Two former Baltimore cops facing hundreds of years in prison have sentences reduced

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Two former Baltimore police officers serving hundreds of years in prison for robbing drug dealers in the early 2000s have each had their sentences reduced to 20 years after a judge agreed the original terms were unreasonably long. 

US District Judge Theodore D Chuang granted reductions for William King and Antonio Murray on Monday. 

Attorneys for the men argued earlier this year that they would have received far shorter sentences today under reforms that were passed by Congress since the officers were convicted in 2006.

In the past, jail time for each gun-related conviction was 'stacked,' meaning the sentences were required to run consecutively.  

Former Baltimore police officers William King and Antonio Murray were convicted in 2006 for multiple federal drug, extortion and gun-related charges. Their sentences were reduced to 20 years each after reforms in sentencing for gun convictions were applied to their cases

Former Baltimore police officers William King and Antonio Murray were convicted in 2006 for multiple federal drug, extortion and gun-related charges. Their sentences were reduced to 20 years each after reforms in sentencing for gun convictions were applied to their cases

'Mr King is extremely grateful for the court's action, recognizing that his initial sentence was unwarranted by today's standards,' King's attorney Steve Levin told DailyMail.com. 

'Over the past 16-plus years, Mr King has made significant efforts to rehabilitate himself through programs within the Bureau of Prisons and has expressed sincere remorse on numerous occasions. Because of the court’s action, Mr. King, an Army veteran, hopes that he can once again contribute to society in a positive way.' 

The US attorneys office believed King's sentence should have been reduced from 315 years to 65 and Murray's should have been reduced from 139 years to 30.

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King and Murray were officers in the Baltimore Police Department's public housing drug unit, and would steal drugs from suspected dealers, redistribute them to dealers with whom they were aligned and collect money from the sales.  

Chuang said 20-year sentences for both 'roughly corresponds with the type of sentences presently imposed in comparable police corruption cases in this District'.

In the more recent case of Baltimore's Gun Trace Task Force - which robbed drug dealers, planted drugs and guns on innocent people and assaulted seemingly random civilians - the longest sentence of any officer was 25 years.  

Murray is currently serving his sentence at the Edgefield federal correctional facility

Murray is currently serving his sentence at the Edgefield federal correctional facility

King is currently serving his sentence at the Bennettsville federal correctional facility

King is currently serving his sentence at the Bennettsville federal correctional facility

Because King and Murray were convicted of extortion, drug and handgun offenses in addition to robbery. 

Their sentences were much higher because the court was required to consecutively run various gun-related convictions. 

Title IV of the The First Step Act, which was signed into law in 2018, eliminates the practice of sentence 'stacking' of gun-related convictions. 

The federal system has no parole, but attorneys said the former officers could be released to halfway houses soon after their sentence reductions, according to The Baltimore Sun.

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