Overview

• The Justice Department unexpectedly recommended Hankison serve only a one-day term plus three years of supervised release because none of his shots struck Taylor or bystanders.
• Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings rejected the memo as inconsistent with sentencing guidelines and ordered 33 months in prison with three years of supervised release.
• A U.S. Probation Office report had advised a sentence of 135 to 168 months, illustrating the gap between guidelines and prosecutorial discretion.
• Brett Hankison had faced an acquittal on state wanton-endangerment charges in 2022 and a 2023 federal mistrial before his November 2024 conviction for violating Taylor’s civil rights.
• Civil rights advocates, including attorney Ben Crump, denounced the Justice Department’s leniency as a betrayal of the jury’s verdict and argued it undermines accountability.