge Cody said he will decide whether to alter her sentence or not in the next 20 days.
Barefoot is currently incarcerated at Rockville Correctional Facility in Rockville, Indiana.
If her sentence stays the same, she will be released in 2030.