Few would disagree that " Cop killers " should serve a harsh sentence, but the extra six years tacked onto a man convicted of " manslaughter " raises questions about the integrity of the charge.
Back in September 2010, police raided a garage used as the base for a 58 year old drug dealer. This drug dealer claims that he thought the plain clothes officers were rival drug dealers and " defended " himself with a pistol.
In the ensuing gun fight one of the police officers was hit by a shot from another officers gun - and subsequently died. Initially, it was proposed to charge the drug dealer with murder, but after plea bargaining, he agreed to plead guilty to a charge of manslaughter - and was given a seven year sentence.
An appeal court has increased that seven year sentence to twelve years because " the case called for a significantly longer sentence being imposed for manslaughter ".
This increased sentence differs widely from the punishment handed out in most civil manslaughter cases and it becomes obvious that the factor influencing the decision - is the death of a serving police officer.
It can certainly be argued that the drug dealer was the instigator of the gun fight, but the death did not happen from his weapon and it is hard to see how a charge of murder could have succeeded and even manslaughter is a matter of conjecture for many people.
No doubt there will be a counter appeal on the grounds that the additional sentence is " excessive ". This is the type of case that may occupy the mind of jurors for many years to come.
Clearly, the officer who fired the fatal shot had no intention of killing a colleague, but to shift the blame entirely onto a third person and label that as " manslaughter " is pulling a very long bow.
It seems that the court was under intense pressure to deliver an " acceptable " verdict !
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