A breath test administered at the scene showed Klaseus had a blood-alcohol concentration of .06 percent. A urine test administered later showed presence of marijuana in his system, though the concentration was negligible.

“This was an egregious act of irresponsibility. This simply should not happen,” Sibley County Assistant Attorney Don Lannoye said in his courtroom remarks to the judge.

But he acknowledged that no court punishment is worse than waking up each day and realizing that one’s actions were responsible for the death of one’s child.

“Honestly, there’s nothing the legal system can do that he’s not doing to himself,” Lannoye said after the hearing.

Lannoye and Klaseus’ attorney, Patrick Flanagan, said they thought Perkins’ sentence was fair.

Said Perkins in his sentencing remarks to Klaseus, “Forgive yourself. You have to forgive yourself in order for you to best move on from this point.”