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Georgia Today: Parental legal responsibility; Trump has 4 counts dismissed; Election board challenges
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On the Friday September 13th edition of Georgia Today: The killing of four people at Apalachee High School last week raises legal questions about parential responsibility; A judge dismisses four counts in the election interference case against Donald Trump; And the Georgia State election board faces more challenges.
Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Friday, September 13th. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, the killing of four people at Apalachee High School last week raises legal questions about parental responsibility. A judge dismisses three counts in the election interference case against Donald Trump and others. And the Georgia State Election Board faces more challenges. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.
Story 1:
Peter Biello: More details are emerging about last week's killing of two students and two teachers at Appalachee High School. Investigators said yesterday the alleged gunman, 14-year-old Colt Gray, carried a semiautomatic assault rifle to school hidden in his backpack. He's been charged as an adult with four counts of murder. Authorities also have charged his father, Cullen Gray, with murder and other crimes based on gross negligence. It's only the second time in the U.S. that such charges have been made against a parent. The first time was in Michigan, where a school shooter's parent was sentenced to ten years in prison earlier this year. The case has raised legal questions about parental responsibility, gun laws and other issues. To help us sort them out. We called Emory University School of Law professor John Acevedo. He spoke with GPB's Orlando Montoya.
Orlando Montoya: It's a well-established principle that sons are not responsible for the sins of their father. How is the father in this case responsible, allegedly for the sins of the son?
John Acevedo: Yeah, that's quite an interesting point to raise. We generally don't like liability, tort liability or especially criminal liability for the actions of the others. I think what makes these cases stand out a bit is that both in Michigan and here in Georgia, the parents actually gave the guns to the eventual shooter.
Orlando Montoya: Is there a law against that?
John Acevedo: So it's interesting. And I think this is what really makes it a fascinating case. There really is no law we can point to that the parent broke. Georgia does not have a secure firearms law. The second also allows you to give guns to persons of almost any age. But there's been a long-standing rule in criminal law that you cannot aid and abet a crime. And now the issue becomes how much knowledge does a parent need to have had that the child might do something like the school shooting to be criminally liable. And that's going to be very fascinating to see. The grand jury may not hold those charges. You know, find them true bill, as the phrase goes, that is that they should go forward. And, of course, a 12-person jury may not convict this father. So it's very fascinating as we go forward to see if folks have the stomach to hold parents liable.
Orlando Montoya: You said there's no law that the parents broke. So what law is the father actually charged with?
John Acevedo: So it's interesting to clarify. What I meant was we don't have a law that says it's illegal to give a minor a gun or it's illegal to not secure your guns so that a minor individual can get hold of them. But we do have a law in Georgia on the books that says if you act in a negligent manner, you can be charged with the deaths that occur from that. So I think the best analogy for your listeners is imagine if a parent gave a minor child, a 14 year old alcohol and the keys to the car and the child then tried to drive and hit a bicyclist or a pedestrian. We would probably charge that father with negligent homicide. They gave the alcohol and the car keys to a 14 year old. This is similar to that you gave the gun to a 14 year old who you again, apparently they're claiming, this hasn't been proven yet, but who the D.A. claims was known to be unstable and fascinated with guns. So that's the idea. That's always been that negligence in behavior.
Orlando Montoya: I want to go back to the interaction in 2023 between the police, the father and the son. The police visited their house and questioned them about alleged threats to the school. What's the legal standard by which the police could have intervened at that time?
John Acevedo: So this was threats made against the son's middle school. It was suspected it was made by Colt Gray. And the center would have been probable cause. So the police needed probable cause that he made the threats to the school and they clearly didn't have it or they would have arrested him or charged him and nothing became of that. So they really lacked that probable cause. And probable cause is fairly low. It's beyond mere suspicion. That is, you have some factual basis, and they couldn't find a factual basis. He denied it. It was made on the Internet anonymously. They couldn't tie the account to him, and therefore there really was nothing they could go on.
Orlando Montoya: How far could the legal system take parental responsibility? I can think of drug offenses, any number of crimes that you could hold parents accountable for. Does this apply to all crimes or just big, heinous crimes like these to the school shootings we've been talking about in Michigan and Georgia?
