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Vehicular Manslaughter, Incarceration & Family: The Tragic but Beautiful Story of Ken & Lucas Guidroz
Could you forgive your son if he got behind the wheel while high and killed a beloved teacher?
On May 25, 2016, in Santa Clarita, California, 28-year-old Lucas Guidroz got into his car while high on heroin and hit and killed a bicyclist. He fled from the scene of the crime, abandoning his vehicle. Roderick Bennett was 53 years old when he died on that road, and his wife Valerie was left “in a fog without him.” Roderick was a beloved math teacher and band director.
Within a couple days, Lucas turned himself in, and the Guidroz family found themselves faced with a tragedy they couldn’t wrap their heads around. On November 7, 2016, teary-eyed Lucas listened as the judge sentenced him to ten years in state prison for “gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and hit-and-run driving resulting in death.”
How does a family navigate that?
Faced with the challenge of his son’s incarceration, Ken Guidroz embarked on a last-ditch effort to connect with Lucas by writing letters. And . . . it worked. It led to a transformative change in their relationship over several years. The profound impact of this experience inspired Ken to share his journey in his award-winning book, Letters to My Son in Prison.
Ken and I discuss the crime, its aftermath, and his sheer willingness to help his son, and to love and forgive him.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the Crime & Compassion Substack (it’s free), or you can become a paid member to support this cause: https://crimeandcompassion.substack.com/
Crime & Compassion strives to shake up how we view and treat the incarcerated. Podcast host Shayla Hale asks difficult questions to gain a more compassionate understanding of those who were written off. The podcast serves as a safe space for the formerly incarcerated, currently incarcerated, their families and loved ones, and those who work with men and women in US jails and prisons. Crime & Compassion’s goals are 1) to show love and kindness toward the captives, 2) to help bring their stories and art into the world, 3) to completely flip the narrative on the US justice system by having tough conversations, 4) to educate society on why people commit the crimes they do, and 5) to reframe how people see, treat, and think about the incarcerated.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit crimeandcompassion.substack.com/subscribe
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By Literature written by those who were written off.Could you forgive your son if he got behind the wheel while high and killed a beloved teacher?
On May 25, 2016, in Santa Clarita, California, 28-year-old Lucas Guidroz got into his car while high on heroin and hit and killed a bicyclist. He fled from the scene of the crime, abandoning his vehicle. Roderick Bennett was 53 years old when he died on that road, and his wife Valerie was left “in a fog without him.” Roderick was a beloved math teacher and band director.
Within a couple days, Lucas turned himself in, and the Guidroz family found themselves faced with a tragedy they couldn’t wrap their heads around. On November 7, 2016, teary-eyed Lucas listened as the judge sentenced him to ten years in state prison for “gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and hit-and-run driving resulting in death.”
How does a family navigate that?
Faced with the challenge of his son’s incarceration, Ken Guidroz embarked on a last-ditch effort to connect with Lucas by writing letters. And . . . it worked. It led to a transformative change in their relationship over several years. The profound impact of this experience inspired Ken to share his journey in his award-winning book, Letters to My Son in Prison.
Ken and I discuss the crime, its aftermath, and his sheer willingness to help his son, and to love and forgive him.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the Crime & Compassion Substack (it’s free), or you can become a paid member to support this cause: https://crimeandcompassion.substack.com/
Crime & Compassion strives to shake up how we view and treat the incarcerated. Podcast host Shayla Hale asks difficult questions to gain a more compassionate understanding of those who were written off. The podcast serves as a safe space for the formerly incarcerated, currently incarcerated, their families and loved ones, and those who work with men and women in US jails and prisons. Crime & Compassion’s goals are 1) to show love and kindness toward the captives, 2) to help bring their stories and art into the world, 3) to completely flip the narrative on the US justice system by having tough conversations, 4) to educate society on why people commit the crimes they do, and 5) to reframe how people see, treat, and think about the incarcerated.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit crimeandcompassion.substack.com/subscribe