COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL)— While early voting is currently underway for the May primaries, both candidates for District Attorney of the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit are looking ahead to the November General Election.
Acting District Attorney Don Kelly has made it onto the Republican ticket unopposed.
Kelly was hired by District Attorney Stacey Jackson as his Chief DA. This past November, Governor Brian Kemp appointed Kelly as acting DA when Jackson began his medical leave. Health concerns kept Jackson from qualifying to run for reelection.
Anthony Johnson, criminal defense attorney and Army Reserves JAG officer, also made it to the Democratic ticket unopposed.
Tuesday, Kiwanis Club of Columbus hosted a forum for both candidates.
Both candidates addressed Superior Court Judges, business leaders, first responders and other members of Kiwanis Club of Columbus.
Weekend Crime
One of the first topics of the day, this weekend’s crime. Superior Court Judge Gil McBride moderated Tuesday's forum.
"The local newspaper reported that Columbus booked its 15th and 16th homicides over the weekend," Judge McBride said. "Last weekend, there were at least five incidents of gunfire across Columbus, from north to south, east to west. One fatality, at least two non-fatal shootings."
Here’s their responses when asked if they would change how the District Attorney’s office prosecutes crimes involving guns.
"One of the things that has been a policy in our office, but this really just started about a year and a half ago, which is that someone who is a convicted felon who was caught with a firearm, it will be a prison sentence," Kelly said. "The other thing that we are doing is working directly with the U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI to refer cases to the federal government where we can because their punishments are much more severe than the punishments in Georgia."
"I think that if you have an individual that has aggravated assault or possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and you look at it and you say, 'hey, this person needs to be hit with the hammer.' You absolutely have to do it," Johnson said. "I don't care whether it's three years, four years or five years or they have to get sent to the feds and they get 10 or 15 years. And so, I think that we have to or at least for me, make sure that we're looking at it on the end individual case."
April 29, 2024: WEEKEND RECAP: Two men dead in separate homicides over the weekend (wrbl.com)
Leading Cause of Crime in Columbus
Judge McBride asked both candidates what they believe to be the leading cause of violent crime in Columbus. Both credit youths committing crimes at young ages, a large factor in that being increased gang activity since 2012.
"I think that we as the District Attorney's office has to do a better job of leveraging community resources, whether that be working with city council, whether it be working with the school board also," Johnson said. "And I think Kiwanis is going to be very important working with community partners and that's where, 'Hey, if I need a little bit of assistance, would you be willing to help me in regard to some of these kids?'"
Kelly says the DA's office has seen an increase of violent crimes at a younger level. He says in 2016, the three-year average of homicides was 22. He told members of Kiwanis the three-year average of homicides from 2022 to 2023 was 57, marking more than double in less than a decade.
"Much of that is related to gangs and gun violence. We see it all the time, and a lot of times it's guys that are too young to have gotten a felony conviction yet," Kelly said. "If a child and they may be a child at 14, if they have committed a murder, then my belief is we have to prosecute them as an adult. We have gotten past the point at that point of being able to say, 'okay, we're going to put more community resources behind them.'"
Curfew?
Given the fact crimes are being committed by juveniles, one member asked both candidates should there be a curfew, and how they recommend it be enforced if so.
"No," Johnson answered. "In my opinion, I don't think it should, because in my calculations, at least, the issue is not necessarily what time the children are out. It's who their children are with. And that seems to be my issue."
Kelly believes there should be a county wide ordinance such as a curfew for juveniles, with exceptions to sporting events, parent permissions, and other special circumstances.
"It would have to be enforced through law enforcement. I don't see any other way that it could be enforced if it were enforced," Kelly said. "I do, based on what I've seen oftentimes, especially with gangs, that we see juveniles being used as lookouts at drug houses, we see juveniles who are out at 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning hanging out with 18, 19-year-olds.
Mental Health Manifesting in the Muscogee County Jail
Judge McBride said when he was the Chief Chattahoochee Circuit Superior Court Judge, he would monitor the Muscogee County Jail population, noting how many inmates have mental health issues.
"Sometimes it was as many as about 400 or so, which would make the Muscogee County Jail the largest mental health care facility between Atlanta and the Florida line, at least on this part of Georgia," Judge McBride said. "Sometimes they would have as many as three times the number of mental health patients as you have out at West Central."
Here’s how both candidates would address mental health concerns from the DA’s office.
"That's an answer that's got to come from Atlanta. That's got to come from funding our mental health facilities. The District Attorney's office, I mean, I can champion that," Kellys aid. "That's something I have said my whole career, is that we need more services for the mentally ill. The other thing we do have where people can be taken care of in the community is mental health court."
"What I think we need to make a much greater usage of is accountability courts. We have veteran's court; we have drug court, and we have mental health court. And really, they all, unfortunately, often act as tandem," Johnson said. "One of the things that I think that we need to do a better job of is identifying them early and often."
Message to Citizens
WRBL spoke with both candidates following the forum and asked what message they would like to get to the residents of Columbus.
"My specialty is actually representing kids charged as adults. And that's a big issue that we have right now that's going on in the community," Johnson said. "My thing is, I want to be more involved, I want us as a community to be more involved in order to deter this violence."
"I have a proven track record of prosecuting criminals, which I believe is necessary for our community more today than ever," Kelly said. "And that's what I intend to do is prosecute these folks that are committing these crimes in our community."
The Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit oversees several west Georgia counties including Harris, Marion, Muscogee, Talbot and Taylor Counties.
Both candidates' biographies handed out during the forum have been linked below.
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