A Fulton County judge assigned the case of six deputies charged with murder in the death of an inmate has recused herself.
The Fulton deputies indicted in the killing of 32-year-old Antonio May have pleaded not guilty. During their arraignment hearing Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Paige Reese Whitaker said she didn’t think it was appropriate to oversee the case.
“This is not a case that a Fulton County judge should be hearing,” Whitaker said. “I intend to recuse on this case, and I don’t think this case should be before a Fulton County judge.”
In an order filed Thursday, Whitaker noted the sheriff’s office is responsible for courthouse security, transporting inmates to and from court and the safety of Fulton’s judges.
The jailers, three of whom are still employed by the sheriff’s office, are charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, battery and two counts of violating their oath of office in May’s Sept. 11, 2018, death.
The deputies — Arron Cook, Guito Delacruz, Omar Jackson, Jason Roache, Kenesia Strowder and William Whitaker — were indicted in November, more than three years after May died in custody. Michael Harper, who represents May’s family, said the father of three suffered “an excruciating death” after being beaten, shocked with a Taser and strapped to a chair.
Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office
May, who was from Macon, was taken to the Fulton jail after he was arrested, accused of throwing rocks at the windows of the American Cancer Society building downtown, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. A 2019 lawsuit filed against the jail and its health care provider said May struggled with mental health issues and had tested positive for amphetamines at the time of his arrest.
He was taken to the hospital before being booked into the Fulton County Jail on a misdemeanor trespassing charge. The federal lawsuit alleges he died after being stunned repeatedly and restrained on what deputies and inmates called “Taser Tuesday.”
The attorneys for the defendants strongly contest the criminal charges.
Kimani King, who represents Delacruz, said his client was not responsible for May’s death.
“My client is innocent and charges should have never been brought,” he said outside the fifth-floor courtroom. “We’re going to defend him vigorously, and if the case goes to trial, we plan to prove that he’s not responsible for the deceased’s passing.”
Fulton Sheriff Patrick Labat was seen speaking with some of the deputies’ defense attorneys outside the courtroom after Wednesday’s hearing. Labat, who took office at the beginning of the year, declined to comment on the case.
“This is what I do. I walk the courthouse all the time,” he said.
Harper, the attorney for May’s family, said he died of cardiovascular collapse after being beaten, stunned and strapped to the chair. He said the jailers deployed their stun guns eight times in 90 seconds.
“His heart went out while he was strapped to that chair,” he said.
Credit: Tamar Hallerman/AJC
Credit: Tamar Hallerman/AJC
The GBI said May was combative with jail staff, leading to a confrontation that resulted in the man being stunned and pepper-sprayed, the state agency said in a news release.
After he was decontaminated from the pepper spray, May became unresponsive, the GBI said. Jail and medical staff performed CPR, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The lawsuit claims that after May removed his clothes inside the holding cell, the six jailers stunned him, beat him with closed fists and pepper-sprayed him repeatedly. May was then placed in a restraining chair, a spit mask on his face, and taken to shower for decontamination, the suit alleges. After that, the deputies put a hose to May’s face to flush the remaining pepper spray, according to the complaint. He died minutes later.
Harper called the deputies’ use of force excessive and said he hopes they are held responsible.
“The facts are horrendous in this case,” he said. “He was tased, beaten and pepper-sprayed. Then they used additional restraints on his body ... Clearly their actions caused his death. There’s no question about it.”
He also criticized Labat for speaking with the defense attorneys outside the courtroom.
“I guess he’s allowed to be there to show his support,” Harper said. “You’d think he would be more concerned about holding his officers accountable for these horrendous actions as opposed to supporting them when they’ve been charged with murder.”
Jackson, Roache and William Whitaker are still employed by the sheriff’s office but remain on administrative leave, an agency spokesperson said. All six defendants were booked into the Fulton jail Dec. 1 and released the same day on $50,000 bond.
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