Math check lessens Fierro's prison time

SANTA FE (KRQE) - The Santa Fe attorney who hit and killed a man while driving drunk and then took off will finally get his wish to get out of prison early after a mistake during sentencing.

Fierro’s attorney filed a stipulated order stating a miscalculation of the time Fierro served before he was sentenced was off by about 45 days.

That means the attorney sentenced to seven years for the 2008 fatal hit-and-run crash is now expected to be out in mid-August with good time and time served.

The Department of Corrections General Counsel Jim Brewster said their department is not at fault for the error.

“We don't calculate that; we're not involved in criminal sentencing,” Brewster said. “We're not in the court when that happens.”

Brewster said paperwork documenting the time Fierro spent behind bars while awaiting his trial and sentencing was off by nearly 50 days.

Fierro’s current attorneys said a former defense attorney agreed to the wrong number. The current attorney found the mistake, and a judge ordered it to be corrected.

“It doesn't matter who it is, whether it’s Mr. Fierro or anybody else, we comply with the orders,” Brewster said.

Now, the Department of Corrections is changing Fierro's date of release again. That means that he will spend less than four years behind bars, which is a far cry from what the family of the victim William Tenorio wanted Fierro to serve.

However, this time there appears to be no funny business involved.

Since the disgraced attorney was initially sentenced he has tried just about everything to get out of prison early. Fierro asked the governor to pardon him and even racked up a lot of classes to chop off months of his sentence, which had him in line for an April release.

Fierro later had release dates set for August, July and his most recent in late September.

When Fierro gets out he won't be able to practice law. His license has been suspended indefinitely, and he could be disbarred at some point.