‘American Idol’s Caleb Kennedy Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison

American Idol finalist Caleb Kennedy has been sentenced to eight years in prison for a 2022 DUI crash that killed a man.

The 20-year-old singer pled guilty to the charges on Nov. 18, according to E! News.

The crash took place in South Carolina and killed 54-year-old Larry Duane Parris.

Kennedy was originally charged with 25 years in prison and a $25,100 fine, but his sentence was ultimately reduced to eight years and a $15,100 fine.

The outlet also reported that Kennedy will serve three years of his sentence on home detention and already has time credited since his original arrest in 2022.

He will also be put on probation for five years, attend mental health and substance abuse counseling and undergo random drug and alcohol testing.

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"[He] wants to express his heartfelt sympathies to the Parris family. Caleb fully accepts his responsibility for this accident and hopes for healing for everyone affected by this tragedy," Kennedy's legal team said in a statement on Nov. 22.

His attorney Ryan Beasley told a local news outlet that he thought the sentence was fair due to Kennedy being a minor at the time of the incident.

"This wasn't such an egregious act that you see most of the time, where people were drinking and driving then they hit somebody at night or going the wrong way down the road. This was a weird reaction from his prescription medicine and possibly THC," Beasley revealed.

Kennedy was under the influence of marijuana when he struck and killed Parris in his driveway in Feb. 2022 as Parris was talking on the phone.

The victim's daughter Kelsey Parris said, "He killed my dad, point blank. I wish I could pay a little bit of money or a lot of money to have my daddy back."

Kennedy competed on Season 19 of the hit ABC reality series in 2021.

He made it to the top five contestants before leaving the show after a video went viral online that allegedly depicted Kennedy standing next to someone wearing a hood reminiscent of the Ku Klux Klan.

"I was younger and did not think about the actions, but that's not an excuse. I wanna say sorry to all my fans and everyone who I have let down," he said on Instagram at the time.