Parole denied in texting driver homicide case

The Evergreen woman who was texting while driving and killed two people in a vehicle crash in 2009 was denied parole Monday, Aug. 18.

Killed in the crash were Columbia Falls residents Erin Thompson, 35, who was four months pregnant, and her 13-year-old son, Caden Odell.

Justine Winter, who is serving a 15-year prison sentence at the Montana Women’s Prison in Billings, was 16 years old at the time of the crash. A Flathead County jury convicted her of two counts of deliberate homicide in 2011.

Flathead County District Court Judge Katherine Curtis sentenced Winter on June 6, 2011 to 30 years with 15 years suspended for each of the two counts, with both sentences to run concurrently. The sentences include a restriction stating that Winter must serve at least 7 1/2 years before becoming eligible for parole.

David Stufft, Winter’s attorney, appealed her sentence to the Montana Supreme Court on July 25, 2011. He had argued during Winter’s trial that Thompson had caused the collision. Winter later dropped a lawsuit against Thompson’s estate that was based on that theory.

Curtis modified the wording to Winter’s sentence on Oct. 3 following an Aug. 7 ruling by the Montana Supreme Court. Curtis had sentenced Winter to the Department of Corrections, not prison, which affected Winter’s release conditions.

Citing state law and precedent, the Montana Supreme Court ruled that “because the District Court did not sentence Winter to prison, it was without statutory authority to restrict her parole eligibility.” The high court also ruled that “a sentencing court lacks authority to subject parolees to conditions while on parole.”

The case was remanded to Flathead County District Court, where Curtis modified Winter’s sentence. Curtis ruled on Oct. 3, 2012 that Winter’s sentence shall remain “in all respects as previously imposed with the exception that the court recommends that the defendant serve at least one-half of the sentence before being considered for parole and the conditions previously articulated as to parole are recommended to be imposed as conditions of probation.”

Winter crashed her car head-on into another vehicle on U.S. 93 at Church Drive north of Kalispell in March 2009. She had texted her boyfriend just prior to the crash, threatening to crash her car and kill herself. She was severely injured in the crash.

Winter’s request for parole was turned down, but the Montana Board of Pardons and Parole endorsed a prerelease placement for extended stay or as an inmate worker, according to Julie Thomas, a senior parole analyst.

“Basically what it means is, if accepted, that she’ll be at the prerelease center for about a year,” Thomas said. “She’ll have to apply for inmate worker and prerelease.

If accepted, Winter could work at a pre-release center as a cook or dishwasher, Thomas said. If she is not accepted into the work program, the board can review her case again in one year.

“Normally a prerelease stay is about six months, but when the board endorses a longer stay, it’s about a year,” Thomas said.

Winter will appear before the Board of Pardons and Parole again in August 2015.