Law professor Rachel Moran explained to Associated Press why Judge Chu chose to give former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter a shorter sentence than what was originally suggested.
From the article: Rachel Moran, a law professor at the University of St. Thomas, said she can understand why the judge believes two years was appropriate; Potter is not at risk of reoffending, she will serve about 16 months of her sentence in prison and the shooting was deemed a mistake.
But Moran said the public is used to seeing high prison sentences and not used to a judge showing mercy.
“Where it becomes so painful is that that mercy is not frequently shown to many other people,” Moran said. When you think about people who get more prison time for drug offenses, “it’s really hard to swallow two years for someone who killed someone.”
“I think the sentence could be right, and it still could feel horrifyingly unjust to people who are active in the community and have seen the pain and trauma of higher prison sentences” for offenses that have caused less harm, Moran said.
