Charity Hall, a Bloomington resident, was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to two felony charges Sept. 25. Of her nine total charges, she pled guilty to operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death —a level 4 felony — and OWI causing serious bodily injury —a level 5 felony.
In the probable cause affidavit, officers said they reported Aug. 6, 2022, to the State Road 46 and State Road 37 overpass intersection in response to a reported crash, which later resulted in the death of 33-year-old Richard Compion and serious bodily injuries to his then 5-year-old son.
On the scene of the accident, an officer said he observed Hall’s slurred and abusive speech, red and watery eyes, poor manual dexterity and unstable balance. The officer observed an alcoholic odor and alcoholic beverage containers in Hall’s vehicle.
During Hall’s sentencing hearing, the state plaintiff, attorney Jeffrey Kehr, presented 13 evidence exhibits. Detective Josh Burnworth testified that Hall’s vehicle brakes were functional, and he described pictures of the vehicles’ damages. Then, Kehr played the witness’s dashcam video of the crash. Kehr said that two hours after the crash, Hall’s blood was sampled for toxicology reports; there was methamphetamine present, and her blood alcohol content level was 0.184, which is more than double the legal limit.
There were nine victim impact statements, including a statement from the child victim involved in the crash.
Hall’s public defender, attorney Amy Payne, presented three acceptance letters from inpatient substance use rehabilitation centers, a letter from Sojourner Recovery Services and letters from Hall herself.
The letters asked Judge Mary Ellen Diekhoff to consider a home detention and inpatient rehab sentence instead of a jail sentence. Hall’s allocution statement was addressed to the victims’ family in the public section.
“I hate what I’ve done,” Hall said. “There are no suitable words to properly articulate the amount of remorse and regret I feel.”
Diekhoff sentenced Hall to 10 years for the level 5 felony and five years for the level 4 felony, which will be served consecutively for a total of 15 years in jail. At the time of sentencing, Hall earned 827 days of jail credit, so her fulfilled sentence would end on Feb. 20, 2036.
CLARIFICATION: This story was updated to include the date the crash occurred.
