McClain County Judge Reschedules Drunken Driving Sentencing

A scheduling error forces the families of five people killed in a drunken driving crash to wait another two weeks to find out how long the suspect in the case may spend behind bars.

Jordan Powell was scheduled Thursday to plead guilty to five counts of first-degree manslaughter. Prosecutors say he was drunk when he crashed the car in September 2010 on U.S. 77 near Purcell, killing five people.

9/25/2010 Related Story: 4 Killed in Accident in South-Central Oklahoma

The victims' families had hoped their ordeal would end Thursday, but they were extremely upset when they learned that was not the case.

McClain County Judge Greg Dixon decided to delay sentencing because he says his office made a scheduling error. Judge Dixon says he didn't find out until Wednesday morning that the sentencing was set for Thursday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. The judge says he'd scheduled a doctor's appointment for Thursday at 3 p.m.

Judge Dixon says he went hours without sleep and decided this case was too important to be decided hastily, so he rescheduled the sentencing.

"I refuse to rule under any kind of pressure," Judge Dixon said.

The sentencing is now set for Friday, May 11.

According to the prosecutor, Powell could get four years to life for each count. Powell's attorney plans to argue that all five people got into the car willingly that night, and even asked Powell to drive.

4/24/2012 Related Story: Victims' Families Push For Tougher Sentence For Man Charged In Purcell Deadly Crash