John Acevedo: We have seen parents charged in drug deaths, in alcohol related deaths. So in many ways, it's a revival. A lot of these cases were back in the 80s and 90s where parents had gave birth to children who were addicted to drugs or where parents who did drugs, their children got hold of them and then died. So we've seen these types of cases before, just never with guns. And that's the big step we're moving up from. Items that the parents are intentionally giving the children which are known to cause harm to a gun, which, if used responsibly, won't cause harm. You can imagine most children who own guns use them for hunting, target practice and never really go shooting when those mass shootings are so shocking because they're so rare. We feel like they're occurring every day. And they may be occurring more frequently than we want, but if we look at your average gun owner, your average gun owner isn't killing people. And I think that's the leap forward here as opposed to cocaine or heroin, for example, which tends to kill a lot of people.
Orlando Montoya: And is it legal for children to own guns?
John Acevedo: It is. So it depends on the state. In most states, the child will not be the official title holder of the gun. The parent will be. And it's going to depend on the type of gun. So, for example, black powder guns tend to be unregulated. Anyone from the Boy Scouts, you tend to learn on black powder or .22s, and that's because those can be possessed easily by children. Shotguns in most states are not regulated at 12 or sold at Walmart. Is that the shotgun? We don't really track the serial numbers of those guns like those. And guns like AR. Handguns. Not black powder, but regular bullet handguns, those we track and those you'll see. It's a huge kind of mess of laws across states and jurisdictions. Some states will allow children at 14 to own guns, some at 16, some at 18 at adulthood. So it really varies by state and it causes mass confusion for that. And it will be interesting to see how that plays into the jurors’ minds. In many ways, we can think of the rust case where gun owners were far more offended by the actions of Alec Baldwin than non-gun owners, because for a gun owner, you kind of were taught very early on you don't aim a gun at someone who pull the trigger. We really should never do it. But if you're going to, you need to personally make sure that it is not loaded, which he failed to do. And similarly, in Michigan, a lot of the folks who were in favor of the prosecution were actually gun owners who felt these parents acted irresponsibly. And were giving all gun owners kind of a bad name. So it will be very interesting to see how this plays out in Georgia as we go forward.
Peter Biello: That was Emory University School of Law professor John Acevedo, speaking with GPB's Orlando Montoya.
Story 2:
Peter Biello: Funeral services are being held this weekend for a student and a teacher killed in the shooting. Family and friends will gather for a memorial service for 14-year-old Mason Schermerhorn tomorrow in Jefferson and for a funeral service for Cristina Irimie tomorrow in Buford. A celebration of life for Richard Aspinwall was held last Sunday, and a funeral service for 14-year-old Christian Angulo is next Friday. For all of the latest updates on the Apalachee High School shooting, visit GPB.org/news.
Story 3:
Peter Biello: Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones will not face criminal prosecution in Georgia's 2020 election interference case. The head of Georgia's prosecuting Attorney's Council said today that after five months investigating Jones, the lieutenant governor's role in the case doesn't warrant further investigation or charges. The council’s Pete Skandalakis was assigned to look into the matter after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was barred from prosecuting Jones. As part of her election interference case against former President Donald Trump and others.
Story 4:
Peter Biello: Georgia Military College cut the ribbon on a new leadership center in Milledgeville yesterday. Former Defense Secretary General James Mattis spoke at the event. GPB's Sarah Kallis reports.
Sarah Kallis: Mattis spoke to students at Georgia Military College about the importance of leadership and democracy during a keynote address following the official opening. He said the new center provides an important learning opportunity.
James Mattis: This is a democracy. This is all hands-on deck. Democracy is not a spectator sport. We all participate. How can you participate if you haven't been given the tools? So these are the tools.
Sarah Kallis: Mattis served as defense secretary in President Trump's Cabinet from 2017 to 2019. He has not endorsed Trump's presidential bid and did not comment on either candidate. The leadership center houses a theater and classrooms. The school will also host a leadership speaker series in the new building. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis in Milledgeville.
