A biracial college student convicted of involuntary manslaughter was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Tuesday despite his claim that he only fired the gun that killed 17-year-old Haley Hutcheson because those she rode in a pickup truck with tried to run him off the road. WIlliam "Marc" Wilson—the son of former Coweta County Fire Chief Pat Wilson according to The Newnan Times-Herald—was riding in a car with his white girlfriend when he said he heard racial slurs coming from the pickup truck. His girlfriend, Emma Rigdon, testified that although she didn't hear the alleged slurs, the truck did try to run them off the road.
Still, a Georgia jury convicted Wilson on Aug. 31, and Superior Court Judge Ronald K. “Ronnie” Thompson sentenced Wilson to the maximum sentence.
RELATED STORY: 'Leave us alone': Then-girlfriend of man charged with murder says truck tried to run them off road
Rev. James Woodall, who's working on the case, tweeted: “The Court orders the following: #MarcWilson is sentenced to the maximum of ten years in prison, and will not be sentenced as a First Offender,” Woodall wrote. “He’s also granted time served for his time in pretrial detention.”
Thompson was the second judge to preside over the case. Woodall told journalist Roland Martin in February that the original judge, Michael Muldrew, was removed after holding Wilson’s attorney, Francys Johnson, in contempt of court, a public reprimand, while trying to establish chain of custody.
Johnson said at a virtual news conference after the preliminary hearing that the teens in the pickup truck were "hanging out the truck windows, waving their arms and yelling phrases like 'n----r,' 'your lives don't matter,'" and "n----r lover."
Though also originally charged with felony murder, possession of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, Wilson was only convicted on the manslaughter charge, The Newnan Times-Herald reported.
Still, when compared to cases like that of the then0-17-year-old white protest shooter Kyle Rittenhouse, something about the Wilson case didn’t sit right with social media users following the trial.
Musicians Naeem and Amanda Blank tweeted: "So Kyle Rittenhouse gets away w murdering innocent people after inserting himself into a protest as an Op but Marc Wilson gets 10yrs for defending himself & partner against a violent attack? It’s INSANE how differently gun/self defense laws are applied to white & black people"
RELATED STORY: Rittenhouse makes mockery of justice system. Then, Proud Boys make mockery of NYPD
Woodall tweeted: “Black lives have always been used as a means to justify racists’ tears and white terror. Sickening. Evil. But wholly American.”
Still, a Georgia jury convicted Wilson on Aug. 31, and Superior Court Judge Ronald K. “Ronnie” Thompson sentenced Wilson to the maximum sentence.
RELATED STORY: 'Leave us alone': Then-girlfriend of man charged with murder says truck tried to run them off road
Rev. James Woodall, who's working on the case, tweeted: “The Court orders the following: #MarcWilson is sentenced to the maximum of ten years in prison, and will not be sentenced as a First Offender,” Woodall wrote. “He’s also granted time served for his time in pretrial detention.”
Thompson was the second judge to preside over the case. Woodall told journalist Roland Martin in February that the original judge, Michael Muldrew, was removed after holding Wilson’s attorney, Francys Johnson, in contempt of court, a public reprimand, while trying to establish chain of custody.
Johnson said at a virtual news conference after the preliminary hearing that the teens in the pickup truck were "hanging out the truck windows, waving their arms and yelling phrases like 'n----r,' 'your lives don't matter,'" and "n----r lover."
Though also originally charged with felony murder, possession of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, Wilson was only convicted on the manslaughter charge, The Newnan Times-Herald reported.
Still, when compared to cases like that of the then0-17-year-old white protest shooter Kyle Rittenhouse, something about the Wilson case didn’t sit right with social media users following the trial.
Musicians Naeem and Amanda Blank tweeted: "So Kyle Rittenhouse gets away w murdering innocent people after inserting himself into a protest as an Op but Marc Wilson gets 10yrs for defending himself & partner against a violent attack? It’s INSANE how differently gun/self defense laws are applied to white & black people"
RELATED STORY: Rittenhouse makes mockery of justice system. Then, Proud Boys make mockery of NYPD
Woodall tweeted: “Black lives have always been used as a means to justify racists’ tears and white terror. Sickening. Evil. But wholly American.”