Wright’s mom, Katie Wright, spoke during the sentencing in a tearful statement, saying that she has to be the voice “for her son Daunte.”
Kim Potter, the former Minnesota police officer who shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright to death during a traffic stop in April, has been sentenced to two years in prison by Hennepin County Judge Regina Chu. Chu ordered Potter to serve two-thirds of her sentence in prison and one-third of it on supervised release.
Prosecutors had asked for a seven-year sentence. During the hearing, Potter, 50, choked back tears as she offered an apology to the family of her victim, Daunte Wright.
“I’m so sorry that I brought the death of your son, father, brother, uncle, grandson, nephew,” Potter said. “I understand a mother's love and I sorry I broke your heart. I am so sorry that I hurt you so badly.”
In April, Potter was found guilty of first-and second-degree manslaughter. A judge ordered Potter held without bail despite her attorneys asking the judge to allow her to go home.
Wright’s mom, Katie Wright, spoke during the sentencing in a tearful statement, saying that she has to be the voice “for her son Daunte.”
“I’ll never be able to forgive you for what you've stolen from us,” Katie said. “She took our baby boy with a single gunshot to the heart and she shattered mine. My life and world will never ever be the same…”
Katie Wright also said "the justice system murdered him all over again,” NBC News reported.
The mother of Daunte’s 2-year-old son said that the child is suffering without his dad. Family members also complained that Potter smiled in her mugshot after her conviction for manslaughter.
Judge Chu called the case “one of the saddest cases I have had in my 20 years on the bench,” in an unpopular opinion.
“This isn’t OK,” Katie Wright said. “This is the problem with our justice system today. White women’s tears trumps, trumps justice. And I thought my white woman tears would be good enough because they’re true and genuine.”
