Judge upholds ex-police officer Michael Slager’s 20-year sentence for killing Walter Scott

A judge upheld a 20-year prison sentence on Monday for former police officer Michael Slager in the killing of Walter Scott, an unarmed Black man who ran from a traffic stop in South Carolina, rejecting Slager's claims his lawyer did a poor job.

But federal Judge Richard Gergel wrote in his ruling Monday that he believed Slager's lawyer Andy Savage, who said in 2017 court papers that he told his client about every plea offer. Slager testified during a hearing last week he didn't know about the initial deal from prosecutors. Slager’s 20-year sentence was one of the longest in recent memory for a police officer for an on-duty killing.