"Why shouldn't he get a deferred imposition (of sentence)?" Deschamps asked. "He's got no prior felonies. He's got the rest of his life in front of him. He seems like the classic case" for which deferred sentences were designed.

Deschamps, remarking that Matt hasn't had any brushes with the law since the accident, said he was considering a six-year deferred sentence. Matt and his attorney, Thane Johnson of Kalispell, quickly agreed they'd be fine with that and Deschamps pronounced it.

***

Matt's mother, sitting in the courtroom, began to weep as she realized her son wasn't going to prison after all.

"I'm sorry for all of this stuff," Matt told Deschamps. "... I can make this right and I don't want to mess up anymore."

Deschamps warned Matt that "if you go out and fail, I can bring you back in and I can whack you. ... This isn't some screaming deal you should go dancing out of the courthouse with."