Texas jury hands down 15-year prison term after convicting police officer of murder for shooting unarmed teen
As reported by CNN here under the headline "Ex-officer sentenced to 15 years in Texas teen's shooting death," a Texas jury that handed down a notable murder conviction yesterday followed up today with a notable sentencing determination. Here are some details:
A former Texas police officer was sentenced to 15 years in prison Wednesday for the shooting death of an unarmed black teen last year in the Dallas suburbs.
A jury convicted former Balch Springs Officer Roy Oliver, 38, of murder on Tuesday for killing 15-year-old Jordan Edwards. Jurors returned to court Wednesday for his sentencing, where prosecutors sought at least 60 years, while the defense argued for 20 years or less.
Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson called Oliver a "killer in blue" who violated his oath to protect citizens. Her colleague, Michael Snipes, made the reference to Mr. Hyde, the violent side of Dr. Jekyll in Robert Louis Stevenson's novella. Defense attorney Bob Gill argued that his client, who fired into a vehicle carrying Edwards had to decide quickly how best to protect his partner.
The rare guilty verdict in the trial of a police officer stunned relatives, prompting gasps and sobs in the courtroom. Most police-involved shooting deaths, such as Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana, have ended in acquittals or no charges despite national protests condemning police brutality. "We don't want another parent to have to go through what this family has had to deal with," Jordan's family attorney, Daryl Washington, said on Tuesday. "This case is not just about Jordan. It's about Tamir Rice, it's about Walter Scott, it's about Alton Sterling, it's about every African-American... who have been killed and who have not gotten justice."...
Convictions such as Oliver's are still a rarity mostly because when an officer says the person flashed a gun or made a sudden move, jurors tend to side with them, said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. "At the end of day, officers in their badge and uniform enjoy the benefit of the doubt," Clarke said last year....
Few police officers face trial in shooting deaths, and even fewer are convicted. In December, former South Carolina officer Michael Slager was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in the 2015 shooting death of Walter Scott. Slager's 2016 state murder trial ended in a mistrial.
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