The Cape Cod teenager who pleaded responsible to the tried drowning of a black peer in a pond whereas spewing racial slurs escaped jail time throughout his sentencing Wednesday.
Chatham, Mass. resident John Sheeran, 15, will serve probation and round 700 hours of neighborhood service after he copped to tried homicide and assault with a harmful weapon expenses in December, his lawyer confirmed to The Publish in an interview.
He may also be required to attend a web-based academic class and write an apology letter to the sufferer. If he reoffends earlier than Feb 4, 2028, he might be taken into custody.
Sheeran, who’s white, and one other teen boy threw rocks on the sufferer earlier than Sheeran, the sufferer and the third teen all went right into a pond in July 2023, prosecutors stated.
The sufferer, who had a lifejacket on as a result of he didn’t know learn how to swim, was compelled underwater by Sheeran, in keeping with the district legal professional’s workplace.
He additionally was accused of calling him the n-word because the third teen allegedly referred to as the black boy “George Floyd” as a result of he couldn’t breathe whereas laughing through the surprising incident, in keeping with prosecutors.
Barnstable District Court docket Decide Sylvia Gomes insisted the sentence was a good decision.
“I cannot undo what happened, but hopefully this resolution will bring the community closure and comfort,” she stated, in keeping with the Cape Cod Instances.
However Sheeran’s lawyer, Kevin Reddington, slammed the case towards his consumer, insisting the black teen wasn’t a sufferer whereas singling out Cape Cod District Lawyer Robert Galibois.
He claimed the narrative towards Sheeran was concocted by the sufferer who was enjoying the “race card.” He identified that his consumer and the sufferer have been buddies main as much as the episode on the pond.
He additionally referred to Galibois because the “puppet master,” accusing him of directing police to cost Sheeran.
“I question the justice system in this case significantly, but I’m very pleased with the probation,” Redding stated.
Galibois’ workplace stood by its actions in a press release to The Publish.
“We appreciate the Court eloquently and succinctly rejecting the defense attorney’s inflammatory and headline-grabbing characterizations. We agree with the Court’s observation that politics did not play a role in this case,” the district legal professional’s workplace stated in a press release.
“We further agree with the Court’s announcement that this was not a matter of horse play but a criminal act. We also appreciate the Court applying the facts of this case to the charges at hand and rendering a fair disposition to all parties.”
The founding father of Amplify POC Cape Cod, a nonprofit devoted to eliminating the racial wealth hole within the area, nevertheless, slammed the punishment leveled towards the teenager.
“This perpetrator is getting off easy because of his white skin and privilege,” Tara Vargas Wallace advised the Cape Cod Instances. “He gets to go home. Meanwhile, the victim in this case is scarred for life.”
