Posted on 04/16/2015 9:10:10 AM PDT by NKP_Vet
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A prosecutor says it doesn't look as if the death penalty can be sought in the case of a black South Carolina man who was fatally shot as he ran from a white police officer.
Former North Charleston officer Michael Slager is charged with murder in the death of Walter Scott. The April 4 shooting was captured on cellphone video and showed Slager firing eight shots at Scott as he ran following a traffic stop.
Meanwhile, the case has been assigned by the state's chief justice to a black judge from Kingstree, South Carolina, about 70 miles from Charleston. And the Rev. Jesse Jackson was due in Charleston on Thursday to hold a rally in support of the Scott family at a local union hall.
Solicitor Scarlett Wilson released a statement this week saying that, based on the facts so far, the death penalty doesn't appear to apply. Under state law, death can only be sought in a killing with aggravating circumstances such as robbery and kidnapping among a number of other circumstances.
"Based on the facts revealed thus far, it does not appear South Carolina's death penalty provision applies in this case because there are no statutory aggravating circumstances present," the solicitor's statement said.
Slager faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted.
Wilson said she has been in contact with the State Law Enforcement Division agents who are investigating the case but has not received their investigation file, something she said she doesn't expect for days or weeks.
She added that the Charleston County grand jury meets in May but "when we present indictments to the grand jury will depend upon when we receive the investigative file and the amount of time it takes to review it."
South Carolina Chief Justice Jean Toal, in a two-sentence order issued on Tuesday, assigned the Slager case to Judge Clifton Newman of Kingstree, who has been on the bench for 15 years.
Toal authorized the clerk of the state Supreme Court, Dan Shearouse, to release a statement on the assignment to the media. It says state law requires a systematic rotation of trial judges so most cases are handled by more than one judge while before the courts.
"When a matter is complex or is otherwise in need of management from beginning to end by one judge, the Chief Justice routinely issues an administrative order making such an assignment. This practice was followed here," the statement said.
It said Newman has been assigned a number of such cases in both criminal and civil court.
Newman was called on by the court in 2012 to hear arguments and report back to the justices in another case that attracted national attention - a lawsuit brought by preservation and conservation groups challenging plans for a new cruise terminal in downtown Charleston.
"Judge Newman enjoys an excellent reputation as a jurist, and we look forward to working under his guidance," said a statement released by Andy Savage, Slager's defense attorney. "A more competent member of the judiciary could not be found."
How much you wanna bet - Al and the gang are going to be rioting for the death penalty.
Black judge, black jury and probably a black prosecutor. I wonder what the outcome will be?
I agree that this isn’t a capital offense. But murder charges are certainly warranted. The video does not show a man who is firing in a panic. It shows his actions to be deliberate, especially with the pause between the 7th and 8th shots. There was no justification for the shooting and the officer will have to face charges because of his actions.
SC apparently only has Murder. There are no degrees of Murder. Just Murder. Then Manslaughter.
Under SC law, the murder charge fits.
http://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t16c003.php
Intent is one of the elements for first-degree murder. The officer showed intent when he continued to run after the suspect and continued firing. He (the officer) had time to decide if he was really going to shoot a fleeing suspect, who had had no physical contact with the officer.
I say first degree. No comment on the death penalty. I don’t care how his defense attorney (and union rep) try to spin it, that was murder. Police are held to a higher standard...and this officer failed. So glad there was video!
Oh, and I am very pro-cop. Sometimes, tho, you just get a bad apple.
Not commenting on the justification of the actual shooting but facts, the truth, can be tricky at times-——http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2015/04/12/game-changer-or-paradigm-shift-walter-scott-shooting-enhanced-video-shows-officer-slager-with-taser-darts/
The policeman is fully justified in the opinion of those who hold that fleeing the police is a capital offense.Don’t you remember “stop or I’ll shoot”?I wonder just how many have been killed in this country solely for fleeing.The reasoning usually goes along the lines of “he must have been guilty of something really bad otherwise he wouldn’t have run” and “should the police chance a really bad guy getting way”.
Not justifying the actions of the cop at all, but this is not 1st degree murder.
I saw that and I have a couple of problems with their findings. The first is that in none of the recorded conversations of Slager does he mention he'd been tased. In none of the police reports that have come out does it mentioned he had been tased. In the second, the video does not show a man who has had a severe electrical shock like the one a taser would deliver. Finally, the website would have us believe that Slager was hit once in the chest and once in the back of his calf by the taser dates. A spread of about four feet. I can't see that kind of spread happening under any circumstances and especially at close range, and it's a physical improbability in terms of front of chest and back of leg placement.
So no, I didn't give a lot of credence to theconservativetreehouse's speculation.
Pretty standard stuff. When I prosecuted we had many of those ... a murder that doesn’t have the “special circumstance” requirement.
First year law school stuff.
Would tampering and planting evidence add to the seriousness of the crime? On the video I count 3 times that he did that?
Slagner: “He grabbed my taser”
That is tampering with evidence. As charges have been filed, I am satisfied that the system is working correctly.
The cop was massively altering the crime scene, moving evidence, planting evidence, spreading DNA.
Sort of makes it look like shooting somebody in the head then placing the gun in their hand.
Slager sealed his fate when he tampered with a crime scene by moving the taser.
I’m sure he will plead to manslaughter.
It doesn’t matter if the officer was hit by the darts or not. The tasers used by law enforcement have a “drive stun” capability in that it can still be used to incapacitate with or without a cartridge in the gun.
And one dart in the upper torso (probably hit the vest) with the other dart missing raises these two questions: Was the officer on the ground trying to subdue the perp? If so, could the other dart possibly lodge in the back of the leg while they were rolling around?
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