Background

On April 4, 2015, Walter Scott, a 50-year-old Black man, was fatally shot by Michael Slager, a local white police officer in North Charleston, South Carolina. Slager stopped Scott for a non-functioning brake light and subsequently lied about the shooting by falsely claiming he acted in self-defense. He alleged Scott grabbed his stun gun, a narrative disproven by video taken by Feidin Santana that showed Slager shooting the unarmed Scott in the back while he fled. Slager further tried to cover up the shooting by planting the taser near Scott’s body, all of which was captured in Santana’s footage, which was publicly released four days after the shooting. 

In June 2015, a South Carolina grand jury indicted Slager on a charge of murder. He was released on bond in January 2016. In late 2016, a five-week trial ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury. In May 2016, Slager was indicted on federal charges including violation of Scott's civil rights and obstruction of justice. In a May 2017 plea agreement, Slager pleaded guilty to federal charges of civil rights violations, and he was returned to jail pending sentencing. In return for his guilty plea, the state's murder charges were dropped. In December 2017, Slager was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with the judge determining that the underlying offenses were second degree murder and obstruction of justice.

First Step Act

According to the Scott family’s account on the Department of Justice (DOJ) Victim Notification System (VNS) portal, Slager’s sentence was reduced by one year on two separate occasions, once in 2020 and again in 2022. As the Scott family prepared to commemorate the 11 year Angelversary of Walter Scott’s murder, they received notification that Slager had been approved for early release to a Community Corrections Center halfway house in Ocala, Florida beginning on October 27, 2027. The Scott family is awaiting additional information on why this is happening, but it appears that this has been made possible through the First Step Act (FSA), a federal law signed on December 21, 2018, aimed at reducing recidivism, reforming federal sentencing laws, and lowering the federal inmate population. It allows eligible inmates to earn time credits for early release. While inmates convicted of serious violent crimes, including many homicide-related offenses, are generally ineligible for the FSA’s earned time credits (early release), Slager was charged with a federal civil rights offense: deprivation of a person’s rights under color of law as protected by the constitution–not murder. This apparent loophole is an egregious injustice.

Justice for Walter Scott

The primary objective of the family of Walter Scott is to block the early release of Michael Slager. The nature of his crime has devastated the  Scott family, causing emotional trauma and lasting harm. Releasing Slager would serve neither justice nor contribute to public safety. Due to the severity and violent nature of the offense, the impact the crime continues to have on the Scott family, and the possibility of future harm, we demand the Federal Bureau of Prisons rescind Slager’s early release and that he remain incarcerated at Englewood Federal Correction Institution in Littleton, Colorado for the remainder of his sentence.

Sign the petition to block Michael Slager’s early release!