Officer Michael Slager, who shot and killed Walter Scott in North Charleston, S.C., following a traffic stop, has been granted a $500,000 bond.
Initially denied bond in September, state Circuit Judge Clifton Newman, who the state supreme court appointed to oversee the case, said the 34-year-old could be released on house arrest with the hefty bond.
According to reports, Slager’s trial isn’t scheduled until October 31st, almost 18 months after the murder, because the state have given precedence to Dylann Storm Roof who killed members inside the historic Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Roof’s trial is scheduled for July.
Slager’s lawyers argued keeping him in jail that long without a trial was as if he were being punished for a crime he had not been convicted of.
Of the $500,000 bond, Slager has to pay 10%, or $50,000. Under Judge Newmon’s orders, Slager is only allowed to leave his home to go to church, the doctor’s office or to visit his lawyers.