Georgia Today: Legal fight over seized voter data; School shooting father trial opens; Spike Lee

 

 

TRANSCRIPT: 

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, several groups ask a judge to limit how the federal government uses voter data seized in a raid near Atlanta. Opening arguments begin in the trial of a father whose son killed four people at a Georgia high school, and filmmaker Spike Lee joins us in studio. 

Spike Lee: That's the most important legacy of School Daze: that people still today say they went to college because of School Daze. 

Peter Biello: Today is Monday, Feb. 16. I'm Peter Biello, and this is Georgia Today. 

 

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Peter Biello: The NAACP and allied groups are asking a judge to limit how the federal government uses voter data seized in an FBI raid near Atlanta. In a motion filed late yesterday, the organizations asked the judge to bar any use beyond the stated criminal investigation. They also asked for a full inventory of what the agents took in the January seizure at the Fulton County elections hub. FBI agents arrived at the warehouse with a warrant seeking 2020 Fulton County election records. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment today. 

 

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Peter Biello: The trial has started for a man whose teenage son is accused of killing two students and two teachers at a Georgia high school in 2024. Lawyers gave opening statements today in the case against Colin Gray. Prosecutors say Gray gave his 14-year-old son Colt access to a gun and ammunition despite warning signs. They link that decision to the four deaths at Apalachee High School. Gray's attorney says his client was not told about the planning and timing of the shooting and shouldn't be held criminally responsible. The trial is being held in Winder, where the shooting happened with jurors from nearby Hall County. For more on this, we turn to Michael Moore. He's a former U.S. Attorney and partner at Moore Hall in Atlanta. Welcome to the program. 

Michael Moore: Great to be with you. Thanks for having me on. 

Peter Biello: Prosecutors say Colin Gray knew his son Colt was obsessed with school shooters, even had a shrine in his bedroom to another school shooter, but he didn't think his son's interest was serious enough. How does something like this — which defense attorneys might say amounts to just a misjudgment, something parents do from time to time — amount to something criminal?

Michael Moore: That's ultimately that's going to be the case and the question as they move forward for the jury. I mean, this trial presents a picture of a troubled young man who apparently was fixated on shootings and this type of thing. And then a parent who may have ignored that, certainly even in providing him a weapon. The question will be whether or not the parent had enough suspicion and belief — and was it a reasonable belief or fear or concern that his child would do something like this — or is it going to be just, "Hey, I was giving my child a gun so we could hunt." That's the question on these. And ultimately, those are tough questions that a jury will listen to and make a decision on the specific factors that were available for knowledge to the parent who provided the gun.

Peter Biello: And what is the biggest challenge do you think as far as burden of proof for the prosecution?

Michael Moore: You have to remember that criminal cases have to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. And one of the elements of any crime would be an intent element. And so they've actually got to look and decide: Did the actions of the parents, in providing the gun under these particular circumstances, was that enough to cross over the threshold that leads us from maybe civil liability, which is a lesser standard, into criminal liability? And so I think it will be, probably, likely, the question of: Were there any prior reports made? Were there any specific concerns expressed to other people? Were there emails or texts out there about concerns about the child? And proving those things, I think, in showing that that amounts to a level of criminal culpability, that's going to be the biggest hurdle, I think, for the state going forward. It was interesting, in the case at the start, you heard the prosecutor say this was not about the actions, really, of the shooter, of the child, the young man who did the shooting, but then he spent a great deal of time in his in his opening talking about specifically those acts. I think that makes the state's case a little tougher, and frankly it's going to make some questions about the law, if not during the course of trial, but certainly if there's a conviction and some appeal proceeding.

Peter Biello: Do you think Colin Gray case faces an uphill battle here in Georgia for any particular reason?

Michael Moore: The state in this case will have a difficult time prosecuting Colin Gray because it is a unique case in the sense that they're having to pull together different statutes — and different parts of the statute — to make their case. And they will need to come in and show both that the child cruelty statute, in fact, and the child endangerment statute, that those apply in a way that supports or becomes the predicate offense for the murder charge. And that can be a difficult burden. But remember that they have to defend this and actually defend this case on appeal if they're successful, so they not only have the issue of convincing a jury that a parent should be liable for this, but they also then have to show that on appeal, they have to support, in fact, that this was the legislative intent and what the statute meant as they move forward. So they've really had two burdens and two hurdles to cross.

Peter Biello: So if he is convicted and the convictions are upheld, what do you think the implications of this in Georgia would be?

