Community Outrage Leads To Judge Reconsidering Sentence In 2010 Murder
By Hadas Kuznits
Philadelphia (CBS) — The judge presiding over a 2010 Southwest Philadelphia shooting has reconsidered the sentence he imposed on the shooter.
What prompted the reconsideration of the sentence of 26-year-old Kevin Pickard was community outrage (see related story).
Folks in the Southwest Philadelphia neighborhood where Pickard was convicted of the 2010 shooting a rival and two innocent bystanders, who were children playing outside their homes, were upset that he only received the minimum sentence of 5-10 years in prison.
Prosecutor Bill Davis filed a motion for the judge to give a longer sentence and 35 community members showed up to hear it.
"The judge did reconsider her sentence and we were happy and the family of the children were happy."
The children who were shot have since recovered. Pickard's sentence was extended from 5-10 to 17-34 years in prison.
"It wasn't necessarily the DA's office or myself as a prosecutor who wanted the sentence, it was really the community who wanted the court to reconsider the sentence and make their streets safe, even if it was just one person at a time," says Davis.
