The Los Angeles District Attorney has decided not to pursue the death penalty against Corey Walker, one of the four people accused of killing rapper Pop Smoke. Walker, 20, is the only adult suspect among a group of teens charged with “The Woo” rapper’s death. Pop Smoke, whose real name was Bashar Jackson, was killed on Feb. 19, 2020, in Los Angeles during a botched home invasion. Four suspects were arrested in July 2020 in connection with his killing and are awaiting trial.
According to the New York Daily News, Walker appeared in court for re-arraignment but didn’t enter a new plea because a system glitch prevented prosecutors from filing the special paperwork confirming their decision.
“Our office is not going to be seeking death on this case, but we are going to be asking for a lot,” Deputy DA Hilary Williams said during the brief morning hearing following a judge’s recent ruling there’s enough evidence to warrant a trial. Because of a paperwork issue, Walker won’t enter his plea until next month. Walker now faces a maximum sentence of life without parole if he’s convicted of Pop’s slaying.
“We haven’t talked about a deal or resolution, and we really can’t until the death penalty is removed,” Walker’s lawyer, Christopher Darden told the NY Daily News. Darden, who gained notoriety as a prosecutor during O.J. Simpson’s criminal trial in the 1994 killing of his ex-wife and her friend, called prosecutors’ decision to take capital punishment off the table “appropriate.”
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