Fairfax sentence commutation creates the very two sets of justice that the governor claims to want to avoid

Fairfax sentence commutation is in this week’s news, with the Virginia governor’s having swiftly commuted last Friday’s sentence of former county police officer Wesley Shifflett for reckless handling of a firearm that led to the death of a shoplifting suspect he was chasing. As a Virginia criminal lawyer, I am delighted with reduced sentencings for convicted defendants, although I am beyond disgusted with the police killing of an unarmed suspect that led to Shifflett’s conviction. I do think that this should be done without unfair favoritism. Ironically, that is the result of this particular commutation, for the reasons I state below about this case that I blogged about here, when the trial judge declined to disturb the jury’s verdict.

What does the Fairfax sentence commutation statement say?

Here is the entire statement from the Virginia governor’s office on his Fairfax sentence commutation for former officer Shifflett: “Richmond, VA- Governor Glenn Youngkin today issued the following statement after commuting the sentence for former Fairfax County Police Department Sergeant Wesley Shifflett:  ‘I have today used the executive clemency authority granted to me by the Constitution of Virginia and commuted the sentence imposed on Sgt. Wesley Shifflett who was convicted of recklessly discharging a firearm by the Fairfax County Circuit Court.  I am convinced that the court’s sentence of incarceration is unjust and violates the cornerstone of our justice system—that similarly situated individuals receive proportionate sentences. I want to emphasize that a jury acquitted Sgt. Shifflett of the more serious charge of involuntary manslaughter, a conviction for which the sentencing guidelines recommend no jail time or up to six months’ incarceration. In this case, the court rejected the Senior Probation and Parole Officer’s recommendation of no incarceration nor supervised probation and instead imposed a sentence of five years’ incarceration with two suspended and an additional five years of probation. Sgt. Shifflett has no prior criminal record, and was, by all accounts, an exemplary police officer. It is in the interest of justice that he be released immediately. My action does not limit Sgt. Shifflett’s right to appeal his reckless discharge of a firearm conviction.'”

Shifflett’s sentencing judge can be a firm sentencer, likely without any anti-police animus in his sentence

Governor Youngkin is not a Virginia criminal lawyer, nor an attorney in any other area to have had better insight on his own about the Fairfax sentence of former officer Shifflett. I have no quarrel with Shifflett’s successful campaign to obtain his commutation. At the same time, this is an opportunity for the commonwealth’s governor to breathe life into his own foregoing claim to oppose “unjust” sentences that are disproportionately high, by supporting efforts to eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing (including the statue requiring at least six months in jail for any assault at all against a police officer, even if not worse than putting one’s finger on their chest), and by commuting the sentences of plenty of ordinary people who have not worked for the police nor other government agencies. Shifflett’s sentencing judge — Randy I. Bellows, a former federal prosecutor and Harvard Law School graduate who is soon to retire, I assume under the Virginia judicial mandatory retirement age — can be a firm sentencer. I doubt he had any anti-police animus in determining his sentence. As directed years ago by the federal Supreme Court, sentencing guidelines may only be advisory and not mandatory on judges.

What do I do if I am prosecuted for a damning alleged crime and am facing a substantial sentence if convicted?

Once you are charged with a serious crime (and what crime is not serious for your liberty, reputation and livelihood?), it is time for you to obtain the best possible lawyer for your defense, and to work closely as a team with that lawyer, as exemplified by this situation with former officer Shifflett’s Fairfax sentence. Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz knows that your criminal defense consumes you, and he is relentless in pursuing your best defense along with you. Call 703-383-1100, Info@BeatTheProsecution.com or (text) 571-406-7268 for your free in-person strictly confidential initial consultation with Jon Katz about your court-pending prosecution.