By all accounts, Cody Lee Edwards has lived an exemplary life since his release from prison.

But he'll have to serve at least at least two more years behind bars before he'll have an opportunity to continue his transformation.

A judge on Friday sentenced Edwards to four and 1/2 to nine years in prison - with credit for the two years he's already served - for the drunken driving related crash that killed his friend, David Southworth, in February 2005. He'd been out of prison since October after the Wyoming Supreme Court threw out his previous conviction for the same crime.

"Your honor, all I can say is when I went to prison it opened my eyes," he told Natrona County District Judge David Park. "Since I've been out, all I can do is try to be a better person."

Edwards, dressed in blue dress shirt and black pants, also apologized to Southworth's family.

Southworth was killed on Feb. 5, 2005, when Edwards rolled his pickup along Interstate 25 while returning to Casper from a strip club north of the city. Edwards had a blood alcohol concentration of .26 - more than three times the legal limit in Wyoming.

In 2005, Park sentenced Edwards to eight to 14 years in prison after a jury convicted him of aggravated vehicular homicide. However, the Wyoming Supreme Court in September threw out Edwards' conviction, ruling the trial court improperly excluded evidence.

At trial, his defense centered on the claim Southworth caused the crash by grabbing the pickup's steering wheel. The justices ruled the trial court should have allowed the defense to introduce testimony from Schon Demel, who said Southworth had grabbed his steering wheel under similar circumstances a few weeks before the fatal crash.

Demel died in September 2005 - a month after Edwards' trial.

In March, Edwards pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide as part of an agreement with prosecutors, who limited their sentencing recommendation to five to nine years.

While acknowledging that Edwards has improved his life, Natrona County District Attorney Michael Blonigen noted that Edwards had several past drunken driving arrests and had a high amount of alcohol in his system at the time of the crash.

"There is a very real issue of punishment that remains," Blonigen said.

Before the sentencing, Edwards' family told the court how he'd changed since his imprisonment. His mother, Connie Edwards, said he's lost his desire to drink and doesn't spend time with the friends he had before prison.

"He's setting his life in a new direction and I'm very proud of him," she said.

His attorney, Public Defender Tim Cotton, said Edwards had even talked about being a spokesperson for Mothers Against Drunk Driving and helping with drunken driving courses at Mercer House.

Park did not describe his reasoning behind the sentence, except to note that Edwards had behaved well since his release, but wasn't eligible for probation.

Reach Joshua Wolfson at (307) 266-0582 or at josh.wolfson@trib.com.

NewsTracker

Last we knew: Cody Lee Edwards pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide in connection with the death of his friend.

The latest: A judge sentenced Edwards to four and 1/2 to nine years in prison.

What's next: Edwards will begin serving his new sentence. He will get credit for the two years he's already served.