MOUNT VERNON — A 38-year-old Howard woman serving a 30-day jail sentence for her first OVI offense has filed a motion for her early release. Stephanie L. Sprang, was sentenced and sent to jail on Jan. 15 after she was convicted by a jury of operating a vehicle under the influence.
Phillip Lehmkuhl, Sprang’s attorney, filed the motion on Tuesday morning. Lehmkuhl said that Sprang has already served [over] seven days in jail, a sentence longer than those imposed on second and third time [OVI] offenders.
“The sentence of 30 days in jail represents an undue hardship upon Ms. Sprang, a single mother of three children who lives paycheck to paycheck,” said Lehmkuhl. “Unless released soon from jail, Ms. Sprang risks the loss of her job, and therefore her income, and the loss of the roof she has over her head and the heads of her children.”
Court records show that Sprang’s 30-day sentence is at least 10 times longer than that imposed on typical first time OVI offenses.
“If the court wished Ms. Sprang to learn her lesson, it is likely that she has already learned it,” Lehmkuhl said in his court motion. “If she has not resolved to alter her future behavior by now, there is little hope that she will do so in the next [three weeks in jail].”
In addition to the 30-day jail sentence, Judge Paul Spurgeon imposed a $500 fine, a one-year driver’s license suspension, and five years of community control. Spurgeon has yet to rule whether or not Sprang will be released early from jail.