Race soldier Kim Potter was sentenced Friday for her 2021 killing of Daunte Wright, receiving a 2 year conviction for first-degree manslaughter.
The trial filled with emotional ups and downs faced hefty criticisms from legal experts across the nation due to its unusual nature, the speed of the sentencing, and the ignoring of state mandated sentencing guidelines by the sitting magistrate.
Judge Regina Chu who presided over the Potter trial and who handed down the sentence is at the center of these criticisms.
For an unknown reason Judge Chu decided to ignore the Minnesota state sentencing guidelines in Ms. Potter’s case. Minnesota violent crime guidelines indicate that a 1st-degree manslaughter charge carries a minimum sentence of 7 years with a 15 year maximum.
Although the jury decided to convict Potter of the charge, Chu decided to knock the sentence down to just 19 months thanks to Potter’s previous time served in jail leading up to the trial.
Chu who remained silent for a majority of her time presiding over the trial began to sob when reading the guilty verdict for Potter, even saying that she wanted the court to “empathize with her” for her slaying of Wright.
Chu provided no exact reason for her extreme leniency in relation to length of the sentence handed down, though it can be inferred that it was due to her view of law enforcements “responsibilities” since she repeatedly mentioned how bad she felt for Potter during the ruling.
Given the lack of context in the ruling, one can only assume that Judge Chu was indicating Potter was under “extraordinary circumstances” when she killed Wright.
Regina Chu is elected judge with a reelection coming up in November 2022.
–Barrington Williams, B1Daily
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