Drunk driver sentenced to wear bracelet bearing victim's name

A convicted drunken driver who killed a woman in Fort Worth two years ago has been sentenced to wear a bracelet with the victim’s name on it and spend certain holidays, her birthday and the date of her death in jail for the next 10 years. Christopher Elton Campbell was drunk when he crashed his car into another, killing 24-year-old Renee Danielle Horton. On Friday, Campbell, 22, was sentenced to 10 years' probation for intoxication manslaughter.

As a condition of his probation, he must wear a bracelet with Horton's name on it, reimburse her mother $22,271.46 in funeral expenses, and spend Christmas, Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July, and the dates of Horton's birth and death in the Tarrant County Jail. Prosecutor Lloyd Whelchel said he came up with the conditions of probation after working with Horton's family.



If Campbell violates any condition - he also must spend the next 30 days in jail, refrain from drinking alcohol, install a Breathalyzer on his vehicle and wear an alcohol-detecting ankle monitor - he could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison. "After talking to the victim's family, this is what they wanted to do," Whelchel said. "This was done with their approval." Defence attorney Jerry Loftin said requiring his client to wear the bracelet for the next 10 years is a good thing. "It's a constant reminder," Loftin said.

"Every time you think about whining or complaining because you have to spend a holiday in jail, remember I never get to spend any days with my daughter, on holidays or her birthday," Debbie Horton told Campbell after the plea bargain agreement was reached. "Never ever. And every year on the date that Renee died, I will remember the horror of that day. When you wear Renee's bracelet, remember Renee was a real, live human being with a life that you stole from her."