We're not in disagreement.
I certainly don't presume to know all the facts. The guy could be as guilty as sin....but you could also have a "To Kill a Mockingbird" type of thing going on here where the cop that was killed is a local kid...and the town is outraged and facts matter little. If the guy got stuck with a public defender...he got screwed....again...he might of got what he deserved...who knows....but there might have been a whole lot of "we're gonna get the guy that killed our buddy..."