Michael T. Slager Case: A Review of the Criminal Justice System

Criminal Justice
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Criminal Justice
In the criminal justice systems, the courts are able to control crimes and impose penalties
to the individuals who violate the law. The systems work differently depending on the
jurisdiction that is in charge; whether the federal, state, county or city. All the jurisdictions,
however, vary in how they manage the criminal justice processes. They also have different
agencies and laws. What follows in this paper is a review of Michael T. Slager case.
Statement of the Case
Case Summary
The case of Michael T. Slager involved a white former South Carolina police officer,
Michael Slager, and a black motorist, Walter Scott. On April 4, 2015, Slager stopped Scott on
the road alleging Scott had broken car brake lights (Osunsami 2017, p.1). Scott tried running
away but Slager followed him and shot him five times on his back. It was clear, however, that
Scott was unarmed. After the shooting, Slager took his taser and planted it next to Scott claiming
that the shooting happened as a result of the struggle for his taser, which was actually a lie.
Unfortunately, an eyewitness released a video recording from a phone which proved how the
incident happened. According to the video, Slager shot Scott when Scott was trying to escape.
The video also captured another police officer who put on gloves and tried examining Scott as
Slager watched Scott die. In June 2015, Slager was charged with murder by a South Carolina
grand jury. After that in January 2016, it happened that he was lucky and got released on bond.
In the same year, he got indicted on federal charges for violation of civil rights and obstruction of
justice. In 2017, he was found guilty of the charges. In turn, he was returned to jail but the
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