Story 5:
Peter Biello: A Savannah developer has come to an agreement with the owners of two historic Jewish cemeteries to build a new hotel nearby. GPB's Benjamin Payne reports.
Benjamin Payne: The Mordechai Sheftall Cemetery in the Levi Sheftall Cemetery were founded in the mid-1700s and serve as the resting place of many of Georgia's first Jewish residents, including the highest-ranking Jewish officer in the Colonial Army. Soon, a new hotel would be built next door with the blessing of the cemetery's owners. The developer agreed to several terms, including a courtyard buffer, new historical plaques to educate hotel guests and no balconies overlooking the cemeteries. Speaking after a related zoning amendment, unanimously approved by Savannah City Council alderwoman Estella Shabazz applauded the six-month long negotiations.
Estella Shabazz: This is a very good model of how good government can happen. Good business can happen, and good development can take place.
Benjamin Payne: The cemetery's owners will also be allowed to actively monitor construction of the hotel. For GPB News, I'm Benjamin Payne in Savannah.
Story 6:
Peter Biello: Metro Atlanta's public transit agency is rolling out a new bus with a design honoring the late Georgia congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis. GPB's Amanda Andrews reports, MARTA unveiled the bus at an event in College Park yesterday.
Amanda Andrews: The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority has been celebrating civil rights icons with a series of special busses over the past year. As part of the effort to honor John Lewis. Organizers also held a voter registration drive for Fulton and Clayton counties. Detria Everson is the CEO of the John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation. She says this bus is a rolling monument to the Freedom Riders who helped integrate busses in the South.
Detria Everson: It reminds us that the fight for freedom is not finished and there's still work to be done. There's still paths to touch. There's still minds to change. And yes, there's still laws to be rewritten.
Amanda Andrews: MARTA says upcoming bus designs will recognize Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowery, Evelyn Gibson Lowery, and Ambassador Andrew Young. For GPB News, I'm Amanda Andrews.
Story 7:
Peter Biello: The U.S. Postal Service is rolling out thousands of new vehicles to replace some that have been in service for more than three decades. The rollout started in Athens last month. USPS says it will be a five-year process to put these next generation delivery vehicles into service across the country. Avis Stonum delivers mail in Athens. She says she's excited about the upgrades.
Avis Stonum: You can tell that they didn't have appearance in mind. They had safety. They had the way we maneuver. They thought everything through.
Peter Biello: The new trucks also feature something common in most cars for more than six decades, but lacking in mail trucks, air conditioning. Within a few years, the USPS fleet is expected to expand to 60,000, with most of these vehicles being electric models.
Story 8:
Peter Biello: Macon-Bibb County and the Muskogee nation of Oklahoma have announced another step in their ongoing efforts to reconnect Macon with the nation descended from people forced out of the region in the 19th century. With the aid of Muskogee language experts, a number of street signs in downtown Macon will be changed to include their Muskogee names. Muskogee Nation principal Chief David Hill spoke at the signs unveiling.
David Hill: I hope when people see that Muskogee language on 104 signs, they'll be changed this fall, that they know that they are seeing some of the first languages ever being carried by the wind, through the trees here.
Peter Biello: The announcement comes at the start of Macon's annual Okmulgee Indigenous Celebration.
Story 9:
Peter Biello: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis defied a subpoena from the state Senate committee investigating her today. Senators on the panel say Willis has a legal obligation to show up, but Willis disagrees. A legal battle over the issue is imminent. Committee chair Athens State Senator Republican Bill Cowsert said the panel's legal team is prepared to take the question of subpoena power to court. The panel can't criminally charge Willis despite investigating allegations of misconduct tied to her election interference case against former President Donald Trump and others. Committee members barred public and press access in the room and adjacent hallway during a private briefing with their lawyers after they adjourned. The Democratic panel member, Augusta State Senator Harold Jones, says the panel is, quote, continuing to waste time.
Story 10:
Peter Biello: The judge overseeing Georgia's election interference case against former President Donald Trump and others has dismissed three counts in the indictment. In an order yesterday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said the charges lie beyond the state's jurisdiction. That includes two counts brought against Trump. At issue are two counts having to do with the filing of a document with the federal court in Atlanta. The document declared that Trump had won the state of Georgia, and the 16 Republicans who signed it were, quote, the duly elected and qualified electors from the state. The third count charges Trump and lawyer John Eastman with filing false documents.
Story 11:
Peter Biello: The last of 76 defendants in a massive South Georgia drug trafficking organization has been convicted on all charges after a two-day trial. The U.S. Justice Department said yesterday that the conviction of 36-year-old Blake Screen represents a milestone in the case dubbed Operation Ghost Busted. It was the largest ever indictment in the federal court's southern district of Georgia. It involved a conspiracy that distributed large amounts of methamphetamine, fentanyl and other drugs in and around Glynn County. Of the other 75 original defendants in the case. Seventy have been sentenced to prison terms and four are awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty. One defendant died while awaiting trial.
Story 12:
Peter Biello: The Republican controlled state election board is now being challenged from both sides of the aisle. A Georgia based advocacy group headed by former state representative Republican Scott Turner filed suit against the board in Fulton County on Wednesday. The group Eternal Vigilance Action wants to block rules changes the board approved in recent weeks, allowing local election officials to delay certification of election results if they suspect fraud. The lawsuit alleges the board violated the state law by overstepping its authority. The GOP lawsuit comes after a similar legal challenge filed by the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Party of Georgia last month.
Story 13:
Peter Biello: The Sundance Film Festival won't be coming to Atlanta. The Sundance Institute earlier this year named Atlanta as one of six cities in contention to host the prestigious festival beginning in 2027. City officials made their pitch, hoping Atlanta's status as a film production hub and other factors would lead to a major economic windfall. But yesterday, the institute narrowed its list to three finalists: Boulder, Colorado. Cincinnati, Ohio, and Salt Lake City and Park City, Utah.
Story 14:
Peter Biello: The University System of Georgia awarded more than 76,000 degrees during the last fiscal year, system Chancellor Sonny Perdue said yesterday. That's up nearly 2% over fiscal year 2023 and a new record. USG credits a decade long increase in degree completion to several factors. They include the system joining a national program, Complete College America, that prioritizes degree completion, and a website Georgia Degrees Pay that provides data on student success and college affordability.
Story 15:
Peter Biello: Get ready for driverless Ubers in Atlanta. The California based rideshare giant said today its expanding its partnership with self-driving vehicle company Waymo to include Georgia's capital and Austin, Texas, starting early next year. Driverless Ubers have been available in Phoenix since last year. Waymo also operates its own self-driving ride shares in San Francisco and Los Angeles. The company has been testing its driverless vehicles in Atlanta since April. Auto Club AAA said in March that more than 90% of Americans surveyed expressed fear or uncertainty about autonomous vehicles. Once Atlanta self-driving Ubers become available, if you don't want one, Uber says, you can set that preference in the app.
Story 16:
Peter Biello: In sports, the Atlanta Braves will welcome two Grammy Award winning Atlanta music icons to start their game against the Los Angeles Dodgers tomorrow. Usher will throw the first pitch and Jermaine Dupri will start the game by shouting play ball. The Braves begin a four-game series at Truist Park against the Dodgers tonight. And in Columbus, more than 2,000 people have signed petitions asking its Braves AA franchise to reconsider its name change. The team said last week that it's changing its name from the Braves to the Clingstones, a reference to a peach variety grown primarily in California. Georgia peaches are grown mostly in middle Georgia, not west Georgia. Petition organizers say they're not against the change, but just want a name with the Columbus Connection. Team owners say they're proud of the Clingstones name and have heard, quote, positive excitement about it since its debut.
Peter Biello: And that's a wrap on this episode of Georgia Today. We do appreciate you tuning in and we hope you'll come back after the weekend. We'll have more stories from the great state of Georgia in your podcast feed on Monday afternoon. And the best way to get it is to subscribe to it that way will pop up automatically. If you've got feedback, we would love to hear from you. Send us your story ideas, your suggestions for improvement. The email address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you next week.
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For more on these stories and more, go to GPB.org/news
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