On Monday, Jan. 4, 2016, Michael Slager has been released on a $500,000 bail. When Slager was a police officer, he was charged with the murder of Walter Scott, an unarmed black motorist. Slager, however, is not completely free but has been sentenced to house arrest. According to court records, he is only allowed to leave his house to attend church, visit the doctor, go to his attorney’s office, and the courthouse.

Judge Clifton Newman granted Slager’s bail because his trial is set for Oct. 31, 2016. According to the Post and Courier, this was not the speedy trial requested by Slager’s attorneys. The South Carolina Supreme Court has suspended all trials until after Dylan Roof’s trial, which is scheduled for July. Roof will be standing trial for the murder of nine black members of a well-known church in Charleston.

Initially, Slager’s bail was denied by Newman in September 2015. The former police officer was arrested in April 2015. Records read that his release would have been an “unreasonable danger to the community” at that time.

One of the attorneys for the Scott family, Justin Bamberg, requested that the public remains peaceful after the new bail ruling. Bail was granted Monday, Jan. 4, 2016.

Scott’s murder became part of the Black Lives Matter movement. So far, this movement has remained present and vocal, yet peaceful.

By Jeanette Smith

Source:

Huffington Post: Bail Granted For Michael Slager, Ex-Cop Who Killed Walter Scott
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