By Billy Davis

Cynthia Faulkner was sentenced to 25 years in prison Monday, never uttering the words “I’m sorry” to the family of Barbara Ann Dover.

“She never once said she was sorry. That hurt us,” said Randolph Dover, the eighth child of ten born to their late parents, William Dover Jr. and Barbara Ann Dover.

A circuit jury convicted Faulkner, 54, in January of causing Barbara Dover’s death by DUI. She was 76.

Jurors heard testimony from a Mississippi Crime Lab toxicologist that Faulkner tested positive for prescription drugs Lortab, Soma, and Ultram.

Batesville police alleged Faulkner crossed the centerline of Highway 6, west of Batesville, and struck Dover’s automobile head-on. Two other witnesses claimed she ran them from the road before the accident, and two more vehicles were sideswiped by Faulkner’s truck before she slammed into Dover.

Dover, of Marks, was the passenger in a car driven by her daughter, and the elderly mother and grandmother was pronounced dead at the scene, The Panolian reported at the time.

“That lady chose to get up that morning and take all those prescription drugs, and then put innocent people’s lives in danger,” Randolph Dover said.

‘Maxed her out’
“He maxed her out,” said Assistant District Attorney Jay Hale, referring to the sentence handed down by Judge Jimmy McClure.

Hale said the Dover family asked for Faulkner to receive the maximum 25-year sentence, and the District Attorney’s Office agreed with that recommendation.

Faulkner’s sentencing hearing ran for more than an hour to permit Randolph Dover and two other family members to testify before the sentence was announced. Faulkner’s daughter and granddaughter also testified, and Faulkner took the stand before a courtroom packed with family members from both families.

Court officials also told The Panolian that Faulkner did not ask for forgiveness, or tell the Dover family she was sorry, on the witness stand.

“Judge McClure stated from the bench that he felt Mrs. Faulkner did not take responsibility for her actions,” Hale told The Panolian.

Randolph Dover said his large family has mixed feelings over the 25-year sentence. Faulkner is not serving life after taking a life, he said, but he added that he personally researched other states with similar DUI-death laws.

“Some states have a maximum of eight years in prison,” Dover said. “That’s the maximum for taking a life.”

The son also recalled that Faulkner’s family members were crying after the jury conviction was announced in January. The son got a chance to address that Monday, he said.

“I told her on the witness stand that at least they can see her at Thanksgiving and Christmas,” he recalled. “But she took our momma from us. We woke up that morning without a momma.”

The son said his mother is survived by 10 children, 29 grand children, 39 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.