Ex-bishop apologises to hit-and-run family

The former Bishop of Phoenix, Arizona, in the US, has apologised in court to the family of the pedestrian he killed in a hit-and-run accident last year, saying: “I know there is no one to blame for this but me.”

Thomas O’Brien, 68, spoke during a pre-sentencing hearing in Phoenix yesterday. He could get anything from probation to three years and nine months in prison when he is sentenced next Friday over the death last June of Jim Reed.

Yesterday the judge in the case dismissed a request from O’Brien’s lawyers to reverse the conviction and grant him a new trial.

In court papers, prosecutors sought a sentence of six months behind bars and four years of probation. O’Brien asked for probation and said he can still serve Catholics in Arizona as a priest.

The former bishop said he had not realised he hit a person at the time of the accident but apologised nevertheless to Mr Reed’s family. The victim’s family, in court for the hearing, declined to comment on the apology.

A jury found O’Brien guilty last month of leaving the scene of a fatal accident. O’Brien, who resigned last summer as head of the Phoenix Diocese after his arrest, was believed to be the first Roman Catholic bishop in US history to be convicted of a felony.

Shortly before the accident, he signed a deal with prosecutors that spared him indictment on obstruction charges for protecting child-molesting priests.

O’Brien’s lawyers requested a new trial, saying they were prevented from cross-examining a key prosecution witness and jurors were given improper instructions.

Prosecutors were not allowed to bring up the sexual abuse scandal at trial, but that prohibition did not apply to sentencing.

The bishop’s handling of sexual abuse allegations demonstrates his pattern of avoiding responsibility, said prosecutor Mitch Rand.

“He gave the opportunity for these priests to prey on more victims,” Mr Rand said.

Tom Henze, for the ex-bishop, said the sexual abuse cases should not be considered in O’Brien’s punishment.