MURRAY, Ky. (AP) -- The son of a state lawmaker convicted of killing a 62-year-old pedestrian while driving drunk in 2005 was sentenced Monday to 20 years in prison. Harrison Yonts—whose father, Brent Yonts, is a state representative from western Kentucky—will have to serve 17 years before he is eligible for parole, according to state law.

He was convicted on Feb. 1 in the wanton murder of Nadia Shaheen, a graduate student at Murray State University who was walking home at around 2 a.m. after studying at a campus computer lab. The jury also convicted Yonts of drunken driving, leaving the scene of an accident and tampering with physical evidence. Calloway County Circuit Judge Dennis Foust denied Yonts’ motions for a new trial, following the jury’s recommendation for a 20-year

sentence, The Paducah Sun reported. Under Kentucky’s violent offender law, Yonts must serve 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole. Yonts, 21, did not speak at Monday’s hearing but expressed remorse over Shaheen’s death in a letter to Foust asking for leniency.

“I am truly sorry to the Shaheen family and have heard what a truly wonderful person Ms. Nadia Shaheen was,” Yonts wrote.

“There are no words to describe how truly sorry I am or to ease the pain of the Shaheen family. I have no idea what it is like to suffer the loss of an immediate family member.” Joseph Shaheen, the victim’s 23-year-old son, said he was

satisfied with the sentence.

“I am sorry for Yonts family and the pain he has caused ... but it also has caused pain and loss for me and my family,” Shaheen said after the hearing. “I only hope that this serves as a lesson for others and that other families don’t have to suffer the loss of a loved one to a drunk driver.” Foust encouraged Yonts to make the best of his time in prison. “Things have changed for you and your life will never be the same,” Foust said. “As difficult and tragic a situation as this has been, what you do with your life is up to you.”

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Information from: The Paducah Sun, http://www.paducahsun.com

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)