Walter Scott's Killer Remains Imprisoned

Michael Slager shot Walter Scott five times in the back as Scott ran away from a scuffle with the police officer. His attorneys have been trying to have his conviction and sentence reduced, but a federal appeals court was unmoved by their arguments and upheld the lower court's decision.

The defense argument is an appeal to a common justification for police violence:

Franklin-Best argued that her client’s underlying offense should have been the lesser crime of voluntary manslaughter, a killing in the heat of passion. She said Norton’s findings didn’t acknowledge “the ever-present danger that police officers face.”

In addition to being a nakedly self-serving argument, it also fails to acknowledge "the ever-present danger that" black men face from police.