South Carolina Police Officer Who Killed Walter Scott To Be Sentenced

The sentencing of the South Carolina police officer who was videotaped killing Walter Scott in 2015 will start on Monday, USA Today reports.

The expected week-long hearing follows a controversial state murder trial last year that resulted in a hung jury for Michael Slager. The former officer later pleaded guilty to a single federal count under a deal that dropped the state charges and two other federal counts.

Slager is facing up to life in prison and a $250,000 fine for using excessive force in the death of Scott, CNN reports.

“I think everybody’s just ready to close this chapter of life and start the next chapter,” Justin Bamberg, an attorney for the Scott family, told the Associated Press. “But all of them end the same way, and that is that Walter’s not here.”
Bamberg says the Scott family thinks Slager deserves a life sentence

Scott’s killing in April 2015 was captured in a video that went viral at the height of the national debate over police brutality and racial bias. He was shot five times in the back while running from Slager during a routine traffic stop.

Slager’s defense claimed that he feared for his life when Scott gained control of the patrolman’s stun gun.