Death penalty hearing for Atlanta spa shooter rescheduled for May

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As the country marks the second anniversary of the deadly Atlanta-area spa mass shootings, shooter Robert Aaron Long still faces the death penalty, a process that could drag on for years after repeated delays.

Long, 23, is already serving a life sentence after pleading guilty to four murders in Cherokee County on March 16, 2021. However, he pleaded not guilty to four other murders in Fulton County later that year.

Fulton prosecutors have since handed down a death sentence in what could be the first use of the law in the county. They are also seeking an increase in hate crime as they believe race and gender played a role in the crime given that all of Long’s victims in Fulton County were Asian women.

The victims of the Fulton shooting were Sung Chung Park, 74; Suncha Kim, 69; Yun E Yue, 63; and Hyun Jung Grant, 51.

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The death penalty trial was due to start in October 2022, but was postponed at the request of prosecutors.

Attorneys for both sides agreed they needed more time to prepare in light of the new Supreme Court ruling and the state’s new law on expert testimony.

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A status hearing earlier this year resulted in another delay, according to a new report.

As it turned out, Chief Justice Ural Glanville had scheduled a hearing on the petition for May.

“Some days in May have been set aside for hearing motions,” a Fulton County Superior Court spokesman said, according to 11Alive. “While the delay was caused by many different factors, one of the most important is the need for the parties to prepare and respond to the numerous motions filed.”

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Last year, Long’s legal team filed several motions to keep him from facing the death penalty. In one of their arguments, they argued that Long, who was 21 at the time of the shooting, did not yet have a fully developed brain when he entered the resort and shot his victims, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The story goes on

Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis said Long’s death penalty “full support” from the families of the victims.

“The decisions I made in seeking death were made with the full support of the family,” Willis told reporters in August 2021. “I am very pleased with my decision to ask for a tougher sentence based on the fact that race and gender played a role. ”

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“Ms. Justice has finally gone blind…every person in this community has value and we will fight for them as hard as we would fight for any sacrifice,” she added.

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