This is part of our ongoing coverage in collaboration with several news organizations including Oakland Local, KALW, New American Media, Mission Loc@l, Placeblogger, California Beat, The Bay Citizen and The Campanil.
The following report is from Thandisizwe Chimerenga.
Sentencing for convicted killer Johannes Mehserle has been pushed back to later this year and his attorney says he will argue for a reduction in sentence when that time comes.
Mehserle is the former Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer convicted July 8 of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of 22-year old Oscar Grant on an Oakland rail platform Jan. 1, 2009. The trial was moved to Los Angeles County Superior court from Alameda County last fall due to extensive pre-trial publicity and concerns about fairness.
Judge Robert Perry had set an August 6 date for Mehserle’s sentencing however he granted Michael Rains, Mehserle’s defense attorney, a postponement in order to prepare. Alan Parachini Public Information officer for the Los Angeles Superior Court, says the sentencing may take place in October or possibly even November but no exact date has yet been determined.
Rains, speaking to the media on July 9, said he was disappointed but not overly surprised that Mehserle had been found guilty and felt that the verdict reached in the case was inconsistent.
According to the Oakland Tribune, Rains said his argument to Judge Perry will be “ … there was no negligence in the case," and that Perry should dismiss the jury's finding that Mehserle was guilty of using a gun in the commission in a crime.
“This is a typical defense move; he’s basically doing a motion for a new trial, in which he’s saying that the jury came up with an incorrect verdict,” said Nana Gyamfi, a Los Angeles-based criminal defense attorney.
“He will possibly argue to the judge that the finding of criminal negligence is inconsistent with the finding of intent to use a firearm, meaning, ‘involuntary manslaughter’ is a finding that’s just above ‘it was a mistake.’ If someone is intending to use a firearm under the circumstances that Mehserle did, that’s not ‘just above mistake.’”
In spite of this however, Gyamfi says the verdict and the finding are indeed consistent.
“It’s like when someone drives drunk and kills someone. That person intended to drink, and they intended to drive. But they did not intend to kill someone.”
But Mehserle was not a drunk driver; he was a law enforcement officer with the power to use deadly force and he carried a lethal weapon.
Mehserle released a letter of apology to the public through his lawyer on July 4, four days before the jury returned their verdict, expressing remorse for killing Grant. The letter, available on the web, states in part, I know a daughter has lost a father and a mother has lost a son. It saddens me knowing that my actions cost Mr. Grant his life, no words express how truly sorry I am.”
Cephus “Bobby” Johnson, uncle of Oscar Grant, felt that the letter was insincere. Speaking at a press conference in Oakland two days after the verdict he said, “…this letter that was not addressed to Wanda Johnson, Sophina Mesa (fiancée of Oscar Grant) or Tatinna, Oscar’s daughter, or even to us as a family … this letter, let’s be clear, was not addressed to us it was addressed to the public … . This is a ploy … just like he faked a cry on the stand, he’s sending out a fake letter to the public … its garbage.”
Mehserle could possibly face a maximum of 14 years in state prison. If the gun charge were dismissed the maximum amount of time he could receive would be reduced to just four years.
Without the gun enhancement charge it is also possible that Mehserle could receive probation.
Wanda Johnson, the mother of Oscar Grant, expressed her fears via e-mail. “I figured they would try to push it back as far as they can in order to try to say time served.” The apology letter I believe was given to the jury to help them determine the verdict. The whole system is unjust.”
