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  • Claremore man Keaton Hannah received two 20-year sentences Thursday in Rogers County Court for the June 2011 deaths of 21-year-old Eric Augustus Watkins and Watkins’ seven-month-old son, Bryor. Tom Fink

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  • Ginger Watkins was teary-eyed following Thursday’s sentencing of Claremore man Keaton Hannah, who received two 20-year sentences to run concurrently in connection with the June 2011 deaths of her husband, Eric and 7-month-old son, Bryor. “He’ll get out, and his family will be able to see him and be with him, but I’ll never get to see or be with my husband or baby again,” she said. Tom Fink

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June 21, 2012

Hannah gets 20 years

Verdigris crash killed father, son

Tom Fink Staff Reporter

CLAREMORE — A Rogers County judge Thursday gave a Claremore man two 20-year sentences to run concurrently for two manslaughter charges which claimed the life of a 21-year-old father and his seven-month-old son.

Keaton Leon Hannah, 19, was found guilty on double counts of manslaughter, receiving 20-year sentences for each, and one one-year for one count of leaving the scene of an accident.
Hannah’s convictions stem from his driving while intoxicated on the morning of June 17, 2011, striking a vehicle near QuikTrip in Verdigris, and while attempting to flee the scene, hitting another vehicle head-on, occupied by husband and wife, Eric and Ginger Watkins, and their seven-month-old son, Bryor Watkins, according to court records. 
Prior to Thursday’s sentencing of Hannah, friends and relatives of Watkins — including Watkins’ young widow — appealed to Judge J. Dwayne Steidley to give Hannah the “maximum sentence allowable by law.” 
Hannah’s attorney, Jack E. Gordon Jr., requested leniency, given Hannah’s intoxicated state at the time of the fatalities, to allow him to “make a difference” in the lives of other teenagers, allowing them to “learn from his mistakes.”
“Nothing I can say will make this better — nothing I do will improve this situation — all I can do is the job I’m charged with, and pray for both of the families here today that you find what you need to deal with these losses,” began Judge Steidley. “This case involves what could only be described as a tragic set of events which have taken two lives and resulted in loss, hurt, pain and anger. It’s an example of how decisions — good or bad — can have a profound impact on one’s life and the lives of others.
“It speaks to the continuing problem of drivers and particularly, teenage drivers who make the decision of drinking and driving,” he continued. 
“In 2009, all motor-related deaths involved teenage drivers, and research indicates that a teenage driver with a blood alcohol level of .05 is 18 times more likely to cause and accident of a teen driver who is driving sober.
“Here, the victim’s loss is beyond description — a 21-year old man, only three years older than the defendant himself, and his seven-month old son — a life, families, parents, and relatives left behind,” he said. 
“Every bit of information this court has received (on Hannah) indicates that, before this accident, he was a well-thought-of young man, but unfortunately, even good people can do bad things.
“To the offense itself, the events of June 17, 2011 were put into motion by the bad choices and the decisions made by the defendant (Hannah),” he said. 
“Drinking enough to have a .26 blood alcohol content — which is three times the legal limit — which contributed to his going down the wrong side of a highway and claiming the life of two individuals — regardless of how this happened, or however remorseful the defendant is, it started with a choice — a choice to drink, and a choice to have access to a motor vehicle.
“Another factor is the defendant’s age,” he continued. 
“Three months and four days earlier, the defendant would have likely been treated as a youthful offender, but he was the magic age of 18, and as such, could be facing four years to life. 
“There’s no doubt that what I do here today will make no one happy, but what I do here today is my job and that’s all,” he said. 
“I do want people to understand that punishment is a part of this, but I also want people to understand that it serves no purpose to put this individual into prison where he would stay for the rest of his life, not having an opportunity to contribute at all and not being able to tell the story to others about what happened — it would cover it up, it would put it away, and it would bury it, and that would not help anybody.”
 It wouldn’t help the victims in this case, it wouldn’t help the family of the victims in this case, and it would serve society not one bit, in my opinion.”
Judge Steidley then ruled his decision to sentence Hannah to 20 years (in the Department of Corrections) each for the two convictions of manslaughter and one year for the conviction of leaving the scene of an accident involving damage, with sentences to run concurrently.

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