But Sacoolas is still refusing to return to the UK to face prosecution, and her lawyer Amy Jeffress is now arguing that her client will not be prosecuted in the US for a similar accident.
Sacoolas admits she was driving on the wrong side of the road when she hit Dunn in August 2019.
But Jeffress argued that would not be enough for prosecution in the United States.
“This kind of accident if it happened in the United States would not be prosecuted. Therefore, these cases are prosecuted in the United States only if there is evidence of recklessness rising to the level of near intent, i.e. drunk driving. “driving or a hit-and-run situation or excessive speed. But there was none of that,” Jeffress told BBC Radio.
CNN’s legal analyst Paul Callan disputes the lawyer’s allegation.
“I do not believe attorney Amy Jeffress accurately describes U.S. law. Driving on the wrong side of the road and killing someone in the process could be a criminal offense in the United States,” Callan said. a former New York City murder prosecutor told CNN on Tuesday.
In recent years, a number of U.S. states have enacted criminal laws that refer to ‘vehicle homicide’. These laws make it possible to prosecute for negligent driving in particularly serious circumstances. “Driving on the wrong side of the road can fit the category under some of the statutes,” Callan said.
Sacoolas is charged in the UK with causing the 19-year-old Dunn’s death by dangerous driving, but the US State Department refused a British request to extradite her.
“We actually made efforts to resolve this matter shortly after her return. We understand that community service is a typical sentence for offenses like this, and we have been offering since then, more than a year ago, that she is willing will be to serve that kind of sentence and make a contribution in Harry’s memory, to take other steps to try to give the family some peace, “Jeffress added.
Dunn’s mother, Charlotte Charles, turned down the offer.
“I made a promise to Harry the night he died that I would do him justice. There are no circumstances in which I will break that promise. You can not kill anyone and walk away. This campaign has everything to do with accountability. and to ensure that no one is above the law, ”she said in a statement on Tuesday.
Robert Buckland, the British Minister of Justice, told BBC Radio’s program Today that the current situation has led to a denial of justice.
“The current situation is a denial of justice. Instead of talking about the sentence that would be appropriate, we should actually first address the issue of liability,” he said Tuesday.
“It is good to see that Mrs Jeffress, whom I respect very much, is finally reaching out to the British public,” Radd Seiger, spokesman for the Dunn family, said in a statement on Tuesday.
“However, I would like to encourage her to enter into discussions with the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure that Mrs Sacoolas faces the British legal system. It is not for any of us to hear this case in public. We have one of the most beautiful legal systems in the world and it is of the utmost importance that justice is done not only for Harry, but that it should be seen. “
Seiger added: ‘Mrs. Sacoolas must give a full account of what happened under oath in court and the case must then be left in the hands of the judge and jury. ‘