A man from Drenthe who was jailed for 30 years in the US for killing a passerby in a drunk driving accident is about to be released, local broadcaster RTV Drenthe reports.

Edward Kleine was jailed for the accident in Alabama in 2005. A request four years ago for him to be allowed to serve part of his sentence in the Netherlands was rejected.

The King’s Commissioner in Drenthe, Jacques Tichelaar, campaigned for his release. Although he deserved to be jailed for killing the 22-year-old, ‘the sentence he was given was exceptionally high, even by American standards’, Tichelaar told the broadcaster.

There were suggestions the sentence was so long because the victim was the son of the local sheriff, RTL Drenthe says. However, the victim’s mother cooperated in the campaign to have Kleine freed, the broadcaster says.

Kleine is expected back in the Netherlands this weekend.