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The Minnesota Supreme Court overturned the third degree murder conviction of a former Minneapolis cop who shot an Australian woman in 2017, likely leading to an eight-year reduction in his prison sentence.
Wednesday’s ruling overturned a February ruling by the Minnesota Court of Appeals that upheld Mohamed Noor’s conviction in the shooting death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond in July 2017, the Star Tribune reported.
Noor was sentenced to 12.5 years in prison in 2019 after being convicted by a jury of third degree murder and second degree manslaughter for shooting the unarmed yoga teacher who had signed up to get married while answering her 911 call about a possible sexual assault in an alleyway behind her house.
Noor has not been convicted of manslaughter, which means his case will now be referred to the district court for conviction. He has already served more than 28 months on the murder conviction and could be eligible for supervised release by the end of the year if he receives the four-year presumption for manslaughter, the Associated Press reported.
The ruling stated that for a charge of third degree murder, or “depraved mind murder”, the person’s mental state must show a “generalized indifference to human life”, which cannot exist because Noor’s actions were directed against one person.
“The only reasonable conclusion that can be drawn from the proven circumstances is that the appellant’s conduct was directed in particular at the person who was killed, and there is therefore insufficient evidence to support his conviction … for depraved mind murder,” said decision .
Wednesday’s overthrow confirmed what Noor’s lawyers have said since his trial.
A lawyer for Noor argued that the element of depraved spirit was not respected since the officer was on duty at the time and acted in a split second for fear that his partner’s life would be in danger, according to the newspaper.
“We can very well agree that Noor’s decision to fire a deadly weapon simply because he was surprised was disproportionate and unreasonable,” the decision reads. “Noor’s conduct is particularly troubling given the trust citizens should be able to place in our peace officers. But the tragic circumstances of this case do not change the fact that Noor’s conduct was directed in a particular way towards Ruszczyk. “
Damond, a dual US-Australian citizen, was killed after calling 911 to report a possible rape near her home in Minneapolis. Noor and another cop answered the call when Damond approached the patrol car to speak to Noor’s partner in the driver’s seat.
Noor testified at trial that he shot Damond because he heard a loud bang on the driver’s door and believed his partner’s life was in danger. Police were never able to conclude whether a sexual assault took place in the woman’s neighborhood, NBC News reported.
Wednesday’s decision was closely watched for its possible impact on the third degree murder conviction of former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin, but he was also convicted of a more serious second degree murder charge in the death of George Floyd. The 45-year-old ex-cop was sentenced in June to 22.5 years in prison.
The ruling is also expected to impact the case against three other former Minneapolis officers awaiting trial over Floyd’s death, as prosecutors are now unlikely to add charges of aiding third degree murder against Tou Thao. , J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane, according to Associate Press.
A lawyer for Noor, meanwhile, praised the High Court’s ruling, saying she hopes it will lead to more consistency in charging decisions.
“We’ve said from the start that it was a tragedy but it was not murder, and now the Supreme Court has agreed and recognized it,” said attorney Caitlinrose Fisher.
With post wires
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