NBA: Mookie Blaylock Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison
By David Ramil
Former NBA player Mookie Blaylock is facing 15 years in prison
NBA veteran Daron “Mookie” Blaylock, aged 47, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in prison this past Monday. The sentence was handed down in the verdict over Blaylock’s involvement in a car crash that left Monica Murphy dead in a head-on collision that took place on May 31, 2013.
According to ESPN, Blaylock’s sentence has been reduced “to seven years — suspended after three — and eight years’ probation.”
As per this report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the reduced term was part of a plea deal with the following stipulations:
"The plea was for seven years in prison and eight on probation but allows for prison sentence to be suspended after three years as long as he completes requirements including: 1,500 hours of community service, treatment for alcoholism, including twice weekly Alcoholic Anonymous meetings, and doesn’t drive for the entire 15 years, Palmer said."
While toxicology reports did not show alcohol present in Blaylock’s system at the time of the crash, he had been ordered not to drive by doctors because of repeated seizures due to years of alcohol abuse. Murphy, a mother of five, was killed after Blaylock lost control of his vehicle while suffering a seizure.
The point guard’s attorney, Amanda Palmer, also revealed that he had been arrested for DUI a month before the crash and he had “several past DUI convictions.”
According to the AJC, Blaylock “apologized to Frank Murphy, the husband of the 40-year-old victim, in court before being taken into custody.”
Blaylock, out of the University of Oklahoma, spent his 13-year NBA career with the New Jersey Nets, Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors.