BREAKING: Cop Receives Unprecedented 40-YEAR Sentence for Killing 6yo Boy

Marksville, LA — Moments ago, in one of the stiffest sentences ever handed down to a cop for killing an innocent person while on duty, one of the Marksville police officers who killed 6-year-old Jeremy Mardis was sentenced — to 40 years in prison. 

As the Free Thought Project reported last week, Officer Derrick Stafford was found guilty of manslaughter and attempted manslaughter in the horrific fatal shooting of the six-year-old with autism on November 3, 2015.

During the heartbreaking trial, Chris Few, Jeremy’s dad, noted that Stafford and officer Norris Greenhouse Jr. immediately started firing — with no warning — when they stopped him on that fateful night.

“The only thing I heard was gunshots. Then I heard verbal commands after they were through firing,” Few said. “I stuck my hands out the window. They kept firing.”

After he was shot, Few lost consciousness and didn’t know his son died until he woke up in a hospital six days later — the day of Jeremy’s funeral.

“Innocent people do not run from the police. Innocent people stop their vehicles, surrender to the police,” defense attorney Jonathan Goins said as he called Few “the author of that child’s fate,” during the trial.

However, the jury and the judge did not buy it.

As the Associated Press reports, Ruth Wisher, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Jeff Landry’s office, said Stafford was sentenced to 40 years for manslaughter and 15 years for attempted manslaughter. He will serve the sentences concurrently.

Stafford was facing a maximum sentence of 60 years for his role in the murder of Jeremy Mardis when state District Judge William Bennett sentenced him.

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The fact that a police officer received such a hefty sentence is a win for victims of police misconduct across the country. All too often we see police officers murder the innocent only to be exonerated by a grand jury or acquitted during a trial.

Case in point: Officer Joseph Weekley.

Weekley had not been on the force since 2010 when he shot a sleeping child in the head during a botched raid executed on the wrong home.

The raid was being filmed for an episode of The First 48, and many believe the excessive tactics used were employed simply to create drama and excitement for the camera. Unfortunately, a beautiful little girl, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, 7, lost her life because of his reckless and violent actions.

Not only was the justice system unable to hold Weekley accountable for the slaughter of a young girl — but he was reinstated to the force in 2015.

Unfortunately for the family of little Aiyana, justice failed them. However, in Jeremy’s case, they seem to be making ground — for now.

The other cop who shot and killed Jeremy that night has yet to go to trial. Greenhouse, whose defense team has been pulling insane tactics out of the woodwork up to and including demanding to know if any prosecution witnesses underwent hypnosis or any “truth-determining examinations,” such as polygraph tests or sodium pentothal.

Greenhouse also happens to be the son of the assistant district attorney in Marksville.

As the Free Thought Project has previously reported, this entire scenario could’ve been over a relationship. In November 2015, Few’s fiancée came forward about her relationship to Greenhouse.

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According to the Advocate, Megan Dixon, Few’s fiancée at the time, said Few had a previous run-in with Greenhouse. A former high school classmate of Dixon, Greenhouse had started messaging her on Facebook and had come by the house Few and Dixon were sharing at the time.

The tainted relationship motive appears to be the only possible motive for the stop that night as no definitive explanation has yet to be given as to why Greenhouse was moonlighting, riding alone that night and decided to pull Few over.

According to the Greenhouse and Stafford, the officers decided to conduct a traffic stop because Few had an outstanding warrant. However, the Clerk of Court, the District Attorney’s Office, Marksville Police Department, and City Court noted that they did not have any warrants against him. The officers also claimed Few had a weapon, that was also a lie.

The only reason Few ran from Greenhouse that night was to catch up with Dixon so he could give her Jeremy in case he was arrested.

“The whole reason there was even a chase was for his well-being,” he said.

Dixon’s testimony did confirm that Few was, in fact, attempting to waive her down and pointing at Jeremy.

Sally LaBorde, a passenger in the van Dixon was driving, also testified, saying she could clearly see Few pointing to Jeremy in the car, and the implication was unmistakable that he wanted Dixon to take care of his son, according to the Advocate.

Sadly, for Jeremy Mardis, who will never see another Christmas or Birthday or throw the ball with his dad, the reason for the stop that night is irrelevant. However, for his family, the outcome of Greenhouse’s future trial and the fact that Stafford just got 40 years, are the only things that can provide even a semblance of comfort.

