Court upholds conviction of officer in slaying of Black man | WJHL
From www.wjhl.com
2021-04-28 07:00:00
Excerpt:
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida police officer who gunned down a Black motorist whose car had broken down six years ago could legally be convicted of both manslaughter and attempted first-degree murder, a state appeals court ruled Wednesday.
The court said that unusual combination did not constitute double jeopardy.
The Fourth District Court of Appeal rejected the contention by Nouman Raja’s attorneys that his 2019 convictions and 25-year prison sentence for the shooting of Corey Jones should be overturned. Raja’s attorneys had argued that since a defendant can’t be convicted of both murder and manslaughter for killing one person, a guilty verdict for manslaughter and attempted murder should also be rejected.
But the judges sided with prosecutors by a 3-0 vote, saying Raja’s convictions were for distinct crimes. First, the judges focused on Raja firing two volleys of shots separated by about 10 seconds, the last as Jones ran away. They agreed with…