Two high school basketball coaches in Georgia are charged with murder in connection with the death of a teenager who collapsed while training during a practice session in about 100 degrees Celsius and later died.
On Wednesday morning, days before the second anniversary of 16-year-old Imani Bell’s death, lawyers for the Bell family announced the charges at a press conference in Atlanta.
“This is huge,” said Justin Miller, the attorney who represents the family in a lawsuit. related case. According to Mr Miller, who is also Imani’s cousin, the murder charges are the first to be filed against coaches accused of negligence.
Imani’s father, Eric Bell, described the accusations as a “bittersweet” development. “It doesn’t get any easier,” she said of her daughter’s death.
Last month, a grand jury in Clayton County indicted LaRosa Maria Walker-Asekere, head basketball coach at Elite Scholars Academy in Jonesboro, Ga., and Dwight Broom Palmer, assistant basketball coach, of second-degree murder, persecution. children, manslaughter and reckless behavior. The charges were announced this week.
When asked why she called the grand jury to charge the coaches with murder, Clayton County district attorney Tasha Mosley said, “The murder charge is circumstantial and based on criminal negligence rather than malice.”
Jessica Gabel Cino, a law professor at Georgia State University, suggested that the murder charges may be intended to encourage a plea bargain. “A murder charge linked to a child endangerment/abuse charge is clearly not inappropriate,” he wrote in an email. “But I question whether the prosecution can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Neither Ms Walker-Asekere nor Mr Broom Palmer’s lawyers could be reached immediately on Wednesday. Clayton County Public Schools declined to comment on the charges or whether both coaches are still employed by the district.
Imani was a junior at Elite Scholars Academy, located approximately 20 miles south of Atlanta, on August 13, 2019. filed in February by the girl’s parents.
According to family lawyers, the temperature at that time was about 98 degrees, and the heat index temperature was between 101 and 106 degrees. They said a heat warning was issued for Clayton County that day.
An autopsy by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation attributed his death to heatstroke from strenuous physical exertion in extreme temperatures, according to a statement from family lawyers. They said they couldn’t find a pre-existing medical condition.
“Misunderstanding common sense can literally kill your child,” Mr Miller said at a press conference on Wednesday. “You have coaches who want to earn more than just taking care of these kids.”
The civil case is a little different as to who he is trying to hold responsible for the delays that lead to Imani’s death. In addition to Ms. Walker-Asekere, the school’s athletic director, Jason Greenlee, named as a defendant in the case; Shonda Shaw, principal; and Phillip Ramsey and Ashley Baker, vice principals. Mr Broom Palmer was not named in the lawsuit.
In court documents, Ms. Walker-Asekere said it was her first day as coach of the girls’ basketball team and relied on the instructions of the athletic director and other academy staff to run her conditioning activity.
“It was also the first day of Imani,” Mr. Miller said on Wednesday.