JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - A woman found guilty on five counts in connection with the November 2021 drunk-driving wreck that claimed the lives of a mother and her infant son will likely die in prison.
On Wednesday, Hinds County Circuit Judge Winston Kidd sentenced Beth Ann White to 110 years in state custody, with the sentences on all five counts running consecutively.
“I’ve been doing this for a while, and the charges that we have here today cannot get much more serious than what you’ve been convicted of,” Kidd said. “I cannot imagine what it is to experience something so vile and heinous like this family had to experience... No family should have to go through something like this.”
The sentencing comes nearly three years after White killed Allison Conaway and her six-month-old son Alex while driving drunk near the intersection of U.S. 18 and Springridge Road.
Allison, who was 39 at the time, and Alex died at the scene. Her two daughters, Chloe and Chelsea, were severely injured and are living with the results of those injuries today.
Kidd reminded the courtroom of photos from the scene of the wreck, including one where Allison’s lifeless body was slumped over the steering wheel of her car.
“No one deserves to die in this manner,” he said.
The judge also pointed out that Alex would have turned three during the trial. However, because of White’s actions, he will never experience that milestone or any other.
White was sentenced on May 2. Kidd told the courtroom that he delayed sentencing to “review the matter regarding what would be the appropriate sentence.”
“You made a decision to drink alcohol and get into your vehicle and drive down Highway 18. And I remind you of what the witnesses said about your conduct, driving at an excessive rate of speed, driving all across the roadway and sometimes going on and off the roadway... throwing rocks everywhere,” he said.
“What stands out in my mind, from the testimony of those witnesses... is when they stated that you would drive so reckless that they just let you have the roadway,” he continued. “You were endangering the lives of everyone traveling on Highway 18.”
According to prosecutors, White had a blood alcohol level more than three times the legal limit and had drugs in her system at the time of the wreck.
“You have not once apologized, and for that, you should be ashamed.”
Prosecutors, as well as Allison’s family, asked for the maximum sentence on all counts.
Alice Hutchins, Allison’s mother, spoke, while Allison’s husband, Charles Conaway, had a statement read into the record by prosecutor Sue Perry.
According to that statement, Conaway said the verdict and White’s sentencing bring closure, but not restoration.
“We still have a long journey ahead, and there will forever be a void because they do not have Allison and Alex,” he wrote. “I ask the court to consider the magnitude of the impact of this crime. I would ask your honor to consider sentencing Ms. White to the maximum sentence [allowed] under the law.”
Hutchins said because of White, she’ll never know what it’s like to have a grandson, while Allison won’t be there to help her daughters as they grow up.
“There are just some things that only a mother can say or do for their daughters. Chelsea and Chloe will not have their mother to help them understand the changes their bodies will go through as they mature. These girls [will] have to endure ongoing medical issues... They may have learning disabilities, and even suffer from seizures.”
“I want Charles to know that I believe he is doing a good job with Chloe and Chelsea. I appreciate him for stepping up and serving as both father and mother to the girls,” she continued. “I want him to know he has my support and my assistance in any way that I can give it to him.”
Like Kidd, she also recognized that White had not shown any remorse during the trial or at the scene of the crime.
“While in jail awaiting trial, she was found to get ahold of drugs and consume them,” she said. “That tells me that she has learned nothing and has no plans to change. In fact, the day she eventually gets released, she will go straight to the nearest bar.”
White declined to give a statement prior to her sentencing. Kevin Camp, White’s attorney, asked the judge to set aside the jury’s verdict, arguing, in part, that the jury instructions were not updated based on the new indictment.
White’s previous trial ended in a hung jury. A new indictment, with new charges, was filed after that. One of those charges was related to White’s blood alcohol concentration at the time of the incident.
“That’s the one offense that was not proven because the expert from the state testified that he didn’t know what the blood alcohol level was at the time of driving. It could have been below the legal limit. It was most likely higher than the legal limit, but you don’t know for sure,” he said.
Kidd said the motion had no merit, and that he would proceed with the sentencing.
Camp said he’s going to appeal the decision this week.
“What she was charged with, which is having [a] blood alcohol of .08, they weren’t able to meet that burden. There’s a saying that the state basically wrote a check that they couldn’t cash, and that’s what happened,” he said. “There’s ample proof of the other charges and they just didn’t charge her right.”
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