Tennessee, USA.- Three former Memphis police officers were found guilty Thursday of the fatal beating of Tire Nichols in 2023, but were acquitted of the most serious charges they faced in a death that sparked protests across the United States and cries to demand major changes in police conduct.
Jurors deliberated about six hours before returning a mixed verdict for Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith.
The three former police officers were convicted of witness tampering in connection with the cover-up of the beating, but Bean and Smith were acquitted of civil rights charges. Haley was acquitted of violating Nichols’ civil rights by causing his death, but convicted of the lesser charge of violating his civil rights by causing bodily injury. The court remained silent as the verdicts were read.
The judge ordered the imprisonment of the three former agents. He is scheduled to hold a hearing Monday to hear from defense attorneys, who are expected to raise the possibility of releasing them pending sentencing. The witness tampering charges carry possible sentences of up to 20 years in prison. The charge of deprivation of civil rights can be punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The former officers would have faced life in prison if convicted of the most serious charges.
“A win is a win. They’re all going to jail,” Rodney Wells, Nichols’ stepfather, said outside the courthouse. Five officers were charged in Nichols’ death, but two pleaded guilty and testified against members of their former crime-fighting unit, preventing the defense from employing any strategy that would have depended on them sticking together. Jurors repeatedly watched clips of police video that showed officers punching, kicking and hitting Nichols with a baton just steps from his home, while the 29-year-old screamed for his mother.
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