A young Georgia couple thought they already experienced the worst pain imaginable when they lost their first child, Treveon Isaiah Taylor Jr., who died during delivery in 2023. The delivery of the couple’s son made headlines across the country after it was revealed that the baby was decapitated during delivery. Then Dr. Jackson Gates, the […]
Courts
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice
Tyler Perry Hit with $260 Million Sexual Assault Suit by ‘Oval’ Actor
Tyler Perry is facing a $260 million sexual assault suit filed by a former actor on his series The Oval. On Tuesday, The New York Times reported that Derek Dixon, an actor who worked with Perry on two television series, was suing the mogul for sexual harassment, assault, and battery. In a statement, Matthew Boyd, […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice
Fani Willis Responds to Critics after YSL Trial Ends with Zero Murder Convictions
After coming under fire for not securing any murder convictions in the YSL RICO case, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis stood her ground on the overall effectiveness of her team on Thursday. “Crime is down,” Willis said during an interview with 11Alive in the lobby of Atlanta City Hall. “What my constituents say, who […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice
State NAACP Calls for Appeal in Fatal Atlanta Police Shooting After Judge Drops Charges
Jimmy Hill is determined to continue his fight for justice after a federal judge decided Tuesday to drop the charges against retired Atlanta police officer Sung Kim, who shot and killed his son Jimmy Atchison in 2019. “Change ain’t going to come if we sit back and wait on others,” Hill told Capital B Atlanta […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice
After Fani Willis Drops YSL Murder Charge, Defendant Is Sentenced to 5 Years
One of three remaining YSL trial defendants was sentenced to five years in prison by a Fulton County Superior Court judge Wednesday afternoon. Damekion Garlington was originally facing life in prison if convicted on all charges — including murder and attempted murder — but he entered into an Alford plea with the district attorney’s office […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice
After Executing an Intellectually Disabled Man, Georgia Rewrote Its Death Penalty Law
Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill Tuesday that will transform how intellectual disability is handled in death penalty cases in Georgia. Now in alignment with 26 other states that still practice capital punishment, Georgia will require a judge to determine during a pretrial hearing whether a defendant is intellectually disabled or not. Prior to the […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice
A Georgia Father Claims He Didn’t Kill His Infant Son. Will the State Supreme Court Believe Him?
Ester Clark has been living a nightmare for the past 22 years, ever since her grandson Danyel Smith was sentenced to life behind bars for the death of his infant son — a tragedy they both say he did not cause. “They never tried to find out what really happened,” Clark, 81, told Capital B Atlanta […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice, Public Services
Could Texts Reduce Jailings? One Atlanta Suburb Says Yes.
Nate Mingo knew the havoc that missing a court date wreaked on the lives of residents in his suburban Atlanta community. He understood the prospect of a driver’s license suspension or jail detention — and how either consequence could jeopardize one’s employment and significantly worsen their legal troubles. As Riverdale’s director of court services, Mingo also […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice, Incarceration
One Year After Controversial Execution, Georgia Looks to Reform Death Penalty Laws
Georgia made national headlines last year when the state executed Willie James Pye, a man who multiple expert witnesses had deemed intellectually disabled. Pye and two other people had been convicted of the 1996 murder, kidnapping, rape, and robbery of his ex-girlfriend, Alicia Yarbrough, in Spaulding County. Anti-death penalty advocates worked diligently to get Pye […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice, Juvenile Justice
School Safety Bill SB 61 May Send More Black Kids to Adult Court
A school safety bill introduced in response to the Apalachee High School shooting in September got a major change after advocates warned that it would unfairly criminalize children. Senate Bill 61, authored by state Sen. Greg Dolezal, a Republican from Forsyth County, was initially written to add both terroristic acts and terroristic threats against a […]