Gun violence priority for Dougherty prosecutors facing backlog of homicide cases

ALBANY — A spike in gun violence that saw homicides increase by more than 20 percent in the nation in 2020 has left many accused of such crimes in legal limbo as courts have been unable to function due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The city of Albany was no exception to the surge in gun crimes, and as of Friday there were 83 inmates in the Dougherty County Jail who are involved in homicide cases.

“I don’t think we’ve been that high since I’ve been here,” Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office Col. Jon Ostrander, who oversees jail operations, said.

The Friday inmate census totaled 587, meaning homicide cases represent 14 percent of the jail’s population. The 83 being held include both inmates awaiting trial and those who have been convicted but not yet transferred to a state facility.

Ostrander said he was not able to determine how many of the 83 inmates have been convicted and how many are waiting for trial or grand jury proceedings in their cases.

Dougherty County Superior Court was set to begin criminal trials in the spring, but a leak from a faulty hose that supplied water to a coffee maker that occurred over Easter weekend inundated much of the building. That caused a delay of several months in resuming criminal trials and grand jury proceedings.

The courts recently re-opened for convening juries, and a grand jury earlier this month indicted suspects in a gang-related shooting.

“Now that the courts are resuming some functions, we anticipate those numbers going down,” Ostrander said of the inmates housed in homicide cases.

As the courts begin operating again, Dougherty County District Attorney Greg Edwards said he is looking to make criminal cases that involve gun violence a priority.

“We are certainly starting to move forward on the homicides,” he said. “In fact, we have already talked with the judges about prioritizing those cases, particularly cases where guns were used in the homicide.”

Priority also will be given to older homicide cases.

Initially Edwards’ office will focus on cases involving a single defendant. That precaution is being taken to reduce the number of people in the courtroom as cases of COVID-19 are surging due to the delta variant of the disease.

Trials involving more than one defendant require that multiple accused and their attorneys be in the courtroom.

Also, Edwards said, victims’ and defendants’ families have a right to be in the courtroom to observe proceedings. Murder trials tend to last longer than trials for other crimes, so the courts typically convene a larger jury pool for the selection process, and more alternate jurors are selected.

And those trials typically call for more witnesses than in cases involving theft or drug offenses.

“In homicide cases you’re probably going to have more people in the courtroom,” the district attorney said. “We have to make sure visitors are accommodated. There are more people in the courtroom that you typically wouldn’t see in, say, a drug case.”

In the middle of the last homicide trial in the county in March of 2020, it was discovered that one of the jurors was positive for the novel coronavirus and had potentially exposed a number of people.

“One of our jurors was one of the first persons to present and be hospitalized (in Dougherty County) for COVID during that trial,” Edwards said.

Two homicide trials in which there is a single defendant are scheduled for October.

When trials resume, the courts will be following guidelines put in place by the Georgia Supreme Court, which call for social distancing and face masks.

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]
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