Prosecutor affirms plan to seek death penalty for Atlanta shooter, cites ‘complete support’ from families

Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis has affirmed her intention to seek the death penalty for Robert Aaron Long, the man who shot eight people to death — including six Asian women — in three spas in the Atlanta area earlier this year.

The latest: Long, 22, appeared at the Fulton County Superior Court on Monday for charges involving four of the eight deceased victims. These crimes include murder, aggravated assault and domestic terrorism, the Associated Press reported.

The Fulton victims were Soon Chung Park, 74; Suncha Kim, 69; Yong Ae Yue, 63; and Hyun Jung Grant, 51. Willis is seeking the death penalty, a decision she made with “complete support” from the victim’s families.
The District Attorney also filed sentencing enhancements under Georgia’s new hate crimes law. “One was a bias of gender, against women, and the other on the basis of race,” Willis said, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Willis also disclosed that Long’s defense team had reached out in hopes of striking a deal. However, she remains committed to the death penalty, which she believes will take the case 24 to 36 months longer to wrap up, 11Alive News reported.

Life sentences: In July, Long pleaded guilty to the other four killings, which occurred in a Cherokee County spa. He received four life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Three of Long’s four victims in Cherokee were women. Two of them were Asian: Xiaojie “Emily” Tan, 49, and Daoyou Feng, 44.
Cherokee County prosecutors determined that there was no bias involved in the shooting after Long told officers that his actions arose from a “sex addiction.” However, witnesses in the shooting reportedly heard him say, “I’m going to kill all Asians,” as per Rolling Stone.

Featured Images via Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department (left) and Crisp County Sheriff’s Office (right)

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