COLUMBIA, S.C. – Attorneys for a former South Carolina police officer say prosecutors are pushing their "unreasonable" goal that Michael Slager be sentenced to life in prison for killing an unarmed motorist.
Slager's attorneys say in court records filed last week that their client committed voluntary manslaughter in the 2015 killing of Walter Scott.
Prosecutors say the shooting was murder. A judge will decide at Slager's Dec. 4 sentencing.
Slager pleaded guilty in May to violating Scott's civil rights. He was tried on state murder charges last year, but jurors deadlocked. Those charges have been dropped.
Slager pulled Scott over for a traffic violation and said he shot him in self-defense when Scott tried to grab his Taser. Eyewitness video shows Scott was shot multiple times in the back as he ran away.
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