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DOJ seeks a single-day prison sentence for an officer convicted in the Breonna Taylor raid
Trump’s DOJ turns its back on police reform.
Cameron Peters is a staff editor at Vox.
Welcome to The Logoff: In a major reversal from the Biden administration, the Justice Department is asking for a token one-day prison sentence for an ex-police officer who fired shots into Breonna Taylor’s home during a fatal raid in March 2020.
Why is this in the news now? Brett Hankison, a former Louisville, Kentucky, officer, is set to be sentenced next week after being convicted last year of violating Taylor’s civil rights. He could face a maximum sentence of up to life in prison — but under the DOJ request, would ultimately serve no time.
What did Hankison do? Hankison was one of multiple officers to execute a raid on Taylor’s apartment in March 2020. He blindly fired 10 shots into her apartment through a covered window and door, some of which entered an occupied adjoining apartment. None of the bullets Hankison fired ultimately struck a person, but Taylor was shot and killed by another Louisville police officer.
What does the DOJ request mean for Hankison? If the judge — a Trump appointee — adheres to the DOJ sentencing memo, Hankison will never return to jail for his conviction. The memo requests that he receive credit for time already served, rendering even the single-day sentence irrelevant. It also calls for three years of supervised release and a meager fine as part of the sentence.
Why does this matter? Breonna Taylor’s death was one of several high-profile police killings in early 2020 that led to widespread racial justice protests following the murder of George Floyd that May. Since then, strides — though often halting and imperfect — have been made toward police accountability and addressing racial discrimination in policing. The DOJ sentencing memo is the latest sign of the Trump administration’s complete lack of interest in those efforts and preference to roll the clock back to an earlier era.
And with that, it’s time to log off…
Hi readers! A second thank-you in as many days for your emails — I truly appreciated all of the animal photos.
Today, I wanted to highlight this podcast by my colleague Sean Illing, about the idea of “hopeful pessimism.” Sean talks with Mara van der Lugt about what the term means and how to sustain hope when you’re feeling pessimistic. As she puts it, hope can be “oriented not on certainty or expectation, but rather on the openness of the future” and a commitment to our values. It’s a fascinating, lovely discussion that’s really worth your time — I hope you take a moment to listen.
