Sentencing is set to resume Monday in the trial of Austin police officer Christopher Taylor, who was found guilty of deadly conduct last month in the fatal shooting of a man with a history of mental illness. The third-degree felony carries a punishment of two to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
Even before Taylor went to trial, his attorneys, Doug O’Connell and Ken Ervin, asked state District Judge Dayna Blazey to consider probation instead of prison time in the event their client was found guilty.
But several top Texas defense lawyers who aren’t involved in the case told the American-Statesman that prison time is the only clear option.
That’s because people who are convicted of felonies in Texas that involve deadly weapons are not eligible for probation — but only if it’s the judge, rather than the jury, determining the punishment. Another pretrial ask from Taylor’s lawyers: that Blazey handle sentencing if their client was found guilty.
“Assuming (the judge) follows the law, then the sentence should be prison time,” said Kristin Brown, a Dallas-based criminal defense and appellate attorney who was previously unfamiliar with the case and reviewed related records at the Statesman’s request.
“I don’t see a legal out,” said Angelica Cogliano, an Austin-based defense attorney, adding that she hopes there is one “because I am anti-prison, no matter who you are.”
It’s unclear why Taylor’s lawyers asked that Blazey set the sentence rather than the jury. Neither O’Connell nor Ervin responded to interview requests from the American-Statesman.
The state law at the heart of the issue came up last year in another controversial Central Texas case when a jury in Caldwell County found a man guilty of second-degree manslaughter in a fatal shooting but sentenced him to just probation.
Brown, the Dallas attorney, said the only way she could see Taylor getting probation is if his lawyers file a successful motion for a new trial. That is a possibility, she said, because Taylor could argue that he had “ineffective counsel” if his lawyers were misleading or unclear about the implications of asking the judge to handle sentencing.
George Lobb, another Austin-area defense attorney, said that ultimately the decision to sentence him to prison or probation will be a “political” one.
“The judge doesn’t have a choice,” Lobb said of sentencing Taylor to prison. “But what’s going to stop a judge? She would not lose reelection over this. … So there’s a political decision in this that goes behind whether she’s willing to not comply with (state law) and logic and common sense.”
Blazey, a “lifelong Democrat” and former Travis County prosecutor, was reelected this month in an uncontested race.
If Blazey picks probation, Brown said, the Travis County district attorney’s office could appeal the decision and would almost surely win.
The office has not yet said what sentence it will ask Blazey to impose on Taylor, but county prosecutors probably will do so during closing arguments. Last month, they spent two days presenting the state’s case, detailing much of the same evidence that had been introduced during Taylor’s trial.
During the two-day hearing, the prosecutors were able to point to other use-of-force incidents involving Taylor, namely the fatal shooting of Michael Ramos in 2020 that sparked social justice protests in Austin. Taylor faced a murder charge in connection with the Ramos killing, but the case ended in a mistrial last year after a jury announced it was deadlocked.
The defense team will make its case Monday and Tuesday. Both sides are likely to make closing arguments after the defense finishes.
It’s unclear when Blazey will sentence Taylor.
Another question looming over Taylor’s fate: whether he would receive a pardon from Gov. Greg Abbott in the event of a prison sentence. One of Taylor’s lawyers represented Daniel Perry, the former Army sergeant whom Abbott pardoned earlier this year after he was convicted of killing a Black Lives Matter protester.
Abbott’s office did not respond to an inquiry from the American-Statesman about whether he would pardon Taylor if he is sentenced to prison.
In addition to whatever criminal punishment he faces, Taylor is likely to lose his peace officer’s license. Under state law, peace officers convicted of a felony will have their license “immediately revoked.”
State records from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement obtained by the American-Statesman show that Taylor’s license is still active. As of last month, the Police Department said Taylor had been on desk duty since his conviction.
Taylor is believed to be the first police officer criminally convicted in Travis County in connection with a use-of-force incident.
Staff writer Bianca Moreno-Paz contributed to this report.
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