White US ex-cop gets 15 years in jail
Awhite former police officer was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Wednesday night after being convicted of murder a day earlier for killing an unarmed 15-year-old boy when he fired into a car filled with black teenagers leaving a house party in suburban Dallas.
Roy Oliver’s conviction Tuesday in the April 2017 death of Jordan Edwards was handed down by the same jury that delivered his punishment. He also was fined $10,000. Prosecutors had sought a minimum of 60 years in prison. Edwards’ family praised prosecutors and the verdict — but said the sentence was too lenient.
Charmaine Edwards, Jordan’s stepmother, said of Oliver, “He can actually see life again after 15 years and that’s not enough because Jordan can’t see life again.”
The Dallas-based group Mothers Against Police Brutality expressed dissatisfaction with the sentence, saying in a statement that what Oliver received “is not at all commensurate with his crime.”
Oliver’s defence team said it had already begun the process of appealing. His attorneys said he would be eligible for parole after 7 years, but they also said they were concerned about his safety in prison and that authorities will take extra precautions to protect him.
The verdict marked an extremely rare murder conviction for shootings involving on-duty police officers.