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John Binder(Breitbart)
A man charged with murdering a 15-year-old boy on Thanksgiving in Memphis, Tennessee, has since been freed from jail without having to pay bail.
Edio White, 18, and Conner Tucker,15, were arrested and charged with first-degree murder during a robbery, criminal attempted aggravated robbery, and illegal possession of a weapon after allegedly shooting to death 15-year-old Anthony Mason outside his home on Thanksgiving in the Binghampton neighborhood of Memphis.
According to police, security footage shows White driving a Hyundai Sonata to Mason’s residence in the middle of the night on Thanksgiving with Tucker in the passenger seat. Mason can be seen interacting with the pair outside the residence, police said.
At one point, while the three were passing firearms back and forth to each other, White allegedly grabbed a firearm from Mason which led to a struggle between the two before Tucker allegedly fired a gunshot to Mason’s head from inside the vehicle.
As Mason fell to the ground, dying instantly, the pair fled the scene in the vehicle. Police said Tucker admitted to shooting Mason in the head, while he said White was the getaway driver.
White likewise admitted he was the driver, police said, and that they were headed to Mason’s residence that night to rob him with a pistol.
Since their arrests on Black Friday, White has been released from jail on his own recognizance without having to pay bail. His release has sparked backlash, including from Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who said “Criminals belong behind bars, not out on the streets,” in a statement posted to Twitter.
White’s release from jail despite a murder charge comes as Shelby County District Attorney Steven Mulroy (D) has overhauled the bail system in Memphis — now taking into account a suspect’s personal finances and whether they would be able to pay any bail at all.
While rolling out the new bail system in February, Mulroy said bail is “harder on the poor, it’s harder on minorities” and that his overhaul “is an attempt to fix that.”
Mulroy won the District Attorney’s race last year, ousting Republican Amy Weirich from the office. In the race, Mulroy was boosted by the likes of far-left jailbreak organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Real Justice PAC.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter here.