Killer of Sean Taylor sentenced to 57.5 years in prison
The man convicted of murdering former Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor has been sentenced to 57.5 years in prison for the crime.
The prosecution asked the judge hand down a minimum sentence of 60 years to Eric Rivera, because it did not believe that he could be rehabilitated in prison.
[The prosecution] argued that the facts of the case pointed to Rivera being a “sophisticated, manipulative criminal” Rivera admitted in a videotaped confession to police days after Taylor’s death that he fired the fatal shot after kicking in the bedroom door.
In the confession, Rivera said the group of five young men, all from the Fort Myers area, had driven to Taylor’s house planning to steal large amounts of cash he kept inside. They thought Taylor would be out of town at a game against Tampa Bay, but didn’t realize until it was too late that he was home with a knee injury.
Rivera was just one of five men who were charged in the case. Three will be tried and charged at a later date, while Venjah Hunte pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and burglary in return for a 29-year prison sentence.
The 2007 shooting death of Taylor, 24 struck the star just at the peek of his blooming career. Taylor had accumulated 299 total tackles in 55 games with the Redskins and eight forced fumbles.
During the burglary, Taylor was shot in the leg, which damaged his femoral artery, killing him. His girlfriend and 18-month-old daughter were unharmed.
Rivera is the second of five men charged with Taylor’s murder. They will be sentenced at a later date.
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