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MSNBC is under fire on social media for publishing an article that expresses sympathy for Laken Riley’s killer.

Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, was raped and killed while jogging on the University of Georgia campus in Athens, Georgia on Feb. 22, 2024.

Her killer was later identified as 26-year-old José Ibarra, an immigrant who is in the country illegally. Riley’s death was caused by blunt force trauma and asphyxiation.

A 911 call from Riley’s cell phone shows she struggled with Ibarra for 18 minutes before she died.

The jury viewed police body cam video that shows the moment Riley’s mother was notified that her daughter’s body was found.

Ibarra was found guilty Wednesday morning of murder in Riley’s death. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Legal analyst Danny Cevallos was heavily criticized for writing an op-ed, saying Ibarra “never stood a chance.”

Among the critics was Donald Trump Jr., who tweeted: “You literally can’t make up this level of depravity. These people are sick. The guy is a murderer. He’s an illegal alien that killed an innocent young woman but MSNBC would rather go to bat for him.
However, much you hate MSNBC it’s not enough!”

Podcaster Joe Rogan also shared his outrage at the article’s headline, “What the f*** is this s***.”

In his op-ed, Cevallos wrote that Ibarra waived a jury trial and requested a bench trial, meaning a judge would decide his fate.

“For the defense, this was a hopeless case,” Cevallos then sympathized. “The defense did the best it could with bad facts.”

Cevallos appeared to imply that the evidence didn’t support a conviction.

“But it apparently had no chance with the judge, either, since he was convicted anyway,” Cevallos wrote.

The county’s woke district attorney recommended life without parole instead of the death penalty.