A former Illinois deputy has been sentenced to 20 years for fatally shooting Sonya Massey, a Black woman who called 911 for help.
Sean Grayson, 31, was convicted in October of second-degree murder. Grayson, who is white, received the maximum possible sentence and has been in police custody since being charged in the killing.
Massey’s family members, who were sitting in the court, celebrated his sentence with a loud cheer: “Yes!” The judge admonished them.
Grayson apologized during the sentencing, saying he wished he could bring Massey back and spare her family the pain he caused.
“I made a lot of mistakes that night. There were points when I should’ve acted, and I didn’t. I froze,” he said. “I made terrible decisions that night. I’m sorry.”
Pedo cheeto cannot pardon state convictions. Thats up to the governor if we are following the law. But who knows.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but “donald trump cannot [xyz] because [abc]” is not a phrase that has meaning anymore in this country, as far as I’m concerned. It’s worth less than “liberty and justice for all”, and those words are cheap here, nowadays.
Literally how many times does this have to play out before people recognize the pattern? I have lost fucking count.
>talking heads on TV: “donald trump cannot do the thing because it would not be allowed”
>donald trump: does the thing anyways
>everyone: surprised pikachu.jpg
Not to mention, trying to think like Donald Trump, I can think of several actual tangible “advantages” trying to do exactly this would confer: 1. He could recruit the freshly pardoned racist murderer into his personal goon squad of racist murderers, ICE. 2. It would cause needless pain and suffering to the family of Massey, and the cruelty is the point. 3. It would invoke a media shitstorm on the left, while the right would paint it as “owning the libs” and “supporting our brave officers”, the usual horseshit. And finally, it would be further unlawfully expanding the power of the executive branch, something he has been doing literally all year.
If I’m wrong, I’d love to hear how.
He can initiate whatever he wants, in this case issue a pardon for someone whose crimes are not federal, but his power does not lie in what he can or cannot initiate or claim, and it never has.
His power – which he is losing rapidly – has always rested in other people, in the belief and action of everyone underneath him who carry out his dictates. Belief that if x happens, y is likely to follow, belief that if they personally do not act then someone else can and must act. Especially when it comes to the law.
But now he’s done a very stupid thing and upended all that certainty upon which his power stood.
As you imply, he can initiate a pardon to anyone, anywhere, for anything. But when he does so without basis in law, and those who would carry it out see it as optional at best, ultimately it weakens him in ways he doesn’t even understand.
Like this. Colorado has ignored his pardon of Tina Peters and will likely ignore any others that have no basis in law, and any other state can follow. There is no requirement that any state honor a pardon based on powers that were never granted, making the whole thing optional – and showing others who might be inclined to honor it anyway that there’s no need.
This is the nature of real power. It’s not something he can change or alter.
He has already pardoned someone convicted at the state level, and is putting pressure on Colorado to release her. Even going as far as EOs to punish the state.
https://apnews.com/article/trump-pardon-tina-peters-colorado-43abc451b87ade3bd63b4b246f31edd4
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/colorado-ag-accuses-trump-of-revenge-campaign-for-state-refusal-to-free-convicted-elections-clerk
Don’t give in Colorado, and set a precedent. Hang tight, she’s a MAGA traitor who violated her responsibility, and she deserves her sentence.
Presidential pardons for state crimes don’t exist. Claiming he’s done it does nothing. Signing fancy formal papers saying so is null and void.
He also just decertified bombadier aircraft from Canada in a tweet. Doesn’t work that way. Just because he says something incoherent doesn’t make it true.
I mean who would stop him?