Marine to be jailed after accidentally shooting brother

Marine to be jailed for brother's death
By Paul Foy
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jan 15, 2013

SALT LAKE CITY — A grieving former Marine who accidentally shot and killed his younger brother over a campfire was sentenced Tuesday to 90 days in jail followed by a public-speaking tour.

Eric Charlton, 27, was ordered to talk about the dangers of mixing alcohol and firearms twice a week for 45 weeks, said a court clerk for the 4th District judge in Nephi, about 75 miles south of Salt Lake City.

Judge James Brady spared the veteran of tours in Iraq and Afghanistan a longer jail term after Charlton's family, friends and counselors pleaded for mercy.

His wife of six years, Julianne, said jail would keep him from a 3-year-old daughter, a son born in October and "cause Eric to become locked inside his head."

Charlton was described as inconsolable by more than a dozen people who wrote letters describing a special bond between brothers. They asked the judge to reject prosecutors' requests for a stiffer sentence. The judge previously dismissed a felony manslaughter charge. Charlton was sentenced Tuesday for negligent homicide and handling a weapon while intoxicated, both misdemeanors.
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