The man who shot and killed Sean Taylor more than a decade ago hopes to get out of prison at some point before 2060.
Eric Rivera, who was 17 at the time, received a 57-year sentence in 2013 after being convicted of second-degree murder. Via David Ovalle of the Miami Herald, Rivera seeks a reduced sentence for two reasons: (1) sentencing laws for juveniles have changed; and (2) several other defendants in the case received much shorter sentences.
“I don’t think he should behind bars for the rest of his life for something that was a mistake and an accident,” Rivera’s mother testified on Wednesday.
Said Rivera, now 28, in court: “I believe I deserve a second chance because I’ve grown. I know I can be a productive citizen.”
Rivera and four other youths robbed Taylor’s South Florida home in November 2007, at a time when they believed he was out of town. Rivera shot Taylor as he rushed them with a machete that he kept in his bedroom for protection. The bullet severed Taylor’s femoral artery, and he later died at a local hospital.
The mastermind of the plot, Jason Mitchell, received a life sentence. Venjah Hunte, Timmy Lee Brown, and Charles Wardlow are serving 29 years, 18 years, and 30 years, respectively.
