Prosecutors say that Jason Van Dyke could face a mandatory sentence of as many as 96 years in prison for the murder of Laquan McDonald, according to court documents.
A brief filed by Special Prosecutor Joseph McMahon ahead of Van Dyke’s sentencing hearing Friday argues that Van Dyke, who in October was found guilty of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, must serve a minimum of six years on each count of aggravated battery — and for any count for which the judge finds caused “serious bodily injury,” the six-year term would have to run back to back.
With Van Dyke convicted of 16 separate counts, that adds up to a minimum of 96 years in prison if Judge Vincent Gaughan determines that each of the 16 shots that hit McDonald caused a serious injury. The maximum sentence for aggravated battery with a firearm is 30 years.
Legal experts think Gaughan is unlikely to give Van Dyke a sentence any where near that long, but debate on how long Van Dyke’s minimum and maximum prison time has been unusually divided. McMahon said that any additional sentence Van Dyke receives for the second-degree murder charge, which is eligible for probation or a sentence of four to 20 years— would run concurrent to his sentence on the aggravated battery charges.
At trial, a medical examiner said that each wound McDonald suffered contributed to the blood loss that ultimately killed McDonald. A defense expert argued that one gunshot in particular, which tore through an artery in McDonald’s heart, likely caused him to bleed to death almost immediately, though doctors at Mount Sinai hospital performed surgery on McDonald in an attempt to revive him.
McDonald’s lawyers also filed a brief on the prison time they think Van Dyke could receive, but the document was not immediately available at the Cook County Clerk’s Office. Van Dyke’s lawyers are expected to argue that the veteran police officer is eligible for a probation-only sentence, based on the punishments allowed for his conviction on the second-degree murder count.
Van Dyke has been lodged at a county jail in the Quad Cities area since shortly after his guilty verdict was issued in October.
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