"Encouraged" is how the family of Secoriea Turner say they feel after meeting Tuesday with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. 8 year old Secoriea was shot and killed during protests in the summer of 2020 near the area where Rayshard Brooks had been shot and killed by police just days earlier. Secoriea was riding in a vehicle with her mother and a friend that had stopped at, what authorities called "an illegal road block", when she was shot.
"Secoriea should be here", said mother Charmaine Turner following the meeting with DA Willis. She added, "We're encouraged with the active investigation. We're grieving and we will continue to fight." Secoriey Williamson, the little girl's father said, "We have faith in DA Willis and her team in getting us a step closer in getting justice for Secoriea."
Police arrested and charged 20 year old Julian Conley shortly after the shooting, and 24 year old Jerrion McKinney, a few days ago, in the little girl's death. Both remain in the Fulton County jail.
Family lawyers also spoke after the meeting saying the DA shared information that proves that Secoriea's death could have been prevented.
A civil lawsuit has been filed against the city of Atlanta in the case. The family contends that some city officials are culpable in the death of Secoriea. Attorney Harold Spence said Tuesday, "We fully intend to get to the bottom of the civil aspects of this matter and hold fully accountable the officials, elected and appointed of the city of Atlanta, whose hands are just as much a part of this tragedy as the armed vigilantes who were out there on the night of July 4, 2020." While fellow legal team member Mawuli Davis called it "saddening and sickening to think that this child's life could have been protected and they chose not to."
Following her meeting on Monday with Willis, Monteria Robinson said she was "hopeful" about the case going forward as she seeks justice for her son Jamarion. He was shot and killed when members of a fugitive task force opened fire inside an East Point apartment in August 2016. Robinson had apparently been suspected of firing at an officer days before the dozen or so body armor-clad officers entered the apartment trying to serve a search warrant.
Jamarion was shot 76 times. According to his mother, "The medical examiner's report declared my son's death to be a homicide, and the shooters were the U.S. Marshalls."
Previous Fulton County DA Paul Howard had filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department for federal documents in the case, and said he was moving towards seeking an indictment prior to the pandemic. The current DA reportedly says that her office will be just as aggressive and will seek charges if that's where the investigation takes them.
"I feel confident and grateful that the case is progressing in the right direction", said Robinson, "I'm hopeful that justice will prevail."