A judge today sentenced Kevin Epps, a documentary filmmaker convicted of manslaughter last year in a Glen Park shooting, to over six years in prison before a tearful and packed San Francisco courtroom. 

Epps is the editor-in-chief of the San Francisco Bayview National Black Newspaper, and received critical acclaim for his breakout film, “Straight Outta Hunters Point,” in 2003. 

In 2016, Epps shot and killed Marcus Polk, the ex-husband of his then-fiancée’s sister. Polk was homeless and in and out of jail, but was a friend of the family and would often visit the home where Epps lived with his partner and children. 

Epps claimed the shooting was in self-defense after Polk entered his home without permission and came at him. The District Attorney’s Office charged Epps with murder years after the incident, in 2019. 

In December 2025, a jury found Epps not guilty of murder, but guilty of voluntary manslaughter, a conviction that can bring with it a sentence of three, six, or 11 years in prison. 

After hearing lengthy arguments about aggravating and mitigating factors from attorneys on both sides today, Judge Brian Ferrall sentenced Epps to six years, with an additional eight months for possessing a gun as a convicted felon. 

Prosecutor Jonathan Schmidt sought to double Epps’ sentence by referencing a past “strike” on his criminal record, a 1997 burglary conviction, and also sought a five-year term enhancement for that same past conviction. 

Judge Ferrall ruled in Epps’ favor and did not apply those enhancements, but did opt for a sentence beyond the minimum of three years. Ferrall considered Epps’ past convictions and time in prison in the 1980s, and the fact that he had a firearm as a convicted felon, but also Epps’ past trauma, community involvement and support, and nonviolent and long-ago criminal history in reaching that decision. 

“It’s a terrible outcome. It’s a terrible outcome for him, it’s a terrible outcome for his kids, it’s a terrible outcome for his community given all that he does for and with them,” said Epps’ attorney Mark Vermeulen. “It’s a terrible and sad outcome.” 

As a well-known community figure, Epps has received an outpouring of support from San Francisco residents and leadership, including Mayor London Breed’s former head of workforce development, Joshua Arce, and former supervisors Dean Preston, John Avalos and Matt Haney. 

Many of those supporters spoke in court today, as did members of Polk’s family. Spectators who poured into the Hall of Justice were denied entry to the hearing after the room reached capacity. After the sentence was read, people in attendance could be seen crying as Epps was taken into custody by bailiffs. 

Epps has been living out of custody since his arrest and release in 2019, and has been raising his two young children in the city. Based on today’s ruling, Vermeulen said Epps will be paroled after about 4 and a half years in state prison, after his credit for time served is deducted. 

“Today is a dark day in San Francisco,” said a coalition supporting Epps, Justice 4 Kevin Epps, in a statement after hearing the judge’s ruling. The group said the sentence would “deepen the harm.” 

“A man who should never have been charged is now sentenced to be taken from his family and community as the result of a defective and unethical process,” the statement read. 

Epps’ supporters say that legal standards for self-defense law are unequally applied, and that claims of self-defense by Black people are often “reframed and criminalized.” 

The DA’s Office did not respond to a request for comment.

Epps plans to appeal his conviction and will appear in court for a bail hearing later this month.