Lawyers for officer charged with murder want trial moved

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Lawyers for officer charged with murder want trial moved

Jeffrey Collins, Associated Press

Updated 10:39 am, Wednesday, October 19, 2016




COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A former South Carolina police officer charged with murder in the shooting of Walter Scott as he ran away from a traffic stop wants his trial moved from Charleston, where a bystander's video of the shooting has been widely seen.

Attorneys for Michael Slager paid for a survey in September that found 85 percent of Charleston County residents had seen the video of the North Charleston officer shooting Scott in April 2015.

The video doesn't show the entire confrontation, and potential jurors who have viewed it might not be able to fairly consider their evidence, the lawyers said. Their motion will likely be considered at a pretrial hearing on Friday morning.

The motion also notes that the trial of Dylann Roof, charged with killing nine churchgoers in what police said was a racially motivated attack, will be taking place in the federal courthouse across the street. Slager's jurors and witnesses would have to run a gauntlet of reporters, protesters and other attention-seekers, creating "a media spectacle to rival any ever seen in this or any town," Slager's lawyers said.


Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Lawyers-for-officer-charged-with-murder-want-9983291.php

[Chakab]

1. Where could move this trial in the US that the majority of the people eligible for jury duty

Last edited Wed Oct 19, 2016, 04:09 PM - Edit history (1)

have not seen that video?

Additionally, what happened before the portion of the video that was shown is irrelevant. The standard is that deadly force can only been used when an officer is fear of his life or has reason to believe that the suspect presents an imminent danger to the general public.

Scott was not presenting a threat to Slager when Slager started to discharge his weapon, and there were no other people around. That's murder. Plain and simple.

[Angry Dragon]

2. the defense would not pick you for the jury

[peabody]

3. You make too much sense!

[Doc_Technical]

4. Move the trial to Simi Valley CA

I'm sure he would get a "fair trial" there.
That's where those policemen who beat up
Rodney King were exonerated.

[whistler162]

5. Move it to DC, Detroit, or Harlem!

[strategery blunder]

6. Hell move it to Tacoma, WA.

We convicted our own police chief of murder a while back (granted the incident was an off duty, domestic violence related murder).

Pierce County (wherein Tacoma lies) is one of only a handful of jurisdictions in the entire country that has actually successfully held a cop criminally liable for murdering someone.