At first blush the plea deal that will send Charles Acy to prison for 30 years seems unjust, but based on Mississippi law he received near the maximum on each charge.

The maximum penalty for aggravated DUI causing death is 25 years. Acy received 50 years for both counts, but only 30 of those will be behind bars. If he serves his full sentence, he will be 49 when he is released on probation (for 10 years).

Some will obviously feel that he should spend his life behind bars, but that’s not an option based on the crimes he was indicted on and pleaded to.

Mississippi’s DUI homicide sentencing laws are consistent with other states. On one end of the spectrum, the maximum in Delaware and Maryland is five years, though offenders can be charged with other related crimes that add to the sentence. On the other end, Alaska allows up to 99 years. Most however, are in the range of Mississippi’s (5 to 25 years).

No length of time served will bring back the two young men who were killed. Jevonta Dickey, 18, and Shaquan Richardson, 18, were both well-liked Brookhaven High athletes who were taken too early. Based on the community’s response to their deaths, these two individuals had a positive impact on all those they encountered.

The families of both victims and the man responsible for their deaths will spend the rest of their lives wishing the events of that October day went differently. All of the families involved will no doubt suffer in the years to come.

But for the families of Dickey and Richardson, October will forever be a reminder of lives lost too early and the memories that will never be made. Their families, as well as Acy’s, will need the community’s support in the years to come. The plea deal reached Tuesday will hopefully close one chapter in this tragedy.

Earlier this year, the high school honored both students with a memorial bench, approximately one year after their deaths. The bench reads “In Loving Memory” and “Sit and rest awhile. Laugh, cry, remember me …”

We’re certain Brookhaven High School — and the entire Brookhaven community — will always remember Dickey and Richardson.