The imminent release from prison of the former Chicago police officer who shot Laquan McDonald 16 times in 2014, killing the Black teenager, is a reminder for some of what they say is an unfair criminal justice system.
“This is the ultimate illustration that Black lives don’t matter as much as other lives,” said the Rev. Marshall Hatch, a prominent minister on the city’s West Side. “To get that short amount of time for a murder sends a bad message to the community.”the NAACP this week
that resulted in several reforms, including the creation of a civilian-led police oversight board and new rules governing investigations into police shootings. And after the city refused to release the police video of McDonald’s killing for more than a year and only did so after a judge ordered it to do so, it now must release such videos within 60 days.But reforms have come slower than expected and the city has struggled to meet some of the consent decree’s deadlines.
Hatch’s anger stems in part from a sense that the criminal justice system came tantalizingly close to finally working for a Black victim of police violence before the judge called a legal audible by sentencing Van Dyke only for second-degree murder — a charge that allows defendants to serve half their sentences if they behave in prison — and not any of the 16 counts of aggravated battery.
And although McDonald’s great uncle, the Rev. Marvin Hunter, believes the sentence was woefully inadequate, he said it doesn’t take away from the“Had Jason Van Dyke gotten one day in jail it would have been a victory because he was the first,” said Hunter. “Since then, police across the country are getting convicted of murdering Black people.”
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Anger, questions as ex-cop who killed Black teen is set freeThe 2018 conviction of former police Officer Jason Van Dyke for the killing of Black teenager Laquan McDonald marked an important moment in Chicago's history. It was the first time in roughly half a century that a member of the police force was found guilty of murder for an on-duty killing and it gave hope to many residents that their officers could be held accountable. Van Dyke's scheduled release from prison on Thursday after serving about three years and four months, less than half of his sentence of six years and nine months, shows things aren't so simple.
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