Mississippi attorney general won't seek a new trial for officer in fatal shooting of Black motorist
The attorney general said the office followed the process after jurors deadlocked on the manslaughter charge and acquitted a second officer.
- Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced on Tuesday that the state will not retry Michael Rhinewalt following Monday's hung jury, while jurors acquitted Steven Frederick of manslaughter in the September 2022 shooting of 25-year-old Jaylen Lewis.
- Defense attorneys argued that the officers acted in self-defense after Lewis rammed a police vehicle and drove toward them. Merrida Coxwell, an attorney for Frederick, stated both officers were "in fear for their life and each others safety."
- Fitch's office said in a statement it "followed the process" and will not pursue a new trial against Rhinewalt, adding that "the benefit of the doubt goes to our law enforcement officers" in cases of a tie.
- Rhinewalt remains charged with aggravated assault in a separate 2022 police shooting, where Sherita Harris alleges she was shot in the head by the officer during a pursuit after a traffic stop.
- Policing in the majority-Black city of Jackson remains under scrutiny following the case, as Arkela Lewis, the victim's mother, testified before the Mississippi Legislature at the Mississippi State Capitol regarding her son's death.
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12 Articles
The Toronto Star
The Seattle TimesMississippi attorney general won’t seek a new trial for officer in fatal shooting of Black motorist
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi's attorney general said she will not retry a police officer after jurors failed to reach a verdict on a manslaughter charge stemming from the fatal shooting of a Black motorist.
Mississippi attorney general won't seek a new trial for officer i
FILE - Arkela Lewis, bottom right, the mother of Jaylen Lewis, who was shot to death during an encounter with officers of the Mississippi Capitol Police department, testifies before members of the Jackson delegation of the Mississippi Legislature at the Mississippi State Capitol on March 6, 2023, in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
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Mississippi attorney general won't seek a new trial for officer in fatal shooting of Black motorist
Mississippi’s attorney general said she will not retry a police officer after jurors failed to reach a verdict on a manslaughter charge stemming from the fatal shooting of a Black motorist.
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