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Murder Trial Opens for Cop Who Killed 6-Year-Old Jeremy Mardis on Video

Marksville, LA — Sixteen months ago, one of the worst police killings ever to be recorded on video rocked the country. Jeremy Mardis, a 6-year-old boy, was gunned down in cold blood by two bad Louisiana cops — Derrick Stafford and Norris Greenhouse Jr. Now, one of those officers is finally being tried for this horrific act which was caught on a body camera.

In what the head of Louisiana State police called ‘the most disturbing thing he’s ever seen,’ Mardis was murdered as he rode with his father, Chris Few, as he sat strapped into the front seat of the car.

“He didn’t deserve to die like that,” State Police Col. Mike Edmonson said as he announced the deputies’ arrests, less than a week after the shooting.

For almost a year, body camera footage from that fateful night was kept hidden from the public. However, last September it was released showing these two officers murder a boy and attempt to murder his father.

Jury selection for Derrick Stafford’s trial began Monday and is expected to last several days.

Prosecutors are going to make the case that the bodycam video proves Few did not pose a threat and was, in fact, surrendering with his hands up when police opened fire.

Defense attorneys, however, will attempt to convince a jury that Stafford and Greenhouse Jr. acted in self-defense — in spite of the fact they had no justification for the stop in the first place — and contradictory to the video evidence.

Despite the testimony to the contrary from a State Police detective, defense attorneys are going to try to convince a jury that Few was attempting to ram Greenhouse’s vehicle.

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One of Stafford’s attorneys, Jonathon Goins, said his client “feared for his life” when he opened fired on a 6-year-old boy and his surrendering dad.

“My client wanted to go home and be with his family that night, just like any officer wants to go home and be with their family,” Goins said.

Members of Mardis’ family have since filed a federal lawsuit against several Louisiana law enforcement agencies.

An exact motive for the original traffic stop — given the fictitious claim of a warrant and that Few did not have a weapon — has yet to be publicly released by officials. Attorneys for Greenhouse and Stafford stated during court proceedings Few had been standing in the road, blocking traffic, ignored officers’ commands, and then fled the scene.

But the lawsuit contends there had been no clear reason for police to pursue the vehicle Few was driving, and when he ultimately did pull over, the vehicle, “even if it were moving forward or backwards — did not and could not have presented an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm to any of the officers at the scene or innocent bystanders.”

Police had claimed Few was armed and posed an imminent deadly threat — so Officers Greenhouse and Stafford opened fire — emptying 18 rounds at the vehicle, critically injuring Few and killing the 6-year-old, who had autism.

In actuality, no warrant had been issued for Few, and both father and son were unarmed — indeed, as video evidence shows, Few had his hands in the air when he received “two or three” bullets to the head and chest, while Jeremy suffered “four or five” shots to the head and neck.

Appallingly, Jeremy languished in agony, still holding onto life for over five minutes after being shot multiple times — but officers failed to even check for a pulse or render assistance.

“During this time, Jeremy was bleeding profusely and suffered immensely due to the gunshot wounds,” the lawsuit states.

“It was not until approximately some seven and one-half to eight minutes or so after the hail of gunfire, that an officer at the scene, believed to be Parnell, finally checked Jeremy for a pulse and discovered that he was still alive, despite having been shot multiple times including in the head and neck,” it reads.

“However, none of the officers at the scene, including Stafford, Greenhouse, Brouillette and Parnell initiated or rendered any form of first aid, nor did they undertake any other measures in an attempt to stop Jeremy’s bleeding or otherwise alleviate or mitigate Jeremy’s suffering, or made any attempts to save his life.

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“Sadly, Jeremy was left to suffer — and die — while the officers casually searched for ‘gloves.’”

Both Stafford and Greenhouse, likely due to their connected statuses and blue privilege, were allowed to remain officers in spite of their past atrocities — which allowed them to be in those patrol cars that night.

As WCBI reported, before the shooting, Stafford and Greenhouse both had been sued over claims they had used excessive force or neglected their duties as police officers. The Marksville Police Department suspended Stafford after his indictment on rape charges in 2011, but reinstated him after prosecutors dismissed the charges.

Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Agorist is also the Editor at Large at the Free Thought Project. Follow @MattAgorist on Twitter, Steemit, and now on Facebook.