Va. jury recommends 30 years for guard who killed Pokemon Go player - Sensationalist Headlines

https://wtop.com/virginia/2019/03/jury-recommends-30-years-for-guard-who-killed-pokemon-go-player/ Va. jury recommends 30 years for guard who killed Pokemon Go player CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) — A Virginia jury has recommended a 30-year prison sentence for a Chesapeake security guard who killed a man prosecutors say was playing “Pokemon Go.” The Virginian-Pilot reports the jury recommended the sentence for 23-year-old Johnathan Cromwell on Monday, days after jurors found him guilty of second-degree murder in the 2017 death of 60-year-old Jiansheng Chen. Authorities say Chen was sitting in a minivan in a parking lot and playing the video game when he was confronted and shot by Cromwell. Cromwell said the vehicle was moving and he opened fire, and his lawyer argued he acted in self-defense. But prosecutors said broken glass found under the van’s shot-out windows disproved Cromwell’s claim. Cromwell is set to be sentenced on June 24. His attorney, Andrew Sacks, says they plan to appeal.

Can an American explain to me how appeals work over there, because in the UK appeals are only allowed if the 'loser' of the original case believes there to have been a substantial error regarding application & interpretation of case law, statute, yada yada, or ignorance to a crucial piece of evidence that might've changed the outcome; essentially, you can't ask for an appeal just because 'me no likey that outcome'. Hence, I'm struggling to understand how this guy could even have a basis for an appeal.

Pretty sure the same thing happens in the UK. Also your appeal can't be denied until you've made the appeal. Few people don't appeal a sentence, even if changing the outcome is unlikely.

According to some website: An appeal of a jury verdict will be granted only if the appellate court makes a finding of "reversible error." A reversible error causes a result that would not have occurred had the court acted properly. An appeal of a bench trial (a trial in which a judge, not a jury decides the case) is reviewed for an "abuse of discretion." A lower court's decision will be reversed only if the lower court judge abused his discretion in reviewing the evidence. A judge generally abuses his discretion if he acts unreasonably. If the lower court's case was resolved by a pre-trial motion to dismiss or a motion for summary judgment, the appeals court will review the record de novo. A de novo review is a complete review of the lower court's decision, including their findings of fact. Appeals Overview If you don't like the court of appeals decision (denied your appeal or reviewed in and past some final judgement), you can then appeal to the supreme court, which can deny your appeal or then begin procedures. The Supreme court is extremely selective of the cases it sees; it only hears cases that are relevant to interpretations of the constitution, I think

I mean, they're not going to appeal by saying "me no likey", they're going to appeal by doing one of the things you mentioned. You don't get to just say "you can't even appeal btw" at the end of a case. It'd nullify the entire point of appeals...