Zechariah Presley, ex police officer from Georgia who murdered Tony Green, a 33-year old black man that was unarmed. Presley shoots him many times while Green was fleeing, has been acquitted of manslaughter charges.
The only charge Presley was found guilty of was violating his oath of office, which can face one to five years in prison if convicted. Sentencing for this case started October 18.
According to an autopsy report, Green was hit all eight times, one to his chest and the rest was to his back and hips. Small amounts of alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and a tranquilizer were allegedly found in his system.
“He admitted that he killed Tony Green in cold blood,” Pastor Mack De’Von Knight, whose church Green attended, told the Associated Press. “To me, it’s hunting season for the young black man and we’re being gunned down in the streets and there’s no repercussions, there’s no consequences for these officers.”
However, Presley’s lawyers claimed that he feared for his life since he thought that what Green grabbed when he returned to the car was a gun. Investigators determined the object was a cellphone.
“Tony Green was not shot because of misdemeanor offenses,” defense attorney Adrienne Browning said in her closing argument. “He was shot because of bad decision after bad decision, until the threat was overwhelming and Zechariah feared for his life.”
