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Life as the Longstreet family once knew it ceased to exist at 10:40 a.m. EST on January 1, 2012. The family was on its way to church when a 2003 Jeep driven by Billy Patrick Hutto, Jr. of Gilbert, South Carolina came barreling down the road and slammed into the side of their mini-van.
According to reports at the time, Hutto was traveling between 57 and 60 miles per hour when he ran a red light at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Old Cherokee Road. The posted speed limit for this busy stretch of road was 35 miles per hour.
The impact of the crash was catastrophic. Six-year old Emma Longstreet incurred a medical decapitation – and despite hours of life sustaining and resuscitative measures administered by medical personnel, she died with her mother by her side.
Emma’s father, David Longstreet, and her three brothers sustained critical injuries requiring intensive care.
Hutto – a repeat DUI offender who was driving home after a night of drinking – registered a blood alcohol level of .208%, more than twice the legal limit (and taken more than five hours after he was served his last drink at The Loose Cockaboose).
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On August 5, 2013, Hutto pleaded guilty to felony driving under the influence (DUI) causing death and felony driving under the influence causing great bodily injury. Former S.C. circuit court judge Thomas W. Cooper, Jr., sentenced Hutto to a decade behind bars – with time credit for the eighteen months he served awaiting trial.
Six years later, Hutto was released from the S.C. Department of Corrections (SCDC) on community supervision (.pdf). With compliance credits, his community supervision program ended on June 12, 2020. This Wednesday (January 29, 2025), the S.C. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services (SCDPPS) will consider his application for a full pardon.
For the past thirteen years, the Longstreet family has been fighting for justice for their beloved daughter. Emma was the youngest of David and Karen Longstreet’s four children – their only girl. Her dad says when she died at the age of six, she hadn’t even lost her first tooth. The beautiful, kind-hearted girl with the bright blue eyes loved spending time with her father.
“She was always outside with me, you know, just an outdoor kid,” he said. “Always covered in a little bit of dirt.”
After speaking at Hutto’s sentencing hearing, the family helped secure passage of Emma’s Law – which took effect on October 1, 2014. Emma’s Law mandated ignition interlock devices for repeat DUI offenders and individuals convicted of DUI with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .15% or over in an effort to prevent drunk driving and enhance road safety. In 2014, the family won a $3.85 million negligence verdict against the bar that served Hutto the night before the crash (.pdf).
While grieving, the Longstreets have made monumental changes in honor of their daughter – who would have been 19 years old had she lived. According to David Longstreet, exhaustion is why he didn’t fight Hutto’s parole.
“I was still was dealing with grief then,” he said. “Most folks don’t walk this road in life.”
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But to him, the possibility that the man who killed his daughter may receive a pardon is unacceptable.
“Once an alcoholic, always a recovering alcoholic,” he said. “Who knows if he will ever have a bad day or a bad night and choose to drink and drive?”
In South Carolina, an individual who receives a pardon is fully forgiven from all legal consequences of their crime and conviction. Pardons are considered by the state’s board of paroles and pardons – which is comprised of seven members, each appointed by the governor and representing a different congressional district. The board considers a number of factors when evaluating a pardon to determine whether the individual has demonstrated rehabilitation, poses no risk to society, and merits restoration of certain civil rights. After a formal hearing, a majority vote of the board must be reached for an individual to receive a pardon.
In South Carolina, the rate of individuals granted pardons has historically been around 65% of applicants. Between 2007 and 2017, the board approved approximately 60 pardons at each bi-monthly hearing, totaling about 400 per year.
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David Longstreet is planning to attend the hearing on Wednesday to speak along with other members of the family and law enforcement personnel, but notes navigating the process — especially writing letters for the pardon board around the holiday — has taken a toll on his family.
“She (Emma) got killed on New Year’s Day, so we were still dealing with grief,” he said. “It is our worst time of the year.”
Longstreet said the realization also set in that this won’t be the last holiday his family has to relive the pain of Emma’s death. In South Carolina, an individual can apply for a pardon every year.
“It’s going to come up every year the same time,” he said. “I think a lot of people give up. They just quit because they don’t want to go through the pain.”
The implications associated with Hutto being pardoned isn’t lost on the grieving father.
“I think that is morally wrong,” Longstreet said.
Longstreet is not the only one who feels that way. S.C. attorney general Alan Wilson – who lives in Lexington – wrote to the board urging them to deny Hutto’s appeal.
“As a father, I cannot imagine the pain of losing a child,” Wilson wrote. “That’s why I wrote to the S.C. Parole Board urging them to deny Billy Patrick Hutto Jr.’s pardon. His reckless DUI crash took 6-year-old Emma Longstreet’s life. Now he wants a pardon. That is unacceptable.”
Wilson’s letter can be viewed here.
What do you think? Vote in our poll and post your thoughts in our comments section below…
Should Billy Patrick Hutto Jr. receive a pardon?
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Jenn Wood is FITSNews’ incomparable research director. She’s also the producer of the FITSFiles and Cheer Incorporated podcasts and leading expert on all things Murdaugh/ South Carolina justice. A former private investigator with a criminal justice degree, evildoers beware, Jenn Wood is far from your average journalist! A deep dive researcher with a passion for truth and a heart for victims, this mom of two is pretty much a superhero in FITSNews country. Did we mention she’s married to a rocket scientist? (Lucky guy!) Got a story idea or a tip for Jenn? Email her at jenn@fitsnews.com.
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5 comments
He needs to live with the conviction for the rest of his life. For all the people who voted yes to being pardoned, why?
I’m stunned at the percentage of yes votes. There is absolutely no good reason to pardon this guy for what he did.
I am also baffled by the number of yes votes. Being released, okay, being no longer on parole, maybe, but pardoned, no way. Pardons are to free someone of a political hatchet job of a trial or for someone who has a non-violent crime erased after demonstrating works of a greater community benefit. Nelson Mandela comes to mind. I don’t think Tom Cooper raises to that standard.
His original sentence was too lenient for killing an innocent child
I voted yes. Why? Because of 2 reasons. 1) as a Christian I am called to forgive. 2 Corinthians 2:5-11. My heart bleeds for this family and I cannot imagine the pain they are feeling. But I know they and a lot of the hatefulness coming from their friends’ posts towards the Mr Hutto baffles me because as Christians that is not how we are called to behave. 2) I have gotten to know Mr Hutto and I know he hates himself for the pain he caused by bad decisions he made 13 years ago. He does live with the pain and regret. He served his time (whether you agree it was enough or not, according to the law and his sentence, his time and punishment has been served).
I know the man now and he’s nothing like the man he was. He won’t go near a drink because of the pain he has caused. He talks to high schools about his mistake and the cost of it. He serves in his local church. He openly wishes he could’ve switched places with that beautiful girl.
He’s not asking for the DUIs or convictions to be expunged or anything. So that part of the article and some of the posts I’ve seen is inflammatory and a lie. He can already drive a car without a breathalyzer so a pardon wouldn’t change that. He’s asking to be able to visit his family on a military installation, to be able to protect his family under the 2nd amendment if needed, to be able to get back some basic simple things that you or I take for granted every day. He’s not asking for anyone to forget but he is asking to be able to move past the mistakes and for the family to forgive him and allow everyone to move forward.
And I have no doubt a lot of you have made a similar bad decision of driving while impaired but were lucky enough to not have to pay consequences of that action or live with it 13+ years later. He did. And he lives with it everyday. Be grateful you don’t have to if you also have made this same terrible choice.
Again, my heart breaks for the family. It is something I hope I never have to feel. But 2 families were ruined that day. And God loves and forgives both equally.