WASHINGTON: A Georgia appeals court rejected Randall Miller’s request to have his sentence shortened earlier this week. He will now have to complete another two years of probation.
According to Variety, a US-based media house, in connection with the death of camera assistant Sarah Jones, who was struck and killed by a freight train while ‘Midnight Rider’ was being filmed, the director entered a plea of guilty in March 2015.
Miller was given a year in prison as well as a 10-year probationary period during which he cannot work as a director.
Variety reported that Miller was the first director to be imprisoned for an accident that occurred on the set.
After a Santa Fe prosecutor charged Alec Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed with involuntary manslaughter in the death of ‘Rust’ cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, Miller’s case gained new attention.
Variety further reported that since being released from prison in 2016, Miller has made attempts to loosen his probation restrictions.
In accordance with a new state statute that shortens probationary sentences for first-time offenders, his counsel urged a judge to end his sentence early last year. Anthony Harrison, the judge, turned down the request.
Miller’s attorney requested that the case be assigned to a different judge in an appeal to the Georgia Court of Appeals. But, in a four-page ruling issued Thursday, as per Variety, the court denied the appeal, finding that it was untimely. The court also refused to assign the case to a new judge. (ANI)