MOBILE, Ala. — The man whose brother died in the crash stood up in a Mobile County courtroom and asked the judge to go easy on the driver who killed him.
By the time Erich Birch finished speaking, the prosecutor had revised her own recommendation downward, and the judge had heard enough to impose a sentence well below what the state had initially intended to seek.
The Sentence
Mobile County Circuit Judge Vicki Davis sentenced Aubrey Aaron Pate to 15 years in prison but suspended all but three years. She ordered the 27-year-old Wilmer resident to seek drug and alcohol treatment in prison and then serve three years on probation.
The sentence was less than the plea bargain prosecutors offered before the case went to trial last month. A jury found Pate guilty of reckless manslaughter.
What the Judge Said She Weighed
Davis said two things troubled her: the number of driving infractions Pate accumulated before the September 2022 crash that killed Victor Birch, and Pate’s own testimony about his marijuana use.
“For such a young man, your driving record is horrible. … You were very cavalier about how you used marijuana,” she said.
Prosecutors alleged Pate was drinking and using marijuana before the early-morning crash on the Industrial Canal bridge on Rangeline Road in September 2022.
‘We Are Not a Vengeful Family’
Erich Birch, a Mobile native who practices law in Texas, told the court the same thing the judge had noticed about the driving record — and then asked for leniency anyway.
“We don’t know you, but given your driving record, it was inevitable that you were going to hurt yourself or someone else, and that happened to be our Victor,” he said in court.
At the same time, he told Davis the family did not want to see Pate’s life ruined, and asked her to impose a sentence at the lower end of the range.
“We are not a vengeful family,” he said. “Any punishment you receive won’t make us feel better.”
Pate wept while Birch spoke. When his own turn came, he had trouble keeping his composure. Facing the family, he said: “I pray one day you can find peace in knowing he’s with God.”
The Prosecutor Changed Her Recommendation
Prosecutor Ashley Rich said she had planned to seek a 20-year prison sentence — the maximum.
After speaking with Birch’s family, she instead recommended the same sentence Pate would have received had he accepted the plea deal: 20 years with all but five suspended and five years’ probation.
“I feel it’s very necessary to extend grace,” she said.
The judge went below even that recommendation.
Victim Impact and the Sentencing Decision
Alabama law gives crime victims and their families the right to be heard at sentencing, and victim impact statements are a standard part of the proceeding.
Almost always, they are used to describe harm and to ask for accountability. A family using that opportunity to argue for leniency is the less common case, and judges are not bound by it — a sentencing court’s obligation runs to the public and to the statutory purposes of punishment, not solely to the victim’s family.
But a family’s stated wishes carry real weight in practice, particularly in a case where the harm is unquestioned and the disagreement is only about consequence. When the people most entitled to anger decline to press for it, the argument for a severe sentence loses its most compelling advocate.
What a Split Sentence Means
The structure Davis imposed — 15 years, all but three suspended, followed by three years’ probation — is a split sentence, a common form in Alabama.
Pate will serve the three-year term. The remaining 12 years hang over him: if he violates probation, a court can revoke the suspension and require him to serve some or all of the balance.
The treatment requirement is the substantive condition. Given the judge’s specific concern about substance use, ordering drug and alcohol treatment during incarceration addresses the factor she identified as central rather than simply extending the time served.
Reckless Manslaughter
Reckless manslaughter in Alabama is a Class B felony, carrying a sentencing range of two to 20 years.
The charge requires proof that a defendant recklessly caused another person’s death — that he was aware of and consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk. It is the charge prosecutors bring in fatal crash cases where the conduct goes beyond ordinary negligence but the state does not allege intent to kill.
Victor Birch
Erich Birch, speaking outside the courtroom, described a brother whose working life and whose passion were separate things.
Victor Birch spent his whole career as a postal worker. His real passion was running, and he helped found the Blue Bell Bombers running group.
His brother said mercy was characteristic of him.
“Victor Birch really had nothing but good thoughts and love for other people,” he said. “He cared about other people. He wanted to do good things for other people. We had nothing bad to think about Mr. Pate. We don’t even know Mr. Pate. We do know he made bad decisions, and his bad decisions cost Victor’s life.”
The Defense
Defense attorney Jeff Deen said his client feels awful about what happened, and spoke about the family.
“I was very impressed with the brother, Mr. Birch,” Deen said. “He was a fine fella, and we certainly feel sorry for the family. Usually, families come here and want to string somebody up but (I was) really impressed with their Christian-like attitude towards everything.”
Four Years From Crash to Sentence
The crash occurred in September 2022. The sentencing came in September 2026.
Four years is not unusual for a felony case that goes to trial rather than resolving by plea. Investigation, forensic analysis, discovery, pretrial motions and court scheduling all consume time, and a defendant who rejects a plea offer waits for a trial date.
In this instance, the case that went to trial produced a sentence lighter than the offer the defendant turned down — an outcome driven not by the strength of the defense but by what the victim’s family asked the court to do.