Injustice for a Victim and the Victim’s Advocate
Kate Slattery and a memorial. She was killed by a hit and run driver while riding a bicycle.
How can 16 days in jail provide any justice for killing a young woman? A man sped through city streets at 80 miles per hour, ran a red light, and then plowed into 26-year-old cyclist Kate Slattery without stopping. The suspect only spent 16 days in jail. His final sentence was just three years probation, after a deal with the district attorney’s office.
The result of the Kate Slattery case was injustice for both the victim and the victim’s advocate. Just when you think the case couldn't be more shocking or tragic, a longtime victim advocate in the district attorney’s office was fired after speaking his truth in open court.
It was Giles Feinberg’s job to advocate for victims and he was good at it. At the recent sentencing hearing, Feinberg spoke out. The San Francisco Chroniclereported that “he seemed to blame the incredibly slow pace of San Francisco’s criminal justice system and the many different prosecutors assigned to the case over the years for the light sentence.”
It’s been five years since Slattery was killed. After just 16 days in jail, the suspect was free on bail in the time that three different district attorneys held office: George Gascon, Suzy Loftus, and Chesa Boudin. It was only recently that the case was resolved with a deal by Boudin’s office that gave the suspect three years probation going forward.
“If this case happened anywhere else in the state of California or the Bay Area, for that matter, you likely would be midterm on a prison sentence,” Feinberg told the suspect at the recent sentencing hearing, according to a court transcript. “As you walk free among society, know that the time thrown at this case, the five years, afforded you this moment.”
The Chronicle reported that “those words might have cost Feinberg his job. On Wednesday, Boudin had an intermediary fire him, according to two sources familiar with the situation.”
Heather Knight’s report in the Chronicle is a must read to understand how the criminal justice process is broken in San Francisco.
The Court Reporter program at Stop Crime SF helped with Knight’s article. We obtain court transcripts in notable cases and provide the information free of charge to journalists.
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