Jeremy Burse, the Louisiana man convicted of fatally shooting one of his friends during a robbery attempt, managed to avoid a life sentence for his crime.  The incident occurred when Burse was 15.  Attorneys for Burse and thee prosecution managed to reach an agreement in mediation that prevented Burse from going to prison.

According to Assistant District Attorney Laura Rodriguez, this is the first agreement of its kind in Orleans Criminal District Court.  Nobody before had reduced a life sentence when convicted as a juvenile.

The attorneys decided that Burse deserved a second chance in life.  He later pleaded guilty to an amended manslaughter charge and agreed to a 25 year sentence.

Gilda Davis, mother of Anthony Davis, Burse’s victim, stated “I am at the point where everything is out of control for me.  I trust in God. ”

Davis was killed after a bullet ricocheted from Burse’s gun in 2010.  The shooting occurred when Burse and Davis had robbed a security guard at a New Orleans Ease housing complex and fired on the man as they fled the scene and one of the bullets in the hail hit Davis.

Burse was found guilty of second degree murder in 2013 and was sentenced to life in prison.  The sentence came a year after a US Supreme Court decision barring mandatory life sentencing for juveniles.  The sentence surprised many who had been following the federal decision. 

Davis’s mother considered the mediation an opportunity to heal old wounds.  She is now raising her granddaughter and expressed a desire to let her anger go.