Over the past few years, we’ve been keeping you up to date on the tragic story of Micaela Borrego.
She was the 20-year-old who was left with a permanent disability after Sarah Polston – the wife of high-profile Oklahoma tax attorney Rob Polston – slammed into her at 68 mph while driving high and drunk through a Norman neighborhood.
Here’s video that a Ring doorbell camera took just moments before the crash:
We’ve acquired footage of Sara Polston – wife of prominent Norman attorney Rod Polston – running stop signs while speeding down a Norman residential street in an SUV just seconds before crashing into a vehicle. You can hear the accident occur moments after the SUV speeds by... pic.twitter.com/XEpdCrg2iD
— The Lost Ogle (@TheLostOgle) July 19, 2023
In December, we provided an update that Sarah – while her victim struggled with recovery – had pleaded guilty to a lesser offense and received a combined 15-year sentence.
Although it seemed like a good thing, I was skeptical:
Sarah received a 15-year sentence, with all but eight of those years suspended. According to mathematics, that means she’ll have to spend close to seven years in prison… well, at least until she uses her wealth, privilege, and the incompetence of the Oklahoma criminal justice system to get the time reduced.
Well, I have some sad, extra-infuriating news to report – I called it.
Thanks to the absurd clown car that is the Oklahoma criminal justice system, Sarah Polston is apparently being sent home on GPS release this week after serving just 70 days in prison.
Yep, that’s right. 70 days.
Lori Fullbright with News on 6 shared the infuriating details in a lengthy Facebook post on Friday night.
According to the DA in the case, the reason for the early release is that Polston – even though she nearly killed someone – pled guilty to what’s technically considered a non-violent offense and, as a result, gets the same treatment as those charged charged with non-violent drug or theft crimes.
• DA Jennifer Austin says the law originally stated that if you had a sentence of five years or less and served 90 days, then you could be eligible for release with GPS if you had no criminal history, were not a threat to the community, hadn’t failed or been kicked out of programs, had no disciplinary action in prison, and showed you were willing to seek treatment and complete programs.
• However, the law was changed to a sentence of 10 years or less, and DOC policy now requires only 30 days served before becoming eligible for GPS release.
• Austin says this crime is considered non-violent under the law and, to her, that’s ridiculous since a young woman was almost killed.
I agree with the DA. It’s pretty ridiculous that Polston was charged with a non-violent crime, which begs the questions – why did the DA charge Polston with a non-violent crime?! Why was she sentenced to less than 10 years? Why wasn’t she charged with a more serious crime, or given a lengthier sentence? Like, isn’t it the DAs job to make sure bullshit like that doesn’t happen?
While we wait around for the DA to answer those questions, Lori talked to the Department of Corrections – a.k.a. the state agency that runs prisons like they’re gladiator academies.
They apparently only see the world in black and white and don’t pay attention to context, and therefore have to treat Polston like any other non-violent offender, even though she nearly killed someone:
WHAT THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS SAYS:
• Polston will be released February 19 and is eligible per state statute and ODOC policy to be considered for GPS monitoring.
• Polston completed lots of programs before coming to prison, making her an excellent candidate for GPS placement.
• They say, “We followed protocol and treated her like we would anyone with this type of crime, criminal history, and program completion.”
Translation – they treated her like any other wealthy person with the connections, resources and time to do everything possible to get a light a sentence. Good to know, huh?
Anyway, between this and the whole Jesse Butler thing, can our lawmakers maybe take a break from fighting culture wars and look at how to keep non-violent offenders who aren’t a risk to society out of jail, while making sure the convicted rapists and drunk driving maniacs actually serve appropriate punishments?
Like, I know it doesn’t have the allure of the anti-woke topics they always pander to, but it can’t be too hard to make sure that people like Polston and Butler don’t slip through the criminal justice reform cracks, and are actually held accountable for their crimes and serve meaningful jail time… right?
As out lawmakers are hopefully pondering that, our thoughts go out to Micaela Borrego and her friends and family. They were under the impression that Polston would at least serve a couple of years hard time, but thanks to the Oklahoma criminal justice system, they’re now just being slapped in the face:
WHAT MICAELA’S FAMILY SAYS:
It was hard enough that it took nearly three years to get justice, and they were relieved the judge sentenced Polston to time in prison. They expected her to serve at least two years before being released.
They say seeing Polston released after nine weeks “is a slap in the face.”
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
