# Shooting of Walter Scott: a death penalty case under South Carolina law? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 8, 2015, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-of-walter-scott-a-death-penalty-case-under-south-carolina-law/717134 "2015-04-08T16:20:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-of-walter-scott-a-death-penalty-case-under-south-carolina-law/717134/1 "2015-04-08T16:20:27Z")
> [@](#): > > A white South Carolina police officer was arrested and charged with murder on Tuesday after a video showed him shooting eight times at the back of a 50-year-old black man who was running away after a traffic stop and died at the scene. > **[White U.S. police officer faces murder charge for shooting black man in the...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/walter-scott-shooting-police-officer-faces-murder-charge-in-death-of-black-man-1.3024036)** > > A white South Carolina police officer has been charged with murder over the shooting death of a black man who appeared to be fleeing from him, local authorities said on Tuesday, with the FBI and the U.S. Justice Department announcing a separate probe... Will the district attorney in South Carolina seek the death penalty against the police officer? ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-of-walter-scott-a-death-penalty-case-under-south-carolina-law/717134/2 "2015-04-08T16:33:19Z")
I doubt the DA will look for anything more than manslaughter. Even with the video evidence of the cop going back to get his taser and plant it next to Scott (Also note the other cop not seeming to care about this - as if it’s a common occurence). If not for the video, I doubt the cop would have even gotten a stern talking to from his commander. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-of-walter-scott-a-death-penalty-case-under-south-carolina-law/717134/3 "2015-04-08T17:26:53Z")
It looks like it would be standard second degree murder case. Do you see premeditation which would make it a first degree murder (and thus eligible for the death penalty). ---
**Author:** ![Haberdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Haberdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haberdash)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-of-walter-scott-a-death-penalty-case-under-south-carolina-law/717134/4 "2015-04-08T17:44:31Z")
In most codes, including South Carolina’s, all murder is premeditated (or committed "with malice aforethought). That’s the difference between murder and manslaughter. There is no crime of “first degree murder” in South Carolina. However, there are aggravating factors which may be discussed at sentencing to elevate the penalty for the single crime of “murder” to the death penalty, which are basically identical to those which distinguish “first degree” from “second degree” murder in states which use “first degree murder” as the death penalty offense. [http://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t16c003.php](http://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t16c003.php) Of those, the only ones which may apply here are: > [@](#): > > (3) The offender by his act of murder knowingly created a great risk of death to more than one person in a public place by means of a weapon or device which normally would be hazardous to the lives of more than one person. A tendentious reading of this could result in prosecuting anyone who fires a weapon at a running person several yards away in an open space, as this could be irresponsibly hazardous to others in the area. It seems like this is designed to prosecute bombings and terrorist activity and probably would not work by precedent (i.e., if no one in South Carolina has been prosecuted under this theory before). > [@](#): > > (6) The offender caused or directed another to commit murder or committed murder as an agent or employee of another person. Depending on what is discovered about the motives of all the officers involved and the culture which produced this act. Again, a stretch, probably won’t happen. > [@](#): > > (11) The murder of a witness or potential witness committed at any time during the criminal process for the purpose of impeding or deterring prosecution of any crime. In a sense, any cop who kills a suspect illegally and can be shown to have done so in order to cover up earlier acts of police brutality (a crime) against the suspect is guilty of this. Again, won’t actually be used here. No police officer in the U.S. has been convicted of murder for on-duty actions in twenty years. If this cop is convicted of anything it will be a landmark event. I wouldn’t hold my breath for him getting the totality of what he deserves. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-of-walter-scott-a-death-penalty-case-under-south-carolina-law/717134/5 "2015-04-08T20:47:01Z")
I dunno; Governor Nikki Haley, from the article, said the shooting was “_not acceptable_” which is mighty strong language. North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey sagely opined: “_When you’re wrong, you’re wrong_.” Whilst stern lovable old North Charleston Police Chief Eddie Driggers ‘…appeared to be fighting tears as he described his feelings watching the video.’ “_I think that all of these police officers on this force, men and women, are like my children," he told reporters. "So you tell me how a father would react_.” Will it be a loving, forgiving father, or a wrathful, smiting papa ? The Nation Awaits. The greatest of all American writers once pointed out the public will adore either judge father who hangs his own son for breaking the law, or who breaks down himself and vows he can’t sentence his own darling boy. Anyway, they seem to be avoiding stiff upper lip training at the academy. I really think it could be different this time. They learnt so much from the **[Milwaukee](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/12/22/police-shooting-milwaukee/20760011/)** case last year outside Starbucks who called the force in, when a police officer, threatened by a homeless guy sleeping in the park, had to shoot him 14 times; and **[Michigan](http://www.storyleak.com/police-shot-homeless-man-11-times-stolen-coffee/)** later that year, when the police found a homeless guy had stolen a cup of coffee, and had to shoot him 11 times. Apart from suggesting homeless people should avoid coffee, I would suggest a little more sparsity with the ammo. If I remember, and I wasn’t that interested, security forces in Northern Ireland had to account for every bullet. In the second incident the cops had to shoot 47 bullets for 11 hits. Certainly those hits were enough to kill him, but it’s _wasteful_. In the first case, Governor Walker said of protesters: “_It’s one of the great things about living in America—people have the right to protest. They just don’t have the right to put other people’s lives at risk. I’m just asking that they be mindful of that._” In the circumstances that counts as great irony. ---
**Author:** ![jsquire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@jsquire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsquire)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-of-walter-scott-a-death-penalty-case-under-south-carolina-law/717134/6 "2015-04-09T00:41:36Z")
This is pure speculation, but this may be semantics. I can’t imagine a police officer going to prison and living out his sentence ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-of-walter-scott-a-death-penalty-case-under-south-carolina-law/717134/7 "2015-04-09T00:44:33Z")
> [@jsquire](#): > > This is pure speculation, but this may be semantics. I can’t imagine a police officer going to prison and living out his sentence Plenty of police officers have gone to prison over the years. They’re often housed in segregated areas or solitary confinement. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-of-walter-scott-a-death-penalty-case-under-south-carolina-law/717134/8 "2015-04-09T01:01:44Z")
South Carolina has summary executions of black men for allegedly driving with a tail light out. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-of-walter-scott-a-death-penalty-case-under-south-carolina-law/717134/9 "2015-04-09T01:17:00Z")
As \*\*Haberdash \*\*points out, very unlikely for the case to be presented as “capital” murder, due to the narrow set of conditions for it to qualify. Also, prosecutors will probably say to themselves “oh please, it’s going to be hard enough to find a jury who’d convict a cop on murder, period, imagine if death is on the table?”. Penalty for aggravated murder in SC is Death or LWOP; straight murder is 30-to-life and fixed-time sentences are subject to parole. Voluntary manslaughter is 2-to-30 depending on circumstances. [Off GQ and into IMO] So file regular murder to make the point, and throw in a number of whatever other offences you can find in the facts, so a jury can find him guilty of _something_ without injecting or frying him or throwing away the key, or so he can plead guilty and get 30 with the right to parole and time off. And who knows, a case so utterly brazen, it could be made to stick. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-of-walter-scott-a-death-penalty-case-under-south-carolina-law/717134/10 "2015-04-09T04:21:08Z")
> [@](#): > > (6) The offender caused or directed another to commit murder or committed murder as an agent or employee of another person. That’s pretty poorly drafted. Let’s say that I work at Waffle House and see my enemy come into the restaurant. I go over and stab him. Well…I am eligible for the death penalty because I “committed murder” as an “employee” of another person. I know that’s not what it means, but it should be worded better. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-of-walter-scott-a-death-penalty-case-under-south-carolina-law/717134/11 "2015-04-09T16:05:35Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > South Carolina has summary executions of black men for allegedly driving with a tail light out. **Moderator Warning** **The Second Stone** , I’m sure you’re aware that this kind of inflammatory political commentary is not appropriate for General Questions. This is an official warning. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-of-walter-scott-a-death-penalty-case-under-south-carolina-law/717134/12 "2015-04-09T16:10:03Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > I dunno; Governor Nikki Haley, from the article, said the shooting was “_not acceptable_” which is mighty strong language. > > North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey sagely opined: “_When you’re wrong, you’re wrong_.” > > Whilst stern lovable old North Charleston Police Chief Eddie Driggers ‘…appeared to be fighting tears as he described his feelings watching the video.’ > > “_I think that all of these police officers on this force, men and women, are like my children," he told reporters. "So you tell me how a father would react_.” > > Will it be a loving, forgiving father, or a wrathful, smiting papa ? The Nation Awaits. > > The greatest of all American writers once pointed out the public will adore either judge father who hangs his own son for breaking the law, or who breaks down himself and vows he can’t sentence his own darling boy. Anyway, they seem to be avoiding stiff upper lip training at the academy. > I really think it could be different this time. They learnt so much from the **[Milwaukee](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/12/22/police-shooting-milwaukee/20760011/)** case last year outside Starbucks who called the force in, when a police officer, threatened by a homeless guy sleeping in the park, had to shoot him 14 times; and **[Michigan](http://www.storyleak.com/police-shot-homeless-man-11-times-stolen-coffee/)** later that year, when the police found a homeless guy had stolen a cup of coffee, and had to shoot him 11 times. > > Apart from suggesting homeless people should avoid coffee, I would suggest a little more sparsity with the ammo. If I remember, and I wasn’t that interested, security forces in Northern Ireland had to account for every bullet. In the second incident the cops had to shoot 47 bullets for 11 hits. Certainly those hits were enough to kill him, but it’s _wasteful_. > > In the first case, Governor Walker said of protesters: “_It’s one of the great things about living in America—people have the right to protest. They just don’t have the right to put other people’s lives at risk. I’m just asking that they be mindful of that._” > In the circumstances that counts as great irony. **Moderator Note** **Claverhouse,** this kind of opining is also inappropriate for GQ. No warning issued, since it’s not as extreme as **The Second Stone’s** , but refrain from this in the future. Colibri General Questions ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-of-walter-scott-a-death-penalty-case-under-south-carolina-law/717134/13 "2015-04-09T16:11:33Z")
Since it requires speculation, the OP was inappropriate for GQ in the first place. Since discussion is likely to be heated, I’m moving this to Great Debates. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-of-walter-scott-a-death-penalty-case-under-south-carolina-law/717134/14 "2015-04-09T16:24:23Z")
Well, it was intended to be a factual question and I’d say that answer #4 provided exactly the information I was looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-of-walter-scott-a-death-penalty-case-under-south-carolina-law/717134/15 "2015-04-09T16:32:49Z")
I don’t see any possible death verdict here. Manslaughter most likely. It’s time to _ALSO_ indite the other officer as an accessory to an attempted cover up. He just stood there and watched the cop move evidence.(or so it appears) That’s totally unacceptable. I typically support the cops and the job they do, but I expect that they do their job in an honest and professional manner. This guy appears to be neither. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-of-walter-scott-a-death-penalty-case-under-south-carolina-law/717134/16 "2015-04-09T18:09:12Z")
As a Charlestonian who drives near there everyday I’d just like to thank him - ironically - for giving us this sort of headache. For the next year that’s how people will know Charleston. Not as the tourist destination or the burgeoning technology hub. Dammit. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-of-walter-scott-a-death-penalty-case-under-south-carolina-law/717134/17 "2015-04-09T18:29:41Z")
Now that we are in GD, I’d like to point out, as a matter of documented fact, that in the United States, black men are summarily executed with some regularity by police forces. To wit, Eric Garner was summarily executed for selling loose cigarettes. Walter Scott was summarily executed for allegedly driving with a non-operational tail light, and then framed for stealing and brandishing a taser. This is not unusual in the US. What has changed is that now virtually everyone has in their form of a mobile phone a video/audio recording device on their person and that people are now recording many of the incidents they see and are not directly involved with. Here’s another of a woman being beaten: [http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/07/05/3456686/california-highway-patrol-beat-woman/](http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/07/05/3456686/california-highway-patrol-beat-woman/) ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-of-walter-scott-a-death-penalty-case-under-south-carolina-law/717134/18 "2015-04-09T18:40:24Z")
I’m a tad curious what possible _Federal_ charges could be brought, if any, and their potential penalties. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-of-walter-scott-a-death-penalty-case-under-south-carolina-law/717134/19 "2015-04-09T18:45:33Z")
The officer seems to deserve it. The guy was running away, contrary to his own account that the guy was attacking him, and in the end he even planted evidence. At the least, he should rot in jail for a long time and the other inmates should know he was a cop. Makes me wonder how many claimed justifiable homicides would be refuted if only we had video of the incident ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-of-walter-scott-a-death-penalty-case-under-south-carolina-law/717134/20 "2015-04-09T18:52:16Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > The officer seems to deserve it. The guy was running away, contrary to his own account that the guy was attacking him, and in the end he even planted evidence. At the least, he should rot in jail for a long time and the other inmates should know he was a cop. Makes me wonder how many claimed justifiable homicides would be refuted if only we had video of the incident Well, let’s compare with the small sample size of citizen video we have: Eric Garner and Walter Scott. Neither was a justifiable homicide. Do we have any citizen video where homicide is justifiable? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-of-walter-scott-a-death-penalty-case-under-south-carolina-law/717134.md?page=2)