Convicted Stevensville woman's case to be featured on Oxygen Network

A Stevensville woman convicted of vehicular manslaughter and the Montana Innocence Project will be featured on the Oxygen Network’s “Final Appeal” Sunday evening.

Katie Garding was convicted in 2011 in the hit-and-run death of Bronson Parsons near Missoula on New Year’s Day in 2008. She was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

The Innocence Project has been vying to overturn the conviction in pursuit of a new trial for Garding for the past several years, according to the Associated Press.

Parsons was walking along Highway 200 in the early morning hours on Jan. 1, 2008, and was struck from behind by a dark SUV, which then sped off.

Garding has admitted she was drinking and driving that night with her then-boyfriend James Bordeaux and another man but has maintained her innocence.

The Innocence Project has cited independent crash reconstruction, alleged withholding of medical evidence and ineffective council in the quest for a new trial.

The program, hosted by Brian Banks, airs at 5 p.m. Sunday.