Every year at Christmas, the Office of the District Attorney uses law books to construct a tree. This year the Office decided to use the tree year round to bring awareness to social issues that present in the criminal justice system. The month of January is Stalking Awareness Month. January 2020 marks the 16th annual National Stalking Awareness Month, an annual call to action to recognize and respond to the serious crime of stalking.
On Friday, January 24th and Saturday, January 25th, District Attorney Stephen Bradley and Senior Assistant District Attorney Dawn Baskin presented to nurses from across the State of Georgia who are being trained as S.A.N.E. nurses at the Navicent Medical Center in Baldwin County. A Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) is a qualification for forensic nurses who have received special training to conduct sexual assault evidentiary exams for rape victims. SANE nurses are specially trained in the medical, psychological, and forensic examination of a sexual assault victim. District Attorney Bradley and ADA Baskin presented courses in courtroom presentation and actual practice of testimony. The
A Greene County jury convicted Marvin Sentell McCommons on six counts of child molestation and one count of sexual battery on January 16, 2020. After hearing an emotional impact statement from one of the victims, a cousin of McCommons who had been molested over a period of years, Judge Amanda S. Petty sentenced McCommons to 80 years, the first 40 of which to be served in prison.
District Attorney Stephen Bradley has announced that he will seek the Superior Court Judgeship vacated by the retiring Chief Judge William A. Prior. "Judge Prior has been monumental in the history of this Circuit. It would be a great honor to succeed him, if chosen. My time as District Attorney has been tremendously rewarding. Being DA is a great privilege, especially if you work with people of such high caliber in the office, as I do. There are well-qualified candidates seeking the position. The office is in great shape and will be in good hands, I am sure," said Bradley.
On January 7, 2020, Vonshell Napier and Beverly Jackson entered guilty pleas to charges of Exploitation and intimidation of a disabled elder person. On January 9, 2020 Judge Terry Massey presided over a sentencing hearing held in the Superior Court of Jones County. The family of the victim, Mr. W. J. Parks, presented victim impact statements. The attorneys for the defendants presented evidence of the work history of Ms. Napier and Ms. Jackson as well as other mitigating evidence. The judge, after consideration of the evidence, the videos of the abuse of Mr. Parks, and the arguments of counsel, sentenced Vonshell Napier to Twenty (20) years with four (4) years in prison and Beverly Jackso
