A man who killed a well-known Native American activist in a head-on car crash was sentenced to 30 days in jail.
Myron Dewey was killed when a car, driven by John David Walsh of Reno, crashed into him September 26, 2021. It happened in a rural road in Nye County.
Walsh pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter which is a misdemeanor charge. Monday, the judge sentenced Walsh six months in jail but suspended five of them. In addition to 30 days in jail, Walsh has to pay more than $10,000 to Dewey's family and take DUI classes.
As News 4 reported, that for months after the crash, nobody was charged for the crash. Dewey thought the case may slip through the cracks.
"I just think that it’s a failure on their part because they should’ve done a better investigation because somebody was killed," said Taylor Dewey, Myron's daughter in July 2022.
49-year-old Myron Dewey was a member of the Walker River Paiute Tribe. He was outspoken, fighting for indigenous people.
Myron was a filmmaker and a journalist who drew worldwide attention to Native American concerns, fighting an oil pipeline near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. He also spoke out against the Thacker Pass lithium mine on the Nevada-Oregon boarder and against central Nevada's military installation.
Dewey's family tells News 4 that they are not happy with the sentence and feel Walsh just got a slap on the wrist. Dewey's son said Walsh apologized to them at the sentencing but they don't feel his was compassionate. They plan to file a civil lawsuit against Walsh.
Here is the family's statement:
REACTION BY JOSEPH DEWEY AND THE FAMILY OF MYRON DEWEY ON THE JUNE 6, 2023 JOHN WALSH SENTENCING SCHURZ, NV JUNE 7, 2023 -30 days, 5 months suspended, 250 hours of community service with an 8-hour drug and alcohol class is the justice for murder of my father at yesterday's sentencing. The judge chose to acknowledge John Walsh's attorney's request for community service even with the fifth district attorney on our family's side. My father's failed justice from Nye County is a clear example of how we as indigenous are treated and how the white privilege is taken care of. After almost two years of this battle for justice, we were let down even more as Judge Jennifer Klapper showed no compassion as she handed 30 days to a murderer. Historically, systemic racism against Indigenous peoples through the US courts has been going on over 400 years and continues. The colonial justice system has forgotten about true justice with the Creator. Prayers up relatives in all directions & worlds for all our Good Spirits as this war on mother earth continues, water is life. Peshayoo, aho. Pesa Moogoo"E - Good Spirit