In a shocking turn of events, former detective of Chicago PD, Dante Servin walked out of the courtroom a free man despite being convicted of a murder. In 2012, an off-duty Servin shot his victim, 22 year old Rekia Boyd. He was charged with involuntary manslaughter for the murder and there is certainly no denying that he did commit the crime.
Astonishingly, even the judge accepted that he was guilty of murdering Boyd. Yet, a loophole in the Illinois criminal code has been used to set the tainted cop free. The reasoning used is utterly shocking and caused an uproar for a while. However, the case, the tragic death of the victim, the unfairness of how the trial played out and the mockery of the judicial system have since evaporated from collective consciousness.
The Cook County Judge who presided over the trial ruled that Servin intentionally killed the victim; it was most definitely not a reckless act. As such, the former police officer was guilty of murder, which is a greater crime than the involuntary manslaughter charges that were filed against him. However, according to the criminal laws of the state an accused cannot be convicted for a charge that is greater than the one he is being of accused of.
On the same lines, the judge noted that handing out a lesser sentence to the accused would not be legally justifiable. So, given the conundrum, the only option was to let him walk. In the wake of the ruling, fingers were pointed at the entire judicial machinery of the state, including Cook county District Attorney who was being accused of going easy on Servin since he was a former cop.
Now, the matter remains a point of debate for legal pundits, who will dissect every word and nuance. But, these arguments seldom amount to anything real. The grim ground reality is that the light-handed way in which the Servin case was tackled may inevitably encourage law enforcement officials to resort to indiscriminate killings. They are after all being let off without so much as a slap on the hand.