No Re-Sentencing For Jason Van Dyke, Illinois Supreme Court Rules

CHICAGO, IL — The Illinois Supreme Court rejected a petition to re-sentence ex-Chicago cop Jason Van Dyke in the 2014 on-duty shooting death of black teenager Laquan McDonald. A jury found Van Dyke guilty of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery last fall. Van Dyke received an almost 7-year prison sentence, which the dead teen’s family and activists felt was too lenient.

At the time of the ex-cop's sentencing, prosecutors were asking for 18 to 20 years; the defense asked for probation. The mandamus petition filed with the Illinois Supreme Court challenging the prison sentence issued Jan. 18 by trial Judge Vincent Gaughan. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Special Prosecutor Joe McMahon filed a petition asking the court to decide whether the trial judge acted properly when he sentenced Van Dyke.

The judge said he based his decision on the more serious charge of second degree murder, and not the 16 counts of aggravated battery.

After the ex-cop’s sentencing, McDonald’s great uncle Rev. Marvin Hunter said the sentence reduced his nephew to a “second-class citizen.”

No explanation has been given on why the court rejected the bid.

Much of the racially charged trial focused on a police dash-cam video released a year after the October 2014 fatal shooting via a court order. The video showed Van Dyke exiting his police vehicle and then firing 16 shots at McDonald, who was walking away from police officers. The 17-year-old was carrying a pocket knife and was trying to break into vehicles parked in a truck yard, according to trial testimony.

Van Dyke and his partner, Joseph Walsh, claimed that McDonald was acting aggressively and posed a threat. Other officers on the scene testified that they had McDonald contained and surrounded as they tried to buy time for a unit equipped with a taser to arrive.

Raoul and McMahon also asked the Illinois Supreme Court to decide whether the judge was incorrect when he stated in court that the sentence of 16 aggravated battery counts be merged into a single act for purposes of sentencing, rather than sentencing Van Dyke on each of the 16 counts.

Following his sentencing, Van Dyke was moved to an undisclosed correctional facility within the Illinois Department of Corrections system. Last month, it was reported to Van Dyke’s trial attorneys that the ex-cop had been beaten up in a jail cell by inmates within hours after being moved to a federal prison in Connecticut. Citing HIPAA rules, federal prison officials released a statement saying that Van Dyke suffered minor “non-life threatening” injuries. Van Dyke has reportedly since been moved to another prison in New York, ostensibly for his own security.