The Illinois Supreme Court denied a rare bid by Illinois' attorney general and a special prosecutor to get the justices to toss a lower court's sentence.
Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.CHICAGO — The Illinois Supreme Court on Tuesday let stand a prison sentence of less than seven years for a white Chicago police officer convicted of killing black teenager Laquan McDonald that many criticized as far too lenient.
McDonald was carrying a small knife in 2014 when Van Dyke exited his squad car and almost immediately opened fire. Police video released in 2015 showed Van Dyke firing 16 bullets into McDonald, many after the 17-year-old had crumpled to the ground. Asked whether Van Dyke's comparatively light sentence was an illustration of racial disparities in sentencing, Raoul paused before saying:"Suffice to say that I believe the sentence was inconsistent with the law."
Van Dyke went to trial charged with first-degree murder, which has a mandatory minimum prison term of 45 years. Jurors replaced it with second-degree murder after finding Van Dyke shot out of fear for his life, though that fear was unreasonable.
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