The attorney for the family of the man who was shot in the back by a South Carolina police officer said that Monday’s mistrial is just a speed bump on the road to justice.
Chris Stewart, the attorney for the family of Walter Scott, said on CNN that former North Charleston Officer Michael Slager would not escape murder charges. On Monday, a mistrial was declared in Slager’s trial for killing Scott after the jury could not reach a verdict.
Stewart said Scott’s family is “disappointed but determined.”
“That was just round one,” Stewart said. “He’s getting re-tried immediately and the DOJ (Department of Justice) is coming out.”
Stewart said he had “multiple sources” that told him the jury in the case was still 11-1 in favor of convicting Slager, but one person refused to change his mind.
While that means Slager will have to face trial again, Stewart called that an encouraging thought for the family.
“The bright, shining light of it is only one person who obviously ignored all the testimony and evidence held out for their own personal reason,” he said. “You can’t fix that, so we’re determined to go again.”
He added, “You just sometimes can’t change a person’s mind who has decided, even before the trial has even happened.”
