Killer of woke Oakland baker who didn't believe in police or prisons is handed shockingly lenient sentence for dragging her to death

The killer of a woke Oakland baker whose family called for him to avoid prison has been sentenced to just seven years behind bars. 

Killer Ishmael Burch, 20, was sentenced this week after pleading no contest to voluntary manslaughter and robbery in the death of baker and activist Jen Angel, 48, in February 2023. 

The victim's family applauded the weak sentence in a statement that said: 'We know that Jen would not want someone involved in her death, whether complicit or not, to waste away in prison for decades.' 

Angel was killed when her purse was snatched by Burch and another man, as she chased after their getaway car and was dragged for over 50ft after getting trapped in the vehicle's door. 

Her head was crushed on the sidewalk and Burch, who was driving, fled the scene. Angel spent two days in a coma before being declared dead. 

Angel's death last year drew headlines after her family responded to the tragedy by calling for her killers to not be sentenced to any prison time. 

Citing Angel's 'anarchist' beliefs in uber-progressive social justice reform, her family called on prosecutors to seek 'all available alternatives to traditional prosecution, such as restorative justice.' 

'As a long-time social movement activist and anarchist, Jen did not believe in state violence, carceral punishment, or incarceration as an effective or just solution to social violence and inequity,' her family wrote in a GoFundMe at the time. 

They added: 'We know Jen would not want to continue the cycle of harm by bringing state-sanctioned violence to those involved in her death or to other members of Oakland's rich community.' 

The pleas paid off for Angel's killer as he was sentenced to just seven years in prison for her death, as part of a plea deal with prosecutors that saw further charges of murder and robbery dropped. 

Burch's attorney celebrated the 'conversation about restorative justice' following the result, and said he was committed to honoring Angel's memory after he has served his time. 

'Ismael, his family and I are so pleased with the compassion and humanity that Jen Angel’s community and friends showed toward Ismael,' his attorney said. 

'We are so hopeful that the conversation about restorative justice will continue within the Oakland community.' 

On Friday, Angel's family also spoke out to praise the move, but said it doesn't go far enough and there is 'more work to be done to achieve Jen's dreams of a different and more just system.' 

'We recognize that the State’s process is not the one Jen would have chosen to ensure accountability and justice,' the statement read. 

'We also believe that the sentencing recommended by the DA in this plea deal was the best possible outcome under the current legal system, in this political climate. 

'We know that Jen would not want someone involved in her death, whether complicit or not, to waste away in prison for decades, and we take some comfort in knowing Ishmael has a chance to repair some of the harm he has caused.' 

Before starting her bake shop, Angel was an editor of the left-wing publication Clamor and also worked for the seminal punk rock journal MaximumRocknRoll, as well as a personal zine entitled F**ktooth.

Employees at her bakery, the Angel Cakes bakery, were also instructed to 'never call the cops', Angel once bragged. 

Emily Harris, a close friend of Angel and an 'anti-prison director,' told the San Francisco Chronicle that the statement fits with her radical liberal principles.

'I think Jen would affirm that of course that's what people have been trained to believe is the answer, to lock people up,' Harris said. 'But we know that if the people who cause her harm are sent to jail, all we're doing is perpetuating more harm.' 

The family's push for Angel's killer to avoid jailtime seems to have been helped by a directive pushed by Oakland's district attorney, Pamela Price. 

Price - who has been criticized by conservatives for her lenient approach to policing - issued a memo shortly before Angel's death that she hoped to reduce reoffending by limiting harsh sentencing. 

The DA's directive also called for probation to be the 'presumptive offer' in plea negotiations.