Life sentence for white Louisianan who killed Black man

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Life sentence for white Louisianan who killed Black man

August 24, 2021

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A white Louisiana man has received a life sentence for the apparently random killing of a Black man in a park. He also is accused of killing another Black man at a bus stop and firing into the home of a Black family as part of a string of attacks that police said may have been racially motivated.

Kenneth Gleason was found guilty of first-degree murder in April for the killing of Donald Smart, The Advocate reported. Smart, 49, was shot in a park near Louisiana State University as he was walking to his overnight shift as a restaurant dishwasher in September 2017.

The 27-year-old was also charged in the fatal shooting of Bruce Cofield, 59, a homeless man who was sitting at a bus stop on a busy street in Baton Rouge two days before Smart was killed. Evidence was presented during the trial that Gleason fired gunshots through the front door of the only Black family that lived on the same suburban street as him and his parents.

After consulting with Smart’s family, prosecutors decided not to seek the death penalty. That meant the only sentence that could be imposed on Gleason’s first-degree murder conviction was a mandatory life term.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/louisiana-race-and-ethnicity-13d8e9a8545c600e999bb053bdf1fac2


Kenneth Gleason is shown in an undated booking photo provided by the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office. Gleason has received a life sentence for the apparently random killing of a Black man in a park. He also is accused of killing another Black man at a bus stop and firing into the home of a Black family as part of a string of attacks that police said may have been racially motivated. Gleason was found guilty of first-degree murder in April for the killing of Donald Smart, The Advocate reported. Smart, 49, was shot in a park near Louisiana State University as he was walking to his overnight shift as a restaurant dishwasher in September 2017. (East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office via AP)

[Dreampuff]

1. SAD!!!

Karma would be for him to have a lot of black cellmates who may not be too friendly to him once they learn what he has done.

Whenever I read a story like this it reminds me of our former Neighbors. It was always, " He was always such a good boy and came from a good, Christian, Southern family." SMH

[Eugene]

2. Convicted Baton Rouge serial killer Kenneth Gleason found dead at Angola from suicide, DOC says

Source: The Advocate

Convicted Baton Rouge serial killer Kenneth Gleason found dead at Angola from suicide, DOC says

BY LEA SKENE | STAFF WRITER SEP 22, 2021 - 2:53 PM

About a month after he was sentenced to life without parole for the killings of two Black men, convicted Baton Rouge serial killer Kenneth Gleason killed himself shortly after his transfer to the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, prison officials say.

A Department of Corrections spokesman said Gleason "committed suicide at the prison around midnight Wednesday. While making routine rounds, correctional officers discovered Gleason unresponsive and hanging in his cell."

Gleason was a newcomer to Angola, the notorious maximum security prison in West Feliciana Parish that houses thousands of men serving life and other extremely long sentences. Officials said Gleason was transferred there on Monday, less than two days before his death.

He was alone in a cell, being quarantined for 14 days per protocols for new inmates, DOC spokesman Ken Pastorick said. The DOC and local law enforcement are investigating the case, and Pastorick declined to release any other details.

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Read more: https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/crime_police/article_b64e54d2-1bde-11ec-9076-fb47c559f272.html