Following guilty plea, family confronts ex-Buckeye who killed man in crash

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A former Ohio State football player sentenced to prison was confronted in court Wednesday by the family of the man he killed while driving drunk. Former Buckeye Kirk Barton, 41, killed 24-year-old Ethan Perry last June; evidence showed Barton's blood alcohol levels were three times above the legal limit. Perry’s family members gave emotional statements in the courtroom on Wednesday, and Barton apologized to Perry's family, saying how remorseful he is, but Perry's mother Roslyn said she doesn’t believe him and that he is only sorry he was caught. “There's an emptiness that will never be replaced,” Roslyn Perry said. Barton pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide for his role in the crash. “I would give anything to trade places with them, but I can't, and I just, I just, I'm so sorry,” Barton said in court. In court, prosecutors showed overhead video of this crash; as they did, Roslyn Perry sobbed. Prosecutors also revealed that Barton hit Perry from behind while driving at 126 mph and that his blood alcohol content was .242 at the time of the crash; the legal limit is .08. He will now spend 5 to 7.5 years in prison and lose his license forever. “Fair to the family, definitely not. Fair to Mr. Barton, 100% fair, given the ends of justice that needed to be met. 100%,” Sam Shamansky, Barton's defense attorney, said. “It was an extraordinarily difficult case, but even extraordinarily difficult cases can be tried and maybe an outcome achieved that nobody expects,” Shamansky said about the change of plea. “This brings certainty to the family and it resolves the case with full acceptance of responsibility, so it's fair from every objective viewpoint.” Perry’s aunt and mother both had the chance to speak directly to Barton. “For 277 days, I have been haunted by the impending weight of this moment,” Sarah Perry, Ethan Perry’s aunt, said. “Forgiveness finds no place in my heart.” Roslyn Perry wanted Barton to know the person whom he took from this world. “Ethan was my only child, my only legacy, and because of your selfishness, I will never experience being mother of the groom; because of your selfishness, I will never experience being a grandmother,” Roslyn Perry said. Barton then had the chance to speak to them. “It's completely my fault and I am pleading guilty because I am guilty and I want to give some sort of justice to the family because they don't deserve any of the things they’ve gone through because of me,” Barton said. Roslyn Perry said she raised her son as a single mom and they were very close. She said this has devastated their family. “No sentence, no amount of years will ever be enough,” she said. “It's not going to bring anything back and to be honest with you, do I feel justice was served? No, I don't feel justice was served. As I said in my statement, because of someone who felt that they were privileged enough to drink and get in a car and drive and drive, you know, at 100-something miles an hour, you know, there's no excuse for that, and the sentences, the punishments need to be harsher.” Roslyn Perry said she plans to keep her son’s memory alive by starting the Ethan Wence Perry Foundation. Based in Columbus, it will help students looking to go to trade school for automotive technology, as Ethan did, strive in the program.