2 days ago
Judge sentences man who killed activist Rozz Rogers to 29 years in prison
A Milwaukee man will serve 29 years in prison for killing activist Rosalind Rogers in June 2024.
In October 2024, a Milwaukee County jury found Raymond Willis guilty of killing Rogers, who went by 'Rozz.' Well-known and active in community engagement, Rogers was an advocate for the Black community.
At Willis's sentencing hearing on June 11, more than a dozen of Rogers' friends and relatives filled the courtroom to await the judge's ruling, and hear Rogers' sister, Shatarrea Bradley, make a statement.
Bradley addressed Willis directly when she spoke, sharply conveying the devastating impact that Rogers' loss left on her family.
'I just want to know why,' Bradley said. 'What made you think her life wasn't as important as yours?'
She concluded, 'I hope to never see you again.'
Rogers was killed on June 13, 2024, around 4 a.m. on the 5100 block of North Teutonia Avenue. Surveillance footage from a nearby McDonald's restaurant presented as evidence in the trial showed that Rogers was approached by a red vehicle, from which she was later seen running away as flashes "consistent with muzzle flashes" emerged from the driver's area of the vehicle. Police traced the vehicle to Willis.
At the sentencing hearing, prosecuting attorney Paul Tiffin stated his belief that Willis had no apparent motive in firing his weapon at Rogers, and that the killing was the result of a "complete lack of self-control."
Willis was convicted of first-degree reckless homicide with use of a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The homicide charge carries a maximum penalty of 60 years imprisonment.
Judge Laura Crivello sentenced Willis to 28 years of initial confinement for the homicide charge, and another consecutive year for the firearm possession count. Willis will also face eight years of extended supervision for the homicide charge and one additional year for the firearm possession charge.
Crivello's ruling is harsher than the sentences recommended by the case's prosecutor and Willis's defense attorney, who respectively advised he should serve 25 years and 15 years for the homicide conviction.
When delivering the sentence, the judge referred to victim impact letters she had received describing the effect of Rogers' loss on her family. Eleven such letters were sent to Crivello, according to the Victim Witness Services office.
'Rozz was an amazing spark to have in the community,' Crivello said.
Throughout his trial, a pre-sentencing investigation and the sentencing hearing, Willis did not take responsibility for Rogers' death. Although he initially admitted to police that the red car involved in the shooting looked like his vehicle, he maintained that it was not his.
'I want to say that it's just a tragedy that my family did all they can do to try to find that car,' Willis said, when given the opportunity to make a statement before the court.
Crivello acknowledged that Willis' background stood out from other individuals convicted for similar offenses, referencing his older age and lack of a violent criminal history. Before his trial for killing Rogers, Willis was last convicted of a crime in 2004, when he was found guilty of manufacturing and delivering cocaine, a felony charge.
Still, the judge admonished Willis for possessing a weapon and resorting to armed violence instead of engaging in disagreements through speaking.
"Why couldn't you just talk to her?" Crivello asked Willis about his encounter with Rogers. "She sounds like the kind of person who would engage with anyone."
In addition to the prison sentence and extended supervision, Crivello ordered that Willis participate in cognitive intervention programming and obtain a high school equivalency diploma.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Judge sentences man who killed Rozz Rogers to 29 years in prison