Michael Moore: So if Mr. Gray is convicted in this case, and his conviction is upheld throughout any appeal process, I think what you will see is an argument that our gun laws in the state that they exist are currently sufficient, by one side of the aisle. And on the other side of aisle, I'll think you'll hear an argument that we should move forward with more common sense reform that's much more clear on the intent of the state legislature, to say that a parent who does this should in fact be held criminally responsible. So you'll have both a push for the law to be strengthened, and then I think you'll also see sort of a counter — that the law, as it stands, is sufficient to both protect the public and also not infringe on any claimed arguments about the Second Amendment.

Peter Biello: Michael Moore is a former U.S. Attorney and partner at Moore Hall in Atlanta. Thank you so much for sharing your insight with us. 

Michael Moore: Good to see you. Thank you for having me. Call on me anytime. 

 

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Peter Biello: Early voting begins today in Georgia's 14th Congressional District. Nineteen candidates vying to replace former Rome congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Green made their pitch to voters during debates held yesterday, GPB's Sarah Kallis reports. 

Sarah Kallis: One message was clear from all candidates — they are not seeking the spotlight and notoriety that became synonymous with Greene during her tenure in Congress. Republican Clay Fuller says he's the only candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump. 

Clay Fuller: I think they're looking for someone to carry President Trump's banner, support his agenda, and fight for him on Capitol Hill. 

Sarah Kallis: Democrat Shawn Harris ran against Greene in 2024 and says this race feels different. 

Shawn Harris: Farmers are hurting, across the board in the district, the people are saying it's time for something different. 

Sarah Kallis: Election day is March 10. The crowded race is likely to go to a runoff. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis in Atlanta. 

 

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Peter Biello: Georgia culinary icon and Savannah cooking school founder, Chef Joe Randall died on Saturday. The Pennsylvania native moved to Savannah in 1999 and became known as an ambassador for Southern cooking, the dean of Southern cuisine. He authored a James Beard award-winning cookbook and told GPB's Orlando Montoya in 2005 that Southern food is about Southern hospitality. He later told GPB's Georgia Traveler about the spice of Southern cooking. 

Chef Joe Randall: Cayenne pepper is a foundation to Southern cooking. It's what I call a little hole in your mouth. Food should talk to you when you're putting them out. If it don't say nothing, it's just bland food. 

Peter Biello: He earned numerous accolades for his contributions to Southern foodways, including from the James Beard Foundation and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. No cause of death was announced. Chef Joe Randall was 79 years old. 

 

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Peter Biello: The University of Georgia Medical School has been granted preliminary accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. The university said Friday the designation allows them to recruit and admit its inaugural class. UGA's School of Medicine was established in 2024 and will welcome its first class of students this fall. The university says applications will open in the coming weeks. 

 

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Peter Biello: Artistic engagement could promote brain health and emotional well-being for those living with Alzheimer's. GPB's Ellen Eldridge has more on a partnership pairing music with medicine. 

Ellen Eldridge: Earlier research from Emory University's Goizueta Brain Health Institute found that music improves mood and engagement among people with cognitive concerns. Now, a partnership with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is studying how best to use music to improve their lives. Dr. Monica Parker leads the research team at Emory. 

Dr. Monica Parker: We invited all of our participants last year to the symphony and they had such a great experience. We decided we would try to see how this might help persons living with dementia. 

Ellen Eldridge: The Alzheimer's Foundation of America recently awarded the researchers $200,000 to advance their work. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge. 

 

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Peter Biello: Filmmaker Spike Lee, a graduate of Morehouse College, was in town last week for a screening of his classic movie School Daze at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. Spike Lee joined GPB's Morning Edition host Pamela Kirkland for a chat. 

Pamela Kirkland: Over the last four decades, Spike Lee has written and directed more than 35 films. The Academy Award-winning filmmaker is back in Atlanta, returning to the city where he was born. School Daze hit theaters back in 1988. It follows one homecoming weekend at Mission College, a fictional HBCU. The film tackled apartheid activism, class divisions, and colorism within the Black community — and it also stirred a little controversy. 38 years later, Lee is here screening School Daze at the fabulous Fox Theatre with HBCU students across Atlanta invited to attend. Spike Lee, thank you so much for being here. 

Spike Lee: Thank you for having me. I was born in Grady Hospital, so you know, I went to college here. 

Pamela Kirkland: 1979 graduate of Morehouse College, you returned as a filmmaker and you were willing to kind of give this hard look to an institution that really shaped you and your family. So four decades later, you're bringing back School Daze. What does that moment really represent for you? 

Spike Lee: Well, it represented growth from the first film, She's Gonna Have It, which we shot on a shoestring. This was a much bigger budget, established stars: Laurence Fishburne, Joe Esposito, late Greg Bill Nunn. And it's really, School Daze was my four years at Morehouse. 

Pamela Kirkland: This is a film that just still feels so relevant. When you were making the film, did you think this would be something that would span generations? 

