The former Chicago police officer convicted in the murder of a black teenager who was shot 16 times as he walked away was sentenced Friday to 6 years, 9 months.
Jason Van Dyke's punishment was far less than the minimum of 18 years that prosecutors were seeking, although state sentencing guidelines allowed for as many as 96 years or more — the equivalent of six years served consecutively for each shot.
He will also have to serve a two-year mandatory supervised release after his prison term.
A jury in October found Van Dyke, 40, guilty of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery in the death of Laquan McDonald, 17. Jason Van Dyke's punishment was far less than the minimum of 18 years that prosecutors were seeking, although state sentencing guidelines allowed for as many as 96 years or more — the equivalent of six years served consecutively for each shot. He will also have to serve a two-year mandatory supervised release after his prison term. A jury in October found Van Dyke, 40, guilty of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery in the death of Laquan McDonald, 17.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jason-van-dyke-ex-chicago-officer-sentenced-6-years-9-n960161
The cops accused of helping Van Dyke cover up his crime got off altogether via decision by a judge. However, this conviction may make the first time in decades that a police officer in Chicago has gone to jail for anything he did while on duty. As I recall, when Dante Servin was on trial for shooting Rekia Boyd, it had been 17 years since a cop had seen the inside of a Chicago courtroom as a defendant.
This is a step in the right direction. But I'd planned on being happier. I'd planned on Van Dyke getting 18 years and his cronies getting a year or two each.
But this is a step in the right direction.
But this is a step in the right direction.
What the people of Chicago need to do now, is hold the judges accountable come election time. And the voters of Chicago need to correct the law where a judge, instead of a jury, gets to decide the guilt of a cop. Police officers should not be able to opt for a judge's decision rather than a jury's.
The jury decision have not been going our black-live-matter way very often. But I suspect the judge decision trials are going our way about one-tenth as often -- which why cops opt for them so much.
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