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Judge nixes stiffer sentence for Dylann Roof's friend
Source: Associated Press
Judge nixes stiffer sentence for Dylann Roof's friend
By MEG KINNARD
Mar. 13, 2017 3:01 PM EDT
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Dylann Roof's friend should not get an unusually tough prison sentence for failing to warn police about Roof's plans to kill black worshippers at a Charleston church, a judge ruled on Monday.
Prosecutors had argued that Joey Meek, 22, knew about Roof's desire to start a race war by killing black people inside a church. In court papers filed earlier this year, they argued that Meek's failure to report his friend's plans beforehand prevented authorities from possibly thwarting the massacre.
Sentencing for Meek, who pleaded guilty last year, was postponed last month after prosecutors said that he needs a harsher punishment than the 27 to 33 months contained in federal guidelines to fully account for the horrible nature of Roof's crime. Meek's attorneys are seeking a shorter sentence. The maximum is eight years.
U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel ruled that Meek can only be sentenced for what he did after the slayings, not for any inaction beforehand.
Meek's "failure to make an earlier report is tragic and deeply regrettable, but his failure to report was not a violation of federal criminal law," the judge wrote.
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By MEG KINNARD
Mar. 13, 2017 3:01 PM EDT
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Dylann Roof's friend should not get an unusually tough prison sentence for failing to warn police about Roof's plans to kill black worshippers at a Charleston church, a judge ruled on Monday.
Prosecutors had argued that Joey Meek, 22, knew about Roof's desire to start a race war by killing black people inside a church. In court papers filed earlier this year, they argued that Meek's failure to report his friend's plans beforehand prevented authorities from possibly thwarting the massacre.
Sentencing for Meek, who pleaded guilty last year, was postponed last month after prosecutors said that he needs a harsher punishment than the 27 to 33 months contained in federal guidelines to fully account for the horrible nature of Roof's crime. Meek's attorneys are seeking a shorter sentence. The maximum is eight years.
U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel ruled that Meek can only be sentenced for what he did after the slayings, not for any inaction beforehand.
Meek's "failure to make an earlier report is tragic and deeply regrettable, but his failure to report was not a violation of federal criminal law," the judge wrote.
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Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/8276f1b4e6dc4f12b055c51088b0f655/judge-nixes-stiffer-sentence-dylann-roofs-friend