Spike Lee: Well, I was hoping some of this stuff would stop. Here we are 38 years later, there's still stuff going on. So the film has a life. And so people will be watching this film 30 years from now — and beyond. 

Pamela Kirkland: You make so many films that, at the same time, talk about external pressures and things that are happening in the world, but also are this internal look at divisions within the Black community. How do you have those discussions at the same time?  

Spike Lee: Very carefully! But all jokes aside, I consider myself a storyteller. So, not all my films, but some films about what's happening today and that's what the story's about. And it pains me that some of the stuff we were talking about in School Daze we're still going through. I mean, I'd rather — I mean, let the audience, rather, figure that out and what they say is the — what we could do to stop that stuff. But I've been very fortunate to make films and I'm honored, you know, to come back to Atlanta and show this film 38 years later, where we —  where we shot it. 

Pamela Kirkland: You have people come up to you and say, "Hey, School Daze inspired me to go to an HBCU or inspired me go to college at all."

Spike Lee: That's the legacy. I think that's the most for me. That's most important legacy of School Daze that people still today, 38 years later say, School Daze is why, not just I went to a Black school, but people say School Daze, they went to college. Not just a Black, a historic Black school or university; they went to college because of School Daze. 

Pamela Kirkland: When you were making School Daze, you got kicked off of Morehouse's campus two weeks into filming.

Spike Lee: Yeah, they said, President Hugh Gloster, he said, "You guys can't shoot here." He saw who I cast as a president, the great late Joe Seneca, and he told me he's too dark to be the president. Can you believe that? This is the president of Morehouse, who's very light-skinned. He said the guy, the actor you cast to play the president is — "He looks like a Sambo."

Pamela Kirkland: Well, I mean, it plays into the film, though, because you discuss colorism in the film. 

Spike Lee: That's what the film's about! Imagine as the president of Morehouse, Hugh Gloster, told me that the great actor Joe Seneca was too dark and looked like a Sambo. So we totally — I knew I was doing something right. 

Pamela Kirkland: Was there ever a moment where you were nervous after you got kicked off Morehouse's campus? They're like, "All right, find somewhere else to go film."

Spike Lee: We went to Clark College and Atlanta University — they weren't combined back then — and Morris Brown. 

Pamela Kirkland: So you were able to finish, but did you ever think for a second that maybe you might not be able to get the film done? 

Spike Lee: Never. 

Pamela Kirkland: Never a doubt?

Spike Lee: I had doubts, but I knew we were gonna get it done. Hook or crook, it was gonna get done. But that even —the thing with Hugh Gloster, that even made me think that "This is what we're talking about! This is what the film's about." No, I will say the legacy of School Daze is that, as we talked about already, but people went to school, went to college, went on to do grad school because of that film, School Daze. Malcolm X, you know, that — that's what Denzel did. So all the documentaries I did, the one that had the greatest impact for me is called Four Little Girls, which is about the bombing of the 6th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., and those four little great, wonderful young girls' lives were ended with 16 sticks of dynamite. 

Pamela Kirkland: And that film had real impact because you got a phone call about that one. 

Spike Lee: So we wanted — we wanted to be eligible for the Oscars' documentary category, and to be considered, you have to have a one-week theatrical run. And the phone rang, and I didn't recognize the number. I said, "Who is this?" He said, "This is a federal agent" and the name "FBI." And they requested a print of the film. But before that, I don't know why that guy's calling me. I didn't do nothing. Ain't getting nothing on me, copper. But I gave him the — the print, and a week or so later they reopened the case, and reopened the case and sent those guys to prison. Now that is an example of art being used to right injustice. 

Pamela Kirkland: Spike Lee is an Academy Award-winning filmmaker. Over the last four decades, he's written and directed more than 35 films, including Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, Black Kkklansman, When the Levees Broke. Spike Lee, thank you so much for stopping by the GPB Studios. 

Spike Lee: Thank you for having me — and have me back!

Peter Biello: There's a lot more to that conversation; you can find it at gpb.org and on the GPB YouTube page. 

 

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Peter Biello: Georgia native and Grammy-winning country singer Ray Stevens has released a new tribute song honoring the city of Savannah. The 78-year-old entertainer, known for blending country and comedy, says the track reflects his longtime affection for the coastal city. 

Ray Stevens (singing): Savannah, Georgia, whispered to the sea.

Peter Biello: The jazz-influenced single serves as the lead release for his upcoming album, Favorites Old and New, due April 10.

 

And that is it for this edition of Georgia Today. If you want to learn more about any of these stories, visit gpb.org slash news. And remember to subscribe to this podcast. We've got a lot more news coming your way this week. You won't want to miss a minute of it. If you've got feedback or a story idea we should know about, send it to us by email. You'll reach the whole team when you send a note to georgiatoday@gpb.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We will see you tomorrow.