Sentence Reduced for Driver After Family Forgives Him for Killing Their Son
Losing a loved one to a senseless act is hard to swallow. The devastation and loss are often too much to bear, but for one family it was all about forgiveness.
John and Shannon Hamm from Spring, Texas, made the trip to the Pottawatomie County courtroom to see the drunk driver that took the life of their son, Ryan Hamm, two years ago, The Shawnee News-Star reported.
Ryan Hamm was killed by the drunk driver in a DUI-related crash on U.S. Route 177 in Asher, Oklahoma. Ryan was only 21.
Ryan was driving along U.S. 177 on his way back to his fall classes at the University of Central Oklahoma.
The crash happened on Aug. 10, 2016, when Ryan’s SUV was struck head-on by Johnny Morton III’s 2003 Chevrolet pickup truck. Morton, 27, was under the influence of alcohol at the time.
Morton was sentenced to 35 years — 20 years in prison and 15 years on probation — with a charge of second-degree murder.
After one year in prison, Morton requested a judicial modification hearing to review his sentence, and John and Shannon Hamm were asked to appear.
Prior to the hearing, Morton had completed several sobriety programs, joined the victims’ impact group and participated in the Warriors for Christ.
John Hamm, who relied on his faith after his son’s death, knew about the progress that Morton had made while in prison, but he and his wife were set on upholding the sentence.
When John and Shannon Hamm met with Morton that day, they did not know that their stance would soon change.
“Johnny looked up in tears and said that he has written a letter to us and crumbled it so many times,” John Hamm told The Shawnee News-Star. “He confessed he didn’t know what to say and has brought so much hurt to his own family and us.”
“He kept looking down in shame — we could tell he was struggling with his words and deeply broken,” Hamm said.
During the meeting, Hamm asked Morton if he had a son. Morton confirmed that he had a son who was 6 years old at the time.
“He had him at 20. I shared that I had Ryan at 21,” Hamm wrote on Facebook. “I shared that for the last few years, I have been studying miracles. I searched the Bible for answers and read C.S. Lewis.
“I told Johnny that I have concluded that on that night, the collision was so horrific that both of them should be dead. Johnny’s truck flipped, caught fire, and ejected him on the street. He walked away with a minor head injury,” Hamm said. “There was a miracle that night.”
“I told Johnny that I had forgiven him — he broke down in tears,” Hamm added.
Morton then left the room and District Attorney Richard Smothermon spoke with the Hamms.
“God was in that room, we all felt it,” Smothermon told the Shawnee News-Star. “For that level of forgiveness and mercy for the man that took their son’s life, there simply is no other explanation.”
John and Shannon Hamm had a lot to consider after that conversation. They dug deep into their faith and wondered about forgiveness and what their son would have wanted.
They worked with Smothermon to develop a program that would work best for Morton. According to Hamm’s Facebook post, the judge told Morton, “You need to realize the faith and mercy of the victim family and the support of your family. This is truly a Christmas miracle. Your sentence has is modified to 20 years, five years in prison and 15 years out of prison with a mandatory six-month in-patient rehabilitation center upon release. Don’t let this blow up in our face.”
“I feel like the DA and judge kept the best interest of protecting Oklahomans while implementing a plan with the best possible chance of Johnny building a relationship with his son and contributing to society,” John Hamm told the Shawnee News-Star. “Ultimately, it is between him and God.”
“Johnny walked back to us, shackled at the hands and feet,” Hamm said. “He reached out and held Shannon’s hand as she was deep in tears. He told her he would not disappoint her.”
Shannon Hamm had one last request before she would depart Morton; she wanted a letter from him every year for the rest of his life telling them that he had become something.
“Johnny’s life is between him and God now,” John Hamm said. “We are at peace.”
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