A petition opposing the early release of a former South Carolina police officer who fatally shot Walter Scott in the back five times following a traffic stop in 2015 has garnered 7,000 signatures following recent news that the man has been approved for a transfer to a halfway house in Ocala.
According to updates received by the family of the victim, Walter Scott, through the Department of Justice’s Victim Notification System, Michael Slager is scheduled to be released early to an Ocala-based Community Corrections Center on October 27, 2027.
The scheduled transfer stems from a 2015 incident in North Charleston, South Carolina, where Slager fatally shot Scott following a routine traffic stop for a non-functioning brake light. Scott was 50 years old at the time of his death.
While Slager initially claimed he fired his weapon in self-defense after Scott allegedly grabbed his stun gun, a bystander’s cellphone video contradicted the officer’s report. The footage revealed that Slager shot the unarmed Scott in the back as he fled and subsequently attempted to cover up the crime by dropping his Taser near the body.
Following an initial state trial that ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury, Slager entered a federal plea agreement in May 2017, pleading guilty to a federal civil rights charge of deprivation of rights under color of law.
In exchange for the federal plea, the state’s murder charges were dropped, and Slager was sentenced in December 2017 to 20 years in prison after a judge determined the underlying offenses constituted second-degree murder and obstruction of justice.
The petition notes that Slager’s 20-year term was subsequently reduced by one year on two separate occasions, once in 2020 and again in 2022.
The Scott family learned that the early release was made possible through the First Step Act, a federal law enacted in 2018 that allows eligible inmates to earn time credits to reduce prison stays.
Although individuals convicted of serious violent crimes and homicides are typically barred from early release under the act, Slager qualified because his technical federal conviction was for a civil rights violation rather than murder.
Describing the legal loophole as an egregious injustice, the online petition demands that the Federal Bureau of Prisons rescind Slager’s early release approval.
The organizers argue that cutting his sentence short serves neither justice nor public safety, demanding instead that Slager remain incarcerated at the Englewood Federal Correctional Institution in Littleton, Colorado, for the full remainder of his original sentence.
“The primary objective of the family of Walter Scott is to block the early release of Michael Slager. The nature of his crime has devastated the Scott family, causing emotional trauma and lasting harm. Releasing Slager would serve neither justice nor contribute to public safety. Due to the severity and violent nature of the offense, the impact the crime continues to have on the Scott family, and the possibility of future harm, we demand the Federal Bureau of Prisons rescind Slager’s early release and that he remain incarcerated at Englewood Federal Correction Institution in Littleton, Colorado for the remainder of his sentence,” reads part of the petition.
To read the full petition, visit the Change.org webpage established by the Scott family.
What are your thoughts on Michael Slager’s potential transfer to an Ocala halfway house? Share your perspective in a comment below or write a letter to the editor.