Sentence affirmed for student’s killer
A judge in Arizona accepted a plea agreement on Tuesday for the woman who killed a Chinese student in 2016.
Judge Warren Granville of Maricopa County Superior Court in Arizona affirmed a 25-year prison sentence for Holly Davis, who killed Jiang Yue after a road rage incident in Tempe, Arizona, despite emotional pleas from the victim’s family to charge Davis with first-degree murder.
“The victim’s family is disappointed with the judge’s decision not to vacate the plea agreement,” said Daniel Deng of Deng Law Center, a lawyer helping the family with their case.
Jiang’s relatives, who argued that the plea deal is unfair and lenient, had traveled from China to the US to ask for the death sentence or life imprisonment for Davis.
Deng said several factors influenced Granville’s decision. First of all, he didn’t want the family to go through the heartbreak that comes with hearing about Jiang’s death all over again, if the case were to go to court. Second, if Davis was charged with first-degree murder, she could appeal, resulting in multiple hearings, so striking the deal was in the family’s best interests.
Deng said Jiang’s family could still appeal the decision. He was scheduled to convene with them on Wednesday to see if they planned to go through with the appeal.
Davis’ sentencing hearing will be held on Friday.
Davis shot Jiang, then a 19-year-old sophomore at Arizona State University, after their cars collided at a red light on Jan 16, 2016. After the crash, Davis went to the driver’s side of Jiang’s car and shot her multiple times in the chest.
Davis had expressed a desire to be shot by law enforcement, according to court documents.
She was arrested and charged with 14 criminal counts including first-degree murder. She initially pleaded not guilty but in February changed her plea to guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for a 25-year sentence and a $250,000 restitution fee, in addition to dismissal of all other charges, according to Xinhua and Phoenix News Times.
Xu Xiang, Jiang’s cousin, said the family did not learn about the plea agreement until after it was made and only found out about it in Chinese media.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said a letter had been sent to the family informing them of the deal but the family say they never received it.
Jiang’s death shocked and saddened the Chinese community in the US, resulting in an outpouring of support from friends, classmates and the Arizona Chinese Association.