10-Year Sentence for Knockout Attack That Killed College Student
Fox News legal analyst Peter Johnson Jr. updated us this morning on a case out of Minnesota in which a college student died after an attack that resembled the so-called Knockout Game.
Why Is the Media Ignoring “Knockout Game” Assaults?
The family of Colton Gleason was outraged a few weeks ago when their son’s killer was sentenced to just 10 years in prison for second-degree murder. Jesse Smithers, 18, could have been sentenced to up to 40 years based on the crime.
Johnson explained that Smithers could be out of jail within about five years based on the 16 months he’s already served and contingent upon good behavior while in custody.
“The punishment does not fit the crime,” he said.
Gleason, a 20-year-old University of Minnesota student, was walking with friends in Sept. 2012 when Smithers got out of a car and struck the fatal blow. Gleason hit his head in the unprovoked assault and later died at a hospital.
Knockout Game Horror: Woman Punched By Stranger Speaks Out
Though the attack bore all the hallmarks of what has become known as the “Knockout Game,” Smithers denied that was the case, apologizing in court and calling Gleason’s death a “complete accident.”
Johnson called the attack a “hate crime” even though authorities didn’t label it that way. The family remains devastated, with Gleason’s mother saying Smithers “had no right” to take her son’s life.
“I have never hated another person in my whole life until now. My heart is broken,” she said.
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