DA makes a dent in criminal case backlog

Almost a year after Perry County native Robert Turner Jr. took over the job as District Attorney for the 4th Judicial Circuit, he is optimistic about improvements he says will speed up the process of bringing justice to victims of crimes and their accused perpetrators.

At the Rotary Club of Selma meeting on Monday, Turner said it has been worth it to answer the call to run for district attorney and is focused on addressing the serious crime problems in his five counties, Dallas, Wilcox, Perry, Hale and Bibb.

“I have loved every minute of this job,” Turner told the Rotary Club of Selma on Monday.

Turner took over the top prosecutor job in January after beating longtime incumbent Michael Jackson in the November 2022 election. When Turner started, there was a six- or seven-year backlog of hundreds of criminal cases and no structured system in place for tracking evidence, collecting phone numbers to contact victims and witnesses or even the police officers themselves.

Turner pointed to a new computer software system put in place this year that he says has made a world of difference, putting cases in order with evidence reports, photos and police reports that anyone in his office can access to contact families and digital files they can use to prosecute cases in court.

His office has prioritized all pending cases of murder, capital murder and rape cases.

And he says he has finally been able to start trying some of those old cases in court. One case started trial this October, prosecuting a man who was charged with killing a woman at a bar in October 2016.

“We are building a foundation,” he said. “I’m not in the media talking about it. I’m building accountability for these cases.”

The computer system for case management was purchased with funds from Dallas and Perry County commissions. Turner’s district has the largest footprint of any DA office in the state, but the office is also not funded. So he has been visiting the county commissioners in each community to get help funding what is needed to adjudicate crimes more efficiently.

“I want to settle people down a little bit,” Turner said. “I know it’s hard when you hear about gunshots fired all the time, but my response is it is not every kid you see doing the shooting.”

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Instead, he says there are many repeat offenders continuing to commit crimes while awaiting trial due to the backlogged cases.

For example, the suspect in the shooting death at Hibbett Sporting Goods in April who was arrested last week is also a suspect in a fatal shooting in the Marvin’s parking lot in 2017, Turner said.

“The case has been pending that long,” he said. “There are many repeat offenders.”

Turner said he’s been having “tough conversations” with police chiefs and investigators in his district to do more to collect evidence and get interviews, “because I need answers.”

When asked about his vision for the district, Turner said you will never stop people from committing crimes. Even David and Moses in biblical times couldn’t stop crimes.

“You can’t legislate morality,” he said.

But he has been encouraging law enforcement to beef up their police work so they can prosecute cases better and get more training to stay ahead of criminals that are getting more sophisticated every day.

Turner also is in favor of communities getting security cameras installed, like what Selma’s mayor and city council have been discussing.

His department is also working to solve another nagging problem of getting witnesses to overcome their fear and testify after being intimidated.