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Ex-Florida police officer sentenced to 25 years for shooting death of black motorist

By Darryl Coote
Photo by Activedia/Pixabay
 
 https://pixabay.com/en/law-justice-court-judge-legal-1063249/
Photo by Activedia/Pixabay https://pixabay.com/en/law-justice-court-judge-legal-1063249/

April 26 (UPI) -- A former Florida police officer was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the 2015 shooting death of a black motorist.

Nouman Raja, 41, was convicted of manslaughter and attempted murder last month for the death of 31-year-old musician Corey Jones.

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Following speeches from Jones' family pleading for Raja to be given life in prison and from Raja's wife asking for leniency, Beach County Circuit Judge Joseph Marx said from his perspective, justice is a process and with this case's sentence, "justice is in the eye of the beholder."

"This has been a heartbreaking case," he said. "I think it's had a profound effect on everybody that sat through this trial," the Palm Beach Post reported.

Marx then sentenced Raja to 25 years for each charge to be served concurrently. He had faced a mandatory 25 years in prison to life for the attempted murder charge and 30 years for the manslaughter charge.

Jones was killed in October 2015 when stranded in his car on the side of Interstate 95. Raja, in street clothes, approached the vehicle. During the incident, Jones pulled his legally registered firearm and was shot by Raja.

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An investigation found that Raja failed to identify himself as a police officer and that Jones, who did not shoot his weapon, was shot three times as he was running away.

Prior to sentencing, Karine Raja, Nouman Raja's wife, told the court that her husband was not a murderer, that he was the better parent of the two of them and that he enjoyed playing the song "Here Comes the Sun" in the morning so their children could start the day on a good note.

"The future of two innocent children linger on the leniency of this court," she said. "Their lives are forever changed, forever scarred. Please use any discretion you might have to help our family heal these wounds," CBS 12 reported.

Raja's conviction was the first time in 30 years a Florida police officer was sent to prison for an on-duty shooting.

"Victory is ours today," Clinton Jones, Sr., Corey's father, said following sentencing